Frieda explains why she ended up in Scotland as a domestic servant. She tells the interviewers that she had intended to study languages but the Nazis ended her hopes of an education. INT: So what age were you when… You said you were 18 when you came here. How did you leave Germany? FL: Because … Read more
Frieda talks about her family background and her early education. She mentions that she lost her immediate relatives as a result of the Nazi regime. INT: You’re unusual? FL: Unusual. INT: Do you think, do you think your complexion is so good because when you were a little girl you lived on a farm? Did … Read more
Evelyn compares the welcome she experienced from Scots people and the abuse she had lived through in Germany Read the Transcript INT: If you look back now on your time in Scotland what would you say are the high points of your time here? E.S: Just that all the Scottish people were so wonderful. I … Read more
Evelyn describes how her family set up a furrier’s business in Glasgow Read the Transcript INT: And after the war ended you would still have been at school. E.S: Yes. INT: What happened then? E.S: After the war I, my father had a factory. INT: He was a furrier did you say? E.S: Yes, yes. … Read more
Evelyn’s family fits into the Jewish community in Glasgow Read the Transcript INT: And did your parents mix with other Jewish people here? E.S: Yes. The first thing my mother did was to phone Rabbi Rubinstein. INT: That’s the Giffnock Synagogue, that’s right? E.S: At that time it was Clarkston. INT: Ah I see. E.S: … Read more
Evelyn describes how her family was arrested in Germany in 1938 and transported to Poland. She explains how they reached Britain and talks of their life in London and Glasgow. Read the Transcript NT: And how did you come to Scotland? E.S: Well we were arrested in 1938 and put on a train to we … Read more
Evelyn Strang describes her family and her early life in Germany and Poland before 1938 INT: Today is the 9th of April 2012 and I’m here to interview Mrs Evelyn Strang. Could you tell me please when you were born, where and what was your name at birth? E.S: I was born in Leipzig in … Read more
Eva emphasises that the highlight of her life was living in Scotland in a free society INT: Eva we always finish with asking people to say their highlights. E.S: Yes INT: And not so much the low points of their lives. But what would you say, reflecting back, what would you say are your highlights? … Read more
Eva talks about her first experiences of life in Glasgow. She describes the delight she experienced when she and her family celebrated their first Friday night in a free country. INT: Ah, no, what I meant had you had your other children? Were your other children born in Scotland? E.S: No my daughter born here, … Read more
Eva explains that she eventually came to Glasgow because her Husband had been offered a job at Queens Park Synagogue. She describes the challenges she faced when trying to get a visa to leave Hungary. INT: So how did you end up in Britain then? E.S: How did we end up here? I got married … Read more