VOLUME 18 NO.1 JANUARY 2018 JOURNAL The Association of Jewish Refugees

Prophet of the Age MILESTONES AHEAD of Nationalism As we pack away our Chanukiahs, we are looking ahead to a busy year of milestone anniversaries. In March we mark 80 years since the Anschluss and in November we will commemorate the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht and the start of the Kindertransport.

No doubt many of you will also have your own personal and poignant anniversaries.

As ever, our team is ready to provide you with all the support you might need, including help with social welfare and volunteer assistance. We also look forward to seeing you at our social gatherings and sharing our activities with you on these pages.

Wishing you and your families a happy and healthy 2018. Monument to Franz Grillparzer at Volksgarten in Vienna

Der Weg der neueren Grillparzer struggled with life. He became Blind Triumph...... 4 Bildung geht engaged to Katharina Fröhlich, his ‘eternal Visit to Israel...... 5 Letters to the Editor...... 6 & 7 Von Humanität bride’, in 1821, but never married her, though in 1849 he rented an apartment Art Notes...... 8 Educational grants...... 9 Durch Nationalität in which he, she and her three sisters A man deprived...... 10 Zur Bestialität lived until his death. His brooding, A man supported...... 11 (The path of modern culture leads retiring disposition also hampered his Reviews...... 12 & 13 from humanity through nationalism to career advancement; he spent most Around the AJR...... 14 bestiality) Franz Grillparzer, 1849 of his working life in the government Looking for...... 15 service, rising to the uninspiring position Chanukah gallery...... 16 Franz Grillparzer (1791-1872), the greatest of Director of Archives at the Imperial Who knew what?...... 17 Obituaries...... 18 exponent of the classical drama in Austrian Hofkammer (Exchequer). He was also Adverts...... 19 literature, is often overshadowed in the unfortunate to live under the stifling News...... 20 present cultural climate by later Austrian regime of Franz I, in the reactionary period writers of a more modernist, experimental that followed the defeat of Napoleon bent: novelists like Robert Musil, Hermann in 1815. By the time the regime fell in AJR Team Broch or Joseph Roth. Of these, only 1848, he had ceased to publish work for Chief Executive Michael Newman Broch and Grillparzer were Viennese-born, the theatre, having turned his back on it Finance Director David Kaye and only Musil was not Jewish (though following the failure of his comedy Weh Heads of Department his wife was). Yet Grillparzer was the dem, der lügt (Woe to Him Who Lies) in HR & Administration Karen Markham greatest dramatist in the classical mould 1838. Social Services Sue Kurlander Community & Volunteer Services Carol Hart in the generation that followed Goethe and Schiller, and has a strong claim to be Grillparzer’s outstanding theatrical abilities AJR Journal Austria’s national poet. He also delivered draw on classical themes, such as his Editor Jo Briggs Consultant Editor Dr Anthony Grenville the funeral oration for Ludwig van trilogy Das goldene Vlies (The Golden Secretarial/Advertisements Karin Pereira Beethoven on 29 March 1827. Continued on page 2

