Sidney describes his family life and the tragic deaths of his two wives. INT: When did you get married Sidney? SM: I got married for the first time in 1952. INT: And where did you meet your partner? Where did you meet your partner? SM: Well, in cafes, you know. In those days we used … Read more
Sidney describes the kindness of his new family – the Goldwaters. He talks about his early working life and his views on the Nazis. INT: They were lucky. So tell me about Scotland. What were your first impressions when you arrived? SM: When I came to Glasgow? Well, I was never in a big city … Read more
In this section, Sidney describes how he arrived in England and explains why he came to Scotland. He talks about the fate of his family and mentions what happened to their property in Germany. And on Crystal Night in 1938, November, we had to leave. My father was arrested. He was taken to Dachau Concentration … Read more
Sidney describes his early life in Germany and the huge changes that occurred once the Nazis came to power. INT: Good morning. We’re here to interview Mr Sidney Mayer and today is the 10th of December 2013. Good morning Sidney. SM: Morning. INT: Could you tell us first please when you were born? SM: On … Read more
INT: So Saskia you were telling us about what you discovered after your mother passed away. ST: In the documents in her box I discovered in a medical document that it said that she’d had 2 pregnancies, two normal pregnancies, one in 1945 and one in 1954. The first child died in infancy. And then … Read more
ST: So moving on to the UK. After spending three months in a facility hosted by the British Council for Aid to Refugees, getting basic training in English, ‘Can I have a pound of mince please’, ‘two tickets to…’ INT: And coping with the currency of pounds, shillings and pence. ST: Exactly. We moved to … Read more
ST: So, I don’t know how it happened, but she ended up in a camp and I didn’t really understand this camp that she was in until after she died and I started doing some research. But basically what happened is after the war ended the Czechs took retribution, if you like, on the Sudeten … Read more
INT: I was just going to ask which town was she living in when she came back? Was it the same town? ST: Yes. It was a little town outside of Jagerndorf. INT: Right. ST: And I’ve forgotten it…it’s Lobenstein, Lobenstein. So I’m not sure. I’m assuming that the Gestapo made some kind of base, … Read more
Learn about the experiences of Saskia Tepe’s mother, Brigitte Langer, who suffered the tribulations of war and its aftermath three times. Once under the Nazis as a Mischling, then under the Czechs as a Sudeten German, and finally as a refugee in a DP Camp in Germany. The aftermath of the war also affected the … Read more
INT: And were there lots of refugees there? Did you meet other people? R.F: Yes there were quite a few refugees otherwise. From Germany and Austria. In Glasgow I met my future husband. INT: Where? R.F: I was introduced with a Jewish family in Glasgow. I was introduced to my future husband. He came from … Read more