Gathering the Voices has made a video telling the story of German refugee Martin Anson journey to finding a new home in Scotland, with Education Scotland agreeing to promote the video to Scottish schools.
The refugee committee informed me that I need to go to the high court in Edinburgh. A lawyer from the committee accompanied me to the high court but he was not allowed into the hearing. At the High court in Edinburgh I was convicted of “Corresponding with the Enemy” a very serious offence during wartime. … Read more
INT: So you must, you were in Britain… INT: They were in Israel, building the, when did you see them again? ED: 1953. INT: So, you studied? ED: I finished my study, then I was teaching. INT: Oh you were a teacher? ED: I was teaching. INT: In London? ED: In London, I was teaching … Read more
Bob loses his German but becomes proficient in English. BM:Once the war started we were only allowed to write twenty-five words per month through the Red Cross. When war broke out Janet joined the Land Army and Jessie looked after the house. So over the years one can say that Jessie virtually brought us up. … Read more
I was born in the town of Chemnitz in South East Germany. I do not recollect my very early years but in 1933 my father lost his job in Chemnitz and we moved to a small town called Neukirchen, about five miles from Chemnitz. My parents bought a semi-detached house with a large piece of … Read more
Kathy and her granny were allowed to leave Hungary and decided to emigrate to Israel. Kathy wanted to remain in Hungary to finish her education but that was not possible. In the beginning, aged 16 she worked in a factory, which she hated. She moved to live on a Kibbutz, which she loved from the … Read more
Halina describes how the family managed to leave Warsaw and finally settle in Bialystock where Halina went to school. Read the transcript: INT: Can we take you back. You went back to Poland, obviously a very dangerous time. What happened after that? HM: Well we got to Poland and we reoccupied our flat and on … Read more
Dorrith talks about the importance of the reunions for her and her happy memories of life in Scotland. Read the Transcript INT: So, we were thinking about the dates. When do you reckon that the reunion of Kinder was? D.S: It was fifty years after the start of the war so it must have been … Read more
Dorrith describes leaving school and her early working life. She explains what happened to other members of her family. Read the Transcript INT: During the war, you would still be at school and after the war ended what happened? D.S: Well, what happened was I actually left school when I was fifteen for which I … Read more
Dorrit describes the events surrounding Kristallnacht and the Kindertransport. Read the Transcript. INT: Good afternoon Dorrith. It’s the 26th of September 2010 and I’m here to talk to Dorrith Sim. Dorrith, could you begin by telling us when and where you were born and what was your name at birth? D.S: I was born in … Read more