1 AJR Journal | January 2018

Prophet of the Age of Schicksalstragödie (‘fate tragedy’), a becomes the symbol of ambition, in sub-genre popular in the early nineteenth that Jason incurs guilt by stealing it from Nationalism century; it follows the working out of the King of Colchis. He also makes off Part 2 cont. a curse whereby the ancestress’ ghost with the King’s daughter, Medea, only can only find rest when her family line is to abandon her on returning to Greece. Fleece) (1821), dramatising the story of extinguished – as it duly is, amidst much The end result of Jason’s ambition is the Jason and Medea, and Des Meeres und gore and horror. Grillparzer found his own dreadful revenge exacted by Medea: she der Liebe Wellen (Waves of the Sea and dramatic voice with Sappho (1818), a kills their children and leaves him to the of Love) (1834), a dramatisation of the dramatisation of the life and death of the torments of remorse. tragedy of Hero and Leander. He is also Greek poet. After Goethe’s Torquato Tasso justly famed for his historical dramas. (1790), the play is one of the greatest in Grillparzer’s Ottokar provides another case The first of these, König Ottokars Glück German literature to take as its theme the study in the deceptive and insubstantial und Ende (King Ottokar’s Fortune and conflict between the sublime mission of nature of fame, power and ambition, End) (1823), climaxes triumphantly, with the artist and the more mundane realm inspired partly by Napoleon, the great the victory of Emperor Rudolf I, founder of normal human life and happiness. conqueror who eventually met his of the House of Habsburg, over his rival When Phaon, the rather ordinary young Waterloo. All the grandeur of Ottokar’s Ottokar II of Bohemia at the Battle of man whom Sappho has chosen as her imperial ambitions and conquests the Marchfeld in 1278. By contrast, partner, falls in love instead with her evaporates with his defeat and death in Ein Bruderzwist in Habsburg (Fraternal servant girl Melitta, the poet is forced to battle, but not before he has recognised Strife in the House of Habsburg), recognise how ill-suited she is to life, and the tragic guilt with which his seeming written in Grillparzer’s later years and commits suicide. The play is notable for triumphs have invested him. Der Traum published posthumously, dramatises the its adumbration of what was to become ein Leben (Life Is a Dream), a ‘dramatic catastrophic chain of events that led the central theme of Grillparzer’s work: fairy-tale’ first performed on 4 October Austria under Emperor Rudolf II into the the painful renunciation of ambition, 1834, distils the message of the dangerous abyss of the Thirty Years War (1618-48). happiness and all forms of active fulfilment vanity of action and ambition into The optimism of Ottokar gives way in in life. parable-like form. Set against an oriental Bruderzwist to a dawning awareness background, it presents the story of of the destructive historical forces The fate of Jason, the hero of Das Rustan, an ambitious but essentially weak unleashed by nationalism and populist goldene Vlies, demonstrates graphically young man, whose vision of himself as a democracy, which dominated the later how action and ambition lead only to conquering hero is realised in a dream. But nineteenth century and destroyed the disaster. The Jason who at the start of the by the end of the dream Rustan’s apparent Habsburg Empire, and much more, in the play leaves Greece with his Argonauts rise to glory has led him only to crime twentieth. on a mission to sail to distant Colchis and death; on awakening, the chastened and return with the fabled Golden Fleece young man decides to stay within the Grillparzer made his theatrical is, by the play’s end, a broken man modest bounds of his station, abandoning breakthrough with the first performance consumed by guilt; he has achieved his all desire for greatness. of Die Ahnfrau (The Ancestress) ambition of acquiring the Golden Fleece, on 31 January 1817. The play is a and it has destroyed him. The fleece An intriguing character in Der Traum Library plaque

A plaque has been unveiled at The Wiener Library in acknowledgement of the AJR’s support for their work over the past 70 years.

Ben Barkow, Director of the Library, which has just been officially awarded Designated status by the Arts Council in Engand in recognition of the outstanding quality of its collections, commented: “The AJR and The Wiener Library perform important complementary “At many times over past decades the support of the AJR has roles in relation to the refugee community. The AJR tends to the well- been fundamental, most notably during the 1970s when a being and physical support of the refugees and their families while funding crisis put the Library’s future at risk, and in 2011, when The Wiener Library preserves the records and memories of this special the Library moved to its current premises in Russell Square. community and allows the wider world to learn about the challenges they faced and overcame. I am very proud that the Library and the “We are grateful to the AJR for their continued support, which AJR are such close partners and that together we serve those forced allows the Library to fulfil our vision for the future – to collect, to flee their homes so many years ago. preserve and share our archive with the world.”

2 AJR Journal | January 2018 ein Leben is the slave Zanga, who in of self-destruction as the clash between the dream eggs Rustan on to satisfy his the forces of Spanish-Austrian Catholicism lust for glory regardless of the moral and Czech Protestantism bursts into open DEBATE cost. Figures like Zanga, Zawisch von warfare in Prague in 1618. Rosenberg in König Ottokars Glück und OF THE Ende and Duke Otto of Meran in Ein The drama ends with the outbreak of treuer Diener seines Herrn (A Faithful the Thirty Years War, but Grillparzer also Servant of His Master) (1828) embody looks forward to the future conflicts of MONTH the principle of action as destruction, the twentieth century. Foreseeing the morally culpable per se. Duke Otto destructive potential of the nascent forces appears – not unlike Shakespeare’s Iago – of popular nationalism in the central to be motivated purely to do evil, leaving Europe of his day, Grillparzer gives the death and destruction in his wake. religious conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism a national dimension, as if The theme of action and ambition leading the conflict between Czechs and Germans to catastrophe gains a European dimension in 1618 prefigured the national tensions in Ein Bruderzwist in Habsburg. The that consumed Europe in the century policy of masterly inaction employed after his death. The revolution of 1848 by the Emperor Rudolf II to prevent had taught Grillparzer to be suspicious of an outbreak of religious war in central populism masquerading as democracy; Europe is undermined by other members he foresaw the ease with which cynical of the house of Habsburg. His brother populists could manipulate the masses Matthias, blinded by vanity and ambition, by playing on nationalism, bigotry and sets in train the chain of events that intolerance of those of different racial leads to the Thirty Years War when he and national identities. Not the least seeks to replace Rudolf on the imperial of his achievements was his depiction throne. Archduke Ferdinand, the future of figures representing ‘the Other’: the Was the German court right Emperor Ferdinand II, is a Catholic bigot alien ‘barbarian’ Medea shunned by to rule that the 96 year old bent only on extirpating what he sees the ‘civilised’ Greeks; Zanga, the black former Nazi SS guard Oskar as the Protestant heresy; his actions, he man enslaved by Arabs; and above all Groening, known as the believes, are divinely sanctioned. Archduke the small, embattled community of Jews ‘bookkeeper of Auschwitz’ is memorably portrayed in the historical Leopold, Rudolf’s favourite, takes action fit enough to serve a four-year on behalf of the Emperor he loves, but drama Die Jüdin von Toledo (The Jewess succeeds only in fatally undermining him; of Toledo) (1851), the objects of both prison sentence? representing the spirit of action, Don scorn and secret desire by their Christian Cäsar, Rudolf’s illigitimate son, embarks supposed betters. Email [email protected] with on destruction that climaxes in his own your thoughts. suicide. Europe, too, hurtles into the abyss Anthony Grenville

