Sonja Hancox – Settling In

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… Continue Reading Sonja Hancox – Settling In

Saskia Tepe – Settling In

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… Continue Reading Saskia Tepe – Settling In

Ruth Fraser – Settling In

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… Continue Reading Ruth Fraser – Settling In

Rita McNeill – Settling In

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… Continue Reading Rita McNeill – Settling In

Renate Mackay – Settling In

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,… Continue Reading Renate Mackay – Settling In