Sonja tells the interviewer why she ended up in Scotland and about her life here. INT: And…So what, after all these apprenticeships, what job did you end up doing? SH: I became a milliner. INT: Oh. SH: Because that was part of my mother’s – what she did in the shops. INT: Right, and yet … Read more
Edith talks about her new life in Kirkcaldy and her education. She describes her reaction when she finally met her birth father again. INT: And what about going to school after that? EF: Well that was… INT: You still only spoke German? EF: Yes, well they put me in the infant class to learn English … Read more
INT: And so where did you study? When did you decide to study…? SU: Well I went to this proper school in Welwyn Garden City and did two years there, managed to get advanced German and Biology, I think. I had to do Maths, you know, from scratch and Chemistry and eventually I got into … Read more
Susan describes how she considered going to Palestine after the war but how, in the end, she came to Scotland and worked first as a trainee nurse. Int: You were going to explain how you came to Ayr. Susan: We were going to do this business of the false marriage. They sent away the Regiment; … Read more
Sidney describes his family life and the tragic deaths of his two wives. INT: When did you get married Sidney? SM: I got married for the first time in 1952. INT: And where did you meet your partner? Where did you meet your partner? SM: Well, in cafes, you know. In those days we used … Read more
ST: So moving on to the UK. After spending three months in a facility hosted by the British Council for Aid to Refugees, getting basic training in English, ‘Can I have a pound of mince please’, ‘two tickets to…’ INT: And coping with the currency of pounds, shillings and pence. ST: Exactly. We moved to … Read more
INT: When did you get married? R.F: 1945. INT: Where? R.F: In Glasgow INT: Was it South Portland Street? R.F: Yes. Something like this. INT: In Geneen’s? R.F: In Geneen’s restaurant, yes and the Chuppah…Ja. … they set up a chuppah. Yes. INT: And the Chuppah was there, alright. Who was the Rabbi? INT: It … Read more
RS: Well it was…. it wasn’t my own decision. My sister, who was in Glasgow, actually was working in a nursery school, which was run by the Church of Scotland and she, I think, told one of the ladies about me being in Edinburgh. I had a visit from… she was a minister’s wife, and … Read more
Rita describes her new life in Rutherglen, Scotland. She talks about the difficulties and challenges she faced and the impossibility of remaining Jewish in this new environment. INT: And whereabouts in Scotland was that? [Where were you taken?] RM: Rutherglen. INT: Ah, and that’s why you ended up here? RM: That’s it. But I couldn’t … Read more
Renate describes her experiences as a schoolgirl in St Andrews’s. INT: Now let’s just take you to St Andrews, Renate. They must have been very pleased to have your uncle because he’d come from such a prestigious position as Director of the Einstein Tower in Potsdam. Tell us about what happened when you got there. RM: Well, … Read more