THE POWER OF WORDS

Please join us for our service holding a panel discussion before the to commemorate Holocaust service, entitled: ‘Personal Archives: Perspectives on Protection, Preservation, Memorial Day (HMD) 2018 Digitisation, and Donation’ advice on opportunities to digitise at 2pm on Wednesday and donate family correspondence Beginning at 11.30, the panel discussion and memorabilia to educational and 24 January 2018 at the Belsize will be introduced and chaired by Dr research institutions. Square Synagogue, 51 Belsize Bea Lewkowicz (AJR Refugee Voices Archive) and will feature representatives A light lunch will be served at Square, London NW3 4HX. from the Jewish Museum, the Wiener around 1pm. To secure a place at the Library, the Imperial War Museum, workshop and/or the commemoration Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg will be the Research Centre for German and service please contact Rosemary officiating and refreshments will be Austrian Exile Studies, and the London Peters [email protected] and/or served after the service. Metropolitan Archives. Members of the Karin Pereira [email protected] at the panel will present their collections and AJR. If you would like to book lunch Reflecting the theme for HMD 2018, address the protection and preservation please send a cheque for £10 to The ‘The Power of Words’, we will be of documents. The panel will also give Association of Jewish Refugees.

3 AJR Journal | January 2018 Blind triumph

If there was ever a tale of Theresienstadt. Hans and his mother Rösler. After their marriage she worked were later notified by the International as a designer for several London triumph over adversity, the life Red Cross of his death “as a result of department stores; in addition she story of Hans Cohn must be medical surgery”. drove Hans to and from his professional appointments, as well as herself one of the most significant. He When the Kindertransports started, travelling to Paris for the major fashion was born in Berlin in 1923 to a Hans’ mother became Matron of the shows. This took a great toll on their girls’ hostel which gained fame recently marriage and they divorced in 1957. lawyer and his wife and studied in “The Pianist of Willesden Lane”. at the prestigious Französiches Hans fondly remembers staying with his In 1961 he married Steffi Steinhardt, mother in the school holidays, when he introduced by a doctor friend of his Gymnasium, the French Institute was the only boy in the hostel. mother’s (coincidentally also named in Berlin, founded in 1686. Hans Cohn). Steffi had an inherited condition of retinitis pigmentosa, which ultimately left her blind. They In 1934 a fight broke out in the were married for 57 years until she auditorium between two boys, one died in 2016. Jewish, the other a Hitler youth, about who should sit in a certain seat. Hans’ Since schooldays Hans had been a misfortune was to be in the adjacent keen chess player and in 1948 he seat; a glancing punch inadvertently joined the Braille Chess Association hit Hans in the eyes, detaching the (BCA), which enabled blind players to retina. Despite an operation by the eye take part in postal chess games. Hans surgeon to the Dutch Royal family, it was its president from 1988 to 1992. was not possible to save his sight. He was introduced to the Jewish Blind Society by his friend Manfred The headmaster felt the school was Vanson (whose daughter writes a partly responsible and enabled Hans regular column from Israel for the to continue attending, thus becoming AJR Journal) and in 1960 became a one of the first recipients of integrated member of its Executive council. He education. But in 1938 grammar also joined the editorial committee school education became forbidden and Executive council of the RNIB and for Jewish boys so Hans’ parents sent the NFB (the National Federation of him to England, to Worcester College Hans Cohn today, with a portrait painted of him in his the Blind in the UK). for the Blind, where he studied until earlier days by a friend. 1942. Speech Day was attended by the The BCA has asked him to write a director of the Viennese Jewish Braille After matriculation Hans trained as a history of the organisation (which now Institute and the former Prime Minister physiotherapist at the Royal National has around 250 members) so his dining- Stanley Baldwin, between whom Hans Institute for the Blind (RNIB). Whilst room table is currently piled high with acted as interpreter. As a result, when there, he contracted German measles, fifty years’ worth of voluminous BCA Hans’ immigration permit was about to leaving him partially deaf. He qualified bulletins in Braille. expire, Baldwin was his guarantor. in 1945, the first blind refugee to do so, and one of only very few men in a In the 1970s Hans obtained a BA in Hans studied English, French and German then female-dominated profession. Humanities with the Open University, in Braille and is possibly the only person and in 1995 he was awarded the MBE able to read Braille in three languages. He Hans set up a thriving private practice for his work in helping to restructure also has a good working knowledge of and, with the advent of the NHS in the environment for the benefit of blind Latin and Russian. 1948, spent the next seventeen years and visually-impaired people. Even as physiotherapist at various London in retirement Hans is extremely busy. In 1939 his mother entered Britain hospitals, ending up as the only male He modestly says that he is a “Jack of on a Domestic Permit but his father’s physiotherapist at Willesden General all trades and master of none” but, profession as a German lawyer was Hospital. reviewing his long, successful and active not in demand in the UK, despite his life, it is totally impossible to agree with famous clients who included Marlene A great passion of Hans’ is music (he his assessment of himself. Dietrich and Max Rheinhardt. In 1942 plays the piano). In 1947 he organised a he was transported from Berlin to charity concert and met actress Martha Lilian Levy

