Alice describes her education. Then she speaks about the difficulties she met because she was a Jewish Refugee. We learn about her experiences as a kitchen maid in a stately home. AM: So I went to school [in England]. I was not at school for very long, when the war broke out . In those … Read more
Alice describes what happened to her mother once she arrived in Britain. She goes on to talk about her own journey to this country and some of her early experiences here. INT: Right, so tell me… so the two next things then are, if you can bear it, what became of your grandmother and then … Read more
In this section Bob describes his childhood. He was born in Germany into a Polish-Jewish family. The family moved to France and then to Italy when Hitler came to power in 1933. INT2: When were you born and what was your name when you were born? BK: My name was Norbert Kutner, and I was … Read more
INT: Alice Malcolm, in her house in Giffnock on Tuesday the 11th of March and you’re going to tell me your name, your age… AM: 2014. INT: 2014. You’re going to tell me your name and your age and then we are going to, basically, talk about your life story. So go for it. AM: … Read more
Marion tells of the importance of remembering her roots and her Polish family, but she feels that her Scottish children and grandchildren have given her enormous joy. This section of the interview was carried out in February 2014. INT: Right, so one of the things we always do on reflection is ask about the nice … Read more
Here Marion describes her school career in Glasgow and the start of her medical studies at Glasgow University. She tells of her romance with another refugee from Germany, her marriage and her life as the young wife of a busy GP in the same city. Read the Transcript INT: What did you do after er … Read more
At the end of the war Marion’s mother went back to Poland and Marion eventually came to Scotland. M: My aunt came to London to meet the transport of children that Doctor Shoenfeld brought from Poland. INT: So sorry can you go back a wee bit and say who was Doctor Schoenfeld? M: Well Rabbi … Read more
Marion describes her new life in Glasgow after the end of the war. She learned English and attended Laurel Bank School INT: And they [the school] gave you special support did they at the time? MC: And they were very kind and very good so that after three years at school, well I arrived in … Read more
Marion’s family fled from the German army when it attacked western Poland in September 1939. They reached the Russian Zone in eastern Poland but were sent to Siberia as suspected enemy aliens. When war between the Soviet Union and Germany began in the summer of 1941 the family were allowed to leave their Siberian camp … Read more
Marion’s story begins in Poland in 1932 when she was born into a wealthy family in Krakow. As a child during the Second World War she fled the fighting by travelling into Soviet Russia and eventually to Siberia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In 1946 she joined her aunt in Glasgow where she completed her school education, … Read more