Sonja explains how she feels in relation to Scotland. INT: Tell me if you look back on your time here in Scotland what would you say were the high points for you? SH: Probably acceptance. Nobody ever asked me…….they thought I was just foreign, you know. But I could have been Italian or Spanish or… … Read more
Finally Geraldine reflects on her parents’ lives and her own. She considers whether the world has learnt from the lessons of the Holocaust. INT: It’s a hard thing to know your mother suffered. GS: Very hard, but as children, we knew we weren’t allowed to leave anything on our plates; no food was to be … Read more
Edith describes the many highpoints in her life and her one main regret. INT: And have you ever wanted to go back to Germany since? Since that last meeting with your father? EF: No, no. I did go with a couple of groups when we took students and I had a very good head of … Read more
Bob talks about the reasons he sees himself as Scottish and reflects on his good fortune in life. INT: You sound so much like just an average Scots person, you really do. Do you think of yourself at all as German anymore? BM: No INT: Not at all? BM: Not a bit. INT: When did … Read more
Walter talks about his family and his philosophy of life INT:So all in all what message would you give to anybody listening to your story? We are going to have a lot of school children listening. W.G:I think when you look back two thirds is attitude. I don’t want to say successful life, because I … Read more
INT: We usually finish Suzanne by asking about reflections, and we’d like to finish with a positive as well. So when you look back, because you have obviously had a wonderful, I think, academic career, what would you say is the highlight? SU: Of my academic career? INT: And your life in general. SU: Well … Read more
This section is written and read by Howard Singerman, Susan’s son. He explains, as Susan was unable to do in her final months, how she contributed so much to the continuing struggle against racism. Howard Singerman: When my mother, Susan Singerman, was interviewed for the Gathering the Voices Project in August, 2010, she was seriously … Read more
Sidney describes his love of Scotland and talks warmly about his family. INT: So tell me now do you think of yourself as Scottish through and through? SM: Oh yes, definitely, definitely. INT: And your attitude to Scotland? SM: I beg your pardon? INT: And how do you feel about Scotland? SM: What do I … Read more
INT: So Saskia you were telling us about what you discovered after your mother passed away. ST: In the documents in her box I discovered in a medical document that it said that she’d had 2 pregnancies, two normal pregnancies, one in 1945 and one in 1954. The first child died in infancy. And then … Read more
INT: And were there lots of refugees there? Did you meet other people? R.F: Yes there were quite a few refugees otherwise. From Germany and Austria. In Glasgow I met my future husband. INT: Where? R.F: I was introduced with a Jewish family in Glasgow. I was introduced to my future husband. He came from … Read more