4 AJR Journal | January 2018

A WONDERFUL VISIT TO ISRAEL

Nazi-occupied Europe with the help of pictures, videos and survivors’ testimonies. I felt I was personally being transported. Finally, seeing the light, gave me a sense of hope. In the Hall of Testimonies I discovered that my late uncle Josef Seckl had registered his parents and his uncle, and I brought home copies of these certificates to his sister, my mother Martha. I urge anyone who has not yet registered the names of family or friends to do so, to make the records complete.

We saw how Jerusalem has spread, with all buildings compulsorily made of limestone. At the Knesset Zohar explained that in democratic Israel all members of society are represented Thirteen AJR members joined in 1948 and I never dreamed I would be in in the Government – Israeli Arabs, group leaders Lorna Moss, the very room 69 years later. Orthodox, Reform and Secular Jews. Carole Rossen and Rosemary The Palmach museum took us through the We visited the Kotel – what a privilege Peters in November for the history of Haganah’s forceS before, during to touch it and pray with thousands of fourth AJR trip to Israel. After a and after Israel’s hard-won Independence. others. I had never dreamed I would comfortable flight we were met walk through both Arab and Jewish Another excursion took us to the Atlit Jerusalem. Most of our group went by our very capable guide, Zohar. Detention Centre, where we learned how through the tunnels and said it was He turned out to be a mine of our brethren suffered under the British. quite an experience. The slow crawl up information, always ready to Camp survivors likened their experiences to the Kotel made the visit even more answer questions no matter how to the Camps, with delousing and other poignant – we were like pilgrims visiting cleansing carried out before admittance, the Temple on the Foot Festivals – complex or controversial. barbed wire fences and guards all round. Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. Strict quotas were placed on the number A feast met us at our Tel Aviv hotel. of immigrants, the bulk of whom were I should like to thank our three leaders Our food throughout was excellent turned back and transported to Cyprus. for organising such a successful trip. We and our rooms all had splendid views There was one successful attempt at learnt so much from Zohar, it would of the sea front and of the city, which transferring 250 detainees to local be wonderful to have him as our guide had grown enormously since my last kibbutzim: Palmach fighters got the British on a future visit to Israel for which, we visit in 1987. The programme was very soldiers to attend a party on Christmas Eve hope, we won’t have to wait too long. well planned – no consecutive full-day where they were plied with alcohol. It was Patricia Tausz excursions, with later starts following an ingenious plan and it worked. the more strenuous days. There was ample free time to do our own thing We visited the Sea of Galilee and travelled Eve Willman adds: and/or visit family and friends. across its peaceful waters in an ‘ancient Israel is a beautiful and interesting boat’. I had never put a toe in the Sea of country and the way the trip was Excursions included a short visit to Jaffe, Galilee, let alone sailed on it. planned showcased all the varied where Jews and Arabs live peacefully aspects: the beauty of the scenery like side by side. We visited Independence During a visit to Kibbutz Lavi we were told Lake Kinneret; the modern like Tel Aviv Hall where we relived the Declaration of its history and what has been achieved and the ancient Jerusalem. We were of Israel’s Independence by listening by those who immigrated from the camps lucky to have such a knowledgeable to a recording of the speech on 14 of Europe. Guide. I learnt so much. May 1948 at 16.00 hours and felt the tension and anxieties as the deadline We had two full-day visits to Jerusalem. Last but not least was how the AJR drew closer. Standing for the Hatikvah Visiting Yad Vashem was painful and team cared for us. From the moment at after the declaration made us feel we poignant for everyone. The slow- the airport when I was greeted, it truly really had been present. I was only four moving crowds made their way through was a blue ribbon affair.

