Arriving in the UK in 1947, Halina Moss learnt how to be British from a book.
Halina was born into a politically active family in Warsaw in 1929. Her testimony encompasses her family’s return from exile in Russia and her shock at discovering that almost all of her friends and relatives had perished. Listen to hear her vividly recount her lucky escapes, her mother’s terrifying experiences and her father’s adventures. Continue Reading Halina Moss
Though the war started when she was just seventeen, Judith Rosenberg describes a happy childhood in Gyor in north west Hungary. Indeed, Hungarians were largely unaffected by the conflict until the Nazis invaded the country in April 1944.
Soon after, Judith’s whole family was sent to Auschwitz, and she never saw her father again.
Listen to Judith’s testimony to discover how her watch-repairing skills helped her to survive working in a munitions factory in Germany. Find out too how she met the love of her life, despite her mother’s doubts, and eventually moved to Glasgow where she was reunited with her fellow slave labourer, Susan Singerman – another Hungarian Auschwitz survivor whose story is also on the Gathering the Voices website. Continue Reading Judith Rosenberg
Eva Szirmai begins by describing her experiences as an apprentice photographer in Budapest. She goes on to speak about life under the Germans – the yellow star houses, the arrests, the hunger, the curfew, the ghetto and the good luck that saved her life.
Eva chronicles her life with her husband and family under the Cold War Russian regime, ending with their ‘escape’ to Glasgow where her husband had been offered a job at Queens Park Synagogue. Listen to her speak of the delight she experienced when she and her family celebrated their first Friday night in the free country of Scotland. Continue Reading Eva Szirmai
At the age of 93, Alice Malcom was welcomed back to Vienna by the Austrian President,
Alexander Van der Bellen. It was the first time she had returned there since she escaped in
1938.
Learn first-hand what it was like for a Jewish girl to live in Vienna before and after the
Anschluss of March 1938 – when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany without a single
shot being fired.
Finally hear why Alice ended up in Scotland, where she found the love of her life. Continue Reading Alice Malcom
Welcome to Gathering the Voices podcasts, this is a limited series of episodes, featuring interviews exploring the stories people have told to escape Nazi persecution and reach Scotland Continue Reading Podcast Trailer