On Sunday 26th April, Holocaust survivor Bob MacKenzie participated in a live phonecall interview on Facebook Live with Laura Pasternak, a Holocaust Educational Trust Regional Ambassador for Scotland. You can watch the interesting videos in two parts on www.facebook.com/hetrascotland.
As a Kindertransportee to the UK in 1939 aged 8, Bob, originally from Chemnitz, Germany was really keen for more people to learn about the Kindertransport while in lockdown.
Bob told of his Jewish father and Lutheran mother’s unimaginable decision to send him to the UK for safety before the war broke out, his arrival at the priory in Selkirk and welcome from the MacKenzie family who took him in with his older sister Isolde.
Bob emphasised the need to remember the generosity of families across Britain who sponsered and looked after refugee children like him. He ultimately showed his gratitude to his foster father by taking the family name (as they had only daughters) when he took British nationality in 1950.
Bob is used to volunteering and socialising, so lockdown presented an opportunity to be creative with technology and spread the work about Kindertransport to people stuck at home.
Sunday’s stream reached 671 people, had 348 views and 199 ‘engagements’ (comments, questions, ‘likes’ shares etc.)!
Laura wants to thank Gathering the Voices for having interviewed Bob back in 2014.
Bob’s testimony helped Laura steer the interview, and she showed the photos on the website on-screen during the call!