5 AJR Journal | January 2018 Letters to the Editor The Editor reserves the right to shorten correspondence submitted for publication.

MEMORIES OF WILFRID ISRAEL wealth, whilst the poorest 50% own a Next stop was Banbury, in Oxfordshire, I was interested to see on the back page mere 8.7%! working for the Friendly Society Medical of your November issue that Naomi Association, and then in 1948 came the Shepherd’s biography of Wilfrid Israel has Mr Goldsmith seems to categorise all NHS. The Society was disbanded and my now been re-issued as an e-book. refugees as economic migrants, which is father was his own boss again, running the nonsense: there are civil wars raging in largest surgery in Banbury, with a branch As a child who arrived in London at the Syria, Iraq and Iranian Kurdistan, Kurds are surgery in Kings Sutton. He died in 1965 age of six (via Prague) with my parents an oppressed minority in Turkey, in Africa and there was a large memorial service to in 1935, I met Wilfrid before the war there is civil war in Mali and South Sudan, him at the local parish church, St. Mary’s. through my maternal uncle, Werner Behr. Christians are oppressed in the Muslim part The British Medical Association allowed him I remember him quite distinctly as slightly of Nigeria. to continue the good work he had been “other-worldly”. When war came I, as doing in Vienna, but I wonder why he was a law-abiding “enemy alien”, passed the I agree with him on one point: that the rule one of the lucky few? I am so glad he was. centrepiece of my small curio collection, an of law needs protection. But the protection Peter Phillips, Loudwater, Herts. antique pistol, over to Wilfrid who, after all, is needed from a government which is was a genuine British citizen. Alas, because attacking Parliament – with clauses dating he was assassinated by the Luftwaffe (in from the time of Henry VIII. Dr. Grenville refers to Britain as a land the same plane as the actor Leslie Howard) of hope and glory, but his contention I never saw my treasure again. Mr Goldsmith, in his presentation of that refugees (particularly child refugees) conservatism, contrasts it only with were badly treated is contradicted by the After the war I also got to know Naomi, socialism. That too is inaccurate. If we wish recollection of some refugees who tell and my impression of her was that she to record our debt to the broad mass of a completely different story. It is further was “something of a blue stocking” (then the population then we must give official contradicted by the article on page 13 current slang for an intellectual female). Tory-ism a wide berth, and whilst I would of the same issue about Alice and Angus Michael Feld, London N3 welcome support for Labour, there are Argles. also Lib.Dems and Greens to consider, and additional good choices for those in These were very difficult times, and we BRITAIN OR THE BRITISH? Scotland or Wales. could not have expected to be received with With respect Philip Goldsmith (“Brussel Francis Deutsch, Essex sheer perfection and benevolence. Some Spouts”, November 2017), all of us of the people who looked after refugees refugees must feel grateful to those who probably also found it difficult to cope. helped to keep us alive. LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY There were bound to be some unhappy Anthony Grenville writes in his front experiences; that’s life, we are all frail human But should we be grateful to Britain? page article Land of Hope and Glory? beings with many faults. As a character says Or the British folk? I, for one, feel little (November issue) “The professional bodies in the last scene of a famous film “Nobody’s gratitude to the Britain who “Never, never representing doctors and dentists accepted perfect”. The real question is: would shall be slaves” nor can I hope that “Wider only a tiny number of practitioners onto the refugees, even those with unhappy still and wider shall her bounds be spread”. their registers.” My father, Dr Marcus experiences, have been better off had they ‘Official’ Britannia acted soullessly, carefully Pfeffer, was one of the lucky ones. We not come to Britain? Obviously not. evaluating public pressure for generosity to escaped from Vienna in February 1939. Hitler’s victims against right-wing press and In my case I came with my family just political pressure to appease Hitler. We were blitzed twice in London – in before the war, and I appreciate that to Haverstock Hill and Fellows Road. We come alone as a child, without parents, So the bulk of my gratitude is to the British moved to Garston, near Watford in late would have been a horrendous experience. people. Not all, but the great mass of 1941. Early in 1943 my father was offered I am a British citizen, but I have never them and, because their pressure moved a post in Dagenham as an Assistant Doctor felt particularly English or British, but I officialdom, I consider Mr Goldsmith to Dr Jo Finer, a younger man, a fellow acknowledge that had we not come to superficial as he considers himself obligated Jew but, importantly, British. He accepted Britain we would most probably not have to Britannia alone. and we moved to a council house in the survived. So let us have some decency, and working class area of Becontree. The joy show gratitude, and appreciate that we Secondly he is ill-informed if he believes of my father being able to work again was were able to come to practically the only that socio-economic conditions have beyond description. Ironically, within two country which would let us enter to be safe improved. The opposite is true of the years, a Flying Bomb hit us in Becontree too and secure. last 7 – 8 years. The richest 10% of the but although the house was demolished we Mendel Storz, London N16 population own 45% of our gross national escaped unscathed.

6 AJR Journal | January 2018

Piece together your family history In the 1930s and 40s, World Jewish Relief rescued tens of thousands of people from the Nazis. We have the digitised family records of those we helped. Now we want to give them back to you, for free.

Find out if we helped your family at: www.worldjewishrelief.org/archives “ These papers are a piece 020 8736 1250 of family history which I will treasure forever” Jerry Springer

Anthony Grenville’s article ‘Land of THERESIENSTADT After looking many times at the memorial Hope and Glory? Part 2’ (December) Of all Frank Bright’s regular contributions I fully understand the thoughts behind it. undoubtedly captured the experience of to this Journal, I found his letter in internment and the feeling of injustice felt your November issue about his time in May I therefore suggest that, when the by many of the internees. Yet he failed Theresienstadt the most interesting and Holocaust Memorial is placed in London, to give credit to the cross-party MPs informative, though so sad. My parents perhaps also some explanation of the who took up the cause of the internees and younger brother also suffered this thoughts behind it is given? and worked tirelessly to ameliorate the terrible experience before their death, Martha Tausz, London N6 situation. and I can only imagine what it must have been like. By comparison, how Most notable was Miss Eleanor lucky I was to have been so wonderfully LUCKY SOUTH-EASTERNERS Rathbone MP who, as founder of the received in Britain, after benefitting from I have just renewed my annual Parliamentary Committee on Refugees, the efforts of the Berlin Kindertransport subscription with delight, but feel campaigned relentlessly on behalf of organisers. strongly that you in the South East should refugees and internees along with Werner Conn (formerly Cohn), volunteer at least double for the generous fellow MPs Col Josiah Wedgwood Lytham St. Annes facilities and opportunities open to you, and Victor Cazalet, amongst others. from grand opera to house-rewiring. We Her visits to camps up and down were not all exiled to NW3. the country boosted the morale of THANK YOU GLORIA Dr. Hans L. Eirew, Manchester internees, who recognised her humanity I am dictating this letter to my daughter and determination to challenge Patricia. Words cannot express how government policies on their behalf. much I appreciate your audio issue of the SAD NEWS She tabled over 80 parliamentary Journal and I would like you to convey I am sure that I won’t be the only one to questions on internment alone. Her my special thanks to Gloria Tessler, your express my profound sadness at the news dogged activism made her many Art Reporter. that our greatly esteemed Consultant enemies within government circles, but Editor, Anthony Grenville, has decided she stuck to her principles, earning her I am most grateful to her for her many to retire. His many thoughtful and well a reputation amongst the refugees as articles but should like to mention researched articles have been a major the ‘MP for Refugees’. specially the November issue and her feature of the Journal and the Journal Dr Susan Cohen and Lesley Urbach notes on the Holocaust Memorial won’t be the same without them. Remembering Eleanor Rathbone Group in Vienna’s Judenplatz by Rachel Leslie Baruch Brent (Emeritus Professor), Whiteread. London N10

7 AJR Journal | January 2018 ART NOTES: by Gloria Tessler

Bellboys and pastry cooks, chamber maids and waiters, chefs and sous- chefs; all the underclass of Parisian hotel life in the belle époque are seen through the eyes of Chaim Soutine, with empathy, with distance, with cynicism.

Soutine’s Portraits: Cooks, Waiters and which reflect the nervous demeanour Bellboys at the Courtauld Gallery, the or anxiety in their faces. The butcher’s first British exhibition of Soutine’s works boy’s overalls are soaked in blood; in over 35 years, describes the life as an Expressionist metaphor it is shared by these hotel workers, painting direct and visceral. While one bellboy, images of their insecurity and how they spread-eagled in his crimson uniform, see their roles. Perhaps they reflected has a sneering, insouciant look, Amadeo Modigliani The Little Peasant c.1918 the artist’s own humble beginnings as a another similarly dressed, has much copyright Tate Russian immigrant struggling to make less bravado. He stands awkwardly, his living in Paris alongside his close poignantly waiting, as waiters do, friend Amadeo Modigliani. not offering but begging. Many whom he also painted in 1919. A day share the same pointy face and large after he died she threw herself off a By the 1920s and 30s, Soutine had ears – suggesting the poignancy of balcony, pregnant with their second become one of the leading painters in raw emotion stretched into a visceral child but unable to face life without Paris, a natural successor to Vincent unhappiness in a life of service. him. Van Gogh. Captivated by the staff of Until 21 January the city’s grand hotels, he painted them There is less sense of caricature in in various roles. He was interested Modigliani’s fluid work than you might in the contrast between the power Some critics suggest that the real gift see in Soutine’s. In Modigliani’s case expressed by their uniforms and their to the current Modigliani exhibition there seems less edge but perhaps more personal insecurity. Even the white of at Tate Modern, described as the breadth of vision, even though Soutine’s their overalls is broken into semi tones most comprehensive ever held in the apparent voyeurism is mitigated by UK, is his sculptures. He started out genuine empathy. as a sculptor, but turned to painting, Until 2 April perhaps because stone carving might have worsened the health of a man already suffering from a pulmonary condition and TB. The few he made LOST VOICES are bold and powerful, a throwback to African or Egyptian influences, and their On Sunday 27 January at 7pm a special solidity is a powerful contrast to his concert at the Royal Academy of Music supine nudes, with their elegant limbs, will showcase music written by composers in their apparently effortless seductive lost in the Holocaust. Tickets are £7.00 / poses. £5.50 from 020 7873 7300 or www.ram.ac.uk. Tate’s exhibition features the largest group of his nudes ever shown in the UK. Twelve are on show in an exhibition Annely Juda Fine Art which also includes an immersive experience in which, with the aid of 23 Dering Street technology, you can be projected into (off New Bond Street) the studio where he created his last Tel: 020 7629 7578 work in 1919, a self-portrait, in which Fax: 020 7491 2139 Little Pastry Cook (Le petit The Chambermaid the robust Italian face has dwindled to pâtissier), c.1921. Portland by Soutine a narrow image of one facing death. CONTEMPORARY Art Museum, Oregon, Ella M. Hirsch Fund Modigliani’s tragedy is also the tragedy PAINTING AND SCULPTURE of his last partner, Jeanne Hébuterne,

8 AJR Journal | January 2018 Friedlander in Ditchling Next spring, Ditchling Museum Anna Simons, who in turn had studied of Art + Craft presents the story under Ditchling luminary Edward Johnston. Her delicate, elegant typeface ‘Elizabeth’ of designer and typographer was originally to be called ‘Friedlander’ Elizabeth Friedlander (1903-84). but was hastily changed to the anglicised version of her first name to avoid confrontation with Hitler’s regime. Friedlander exhibition Best known for her Penguin book covers and Bauer Type Foundry typeface Friedlander had come to England on books but her work was not limited to ‘Elizabeth’, the exhibition will touch on a Domestic Servant visa but managed print and typography: she was equally at her escape to London from 1930s Nazi to find work in the newly-formed home with ornamental design, producing Germany, friendship with her sponsor – wartime black propaganda unit, forging stunning pattern paper designs for Curwen poet and printer Francis Meynell – and her Wehrmacht and Nazi rubber stamps and Press, ornamental borders for Linotype, and work during a wartime. ration books. She privately also produced ‘Friedlander Borders’ for Monotype. a simple but beautiful wood engraving of The exhibition is co-curated by video artist a searchlight over St Paul’s Cathedral, as a Friedlander moved to County Cork, Ireland and author Katharine Meynell, grand- 1942 Christmas card. in the 1960s where she continued to work daughter of Francis Meynell, who produced and, although hampered by her failing ‘Elizabeth’, a short film about the artist Post-war Friedlander produced commercial eyesight, pursued her love of gardening which will be shown in the exhibition. works for The Times, illustrated maps for and designed keepsakes for local crafts. BOAC and Shell and delicate calligraphic Friedlander trained at the Berlin Academy insteps for Saxone Shoes. She continued 6 January - 29 April 2018 and was tutored by German calligrapher to design extraordinary covers for Penguin www.ditchlingmuseumartcraft.org.uk

AT YOUR SERVICE: Educational Grants

As well as serving Holocaust ten years working with the Holocaust Israel: The Essential Link as part of the refugees and survivors Educational Trust and is also part of the UK Jewish Film Festival, and is facilitating the delegation to the International Holocaust creation of new digital content for the nationwide, the AJR is committed Remembrance Alliance. Anne Frank Trust. to the education of future generations about the Holocaust. “The AJR offers two different types of “The ideal projects are those which grants,” explains Alex. “Catalyst Grants reach diverse audiences and have strong We regularly provide financial and other of up to £10,000 are available to support multiplier effects,” says Alex. “AJR can support to educational, research and initiatives in their infancy which have a support these and be a key partner, commemorative projects through our limited target audience. We can also award without controlling the actual delivery.” formal process for impact-focused grant Project Support Grants of over £10,000 making. Our Educational Grants Advisor for exceptional, larger-scale projects which The grants are mainly drawn from Alex Maws is the primary contact have potential to make significant impact.” legacies bequeathed by AJR members for charities and institutions which determined that future generations request financial support for Holocaust Major projects that have been awarded should learn from their experiences. remembrance and educational projects. grants in the past few months include Alex has drawn up a clear framework to He joined the AJR in early 2017 after the new Holocaust Learning Centre at ensure that firm expectations are agreed the University of Huddersfield, which is in advance for any projects, and that Alex Maws due to open this summer, and a major rigorous evaluation is put into place. educational project aimed at sharing stories from Willesden Lane and Kindertransport “The application process helps our testimonies with students in years 6-8. A delivery partners think very carefully fuller article about this project, which is due about what they are trying to achieve and to launch in the Spring, will appear in the why, and makes the AJR feel confident February issue of the AJR Journal. that our partners and their projects will actually deliver” Alex explains. The AJR also supported the recent UK premiere of a documentary entitled Wilfred For more information: [email protected].

9 AJR Journal | January 2018 A man deprived and

This January would have been the get murdered every 10 minutes, a total of he remained eternally grateful for their 94th birthday of Fiszel Lisner, who 250,000 during his incarceration. support. spent almost the entire period of In January 1945 Fiszel was taken on a At a tea dance in London’s West End ‘death march’ to Theresienstadt. The Fiszel – now known as Philip – met Yetta WWII in concentration camps. majority of prisoners perished from (Hetty), the daughter of Polish immigrants. hypothermia and starvation during the They made an attractive couple and, after Fiszel was born in the Polish town of 300 mile journey, but Fiszel managed marrying in July 1948 at Jubilee Street Zdunska Wola, approximately 40 miles to survive on a diet of mainly grass and Synagogue, moved into a flat in South from Lodz. He was the eldest of five twigs, working in Theresienstadt’s bullet Woodford owned by Fiszel’s Uncle Charlie. children and the family was poor. His father workshop until the camp was liberated by Estelle was born the following May, spent the winters driving cattle and the the Russians on VE Day. followed by Larry, Maralyn and Suzanne. summers painting and decorating. Larry and Maralyn were born exactly a year Fiszel had been incarcerated for over five apart, in 1950 and 1951 respectively, on The Germans invaded Poland on years, but he was one of the lucky ones. 24 August – the same date that all Fiszel’s 1 September 1939, turning Zdunska Wola Returning to Zdunska Wola he discovered sisters and brother had perished in Poland. and many other Polish towns into ghettos. that the town had been liquidated on 24 Conditions immediately became very hard, August 1942 and all his siblings had been Fiszel worked long hours to escape his and Fiszel’s mother died just four months burnt alive in the forest. His father had demons. His various ventures included a café later of unknown causes, aged only 36. been taken in by some cousins in Lodz, but and a coat factory, eventually selling ladies Shortly afterwards Fiszel’s father was listed had died in 1945 before VE Day. clothing. It was a tough regime, covering for deportation. Sixteen year old Fiszel several different markets each week, and opted to take his place so his father could Fiszel’s mother had an older sister, Sylvia, he had difficulty supporting his family. With stay with the other, younger children. He who came to England before WW1 with the AJR’s help he managed to secure an spent three years in a labour camp, working her husband Charlie Glicksman and had adequate enough pension to retire in 1995. on an autobahn, before being transferred done very well. Fiszel managed to contact Hetty had sadly passed away eleven years to Auschwitz in 1943. There he worked them and, after sending one of their sons- earlier from diabetic complications, but Fiszel down the coal mines, which were so in-law to meet him, they arranged for him never remarried. He died in 2003 on Xmas dangerous that the German officers rarely to come to England. They offered to adopt Eve from an aneurysm which was caused by bothered to visit. Fiszel managed to survive, him but Fiszel was reluctant to give up his an enlarged heart – a direct result from his unlike the majority of his co-workers, and name, having fought for so many years early years of slave labour. even occasionally received extra food to survive. He was also uncomfortable from the Polish miners. He saw someone with their opulent lifestyle, although Although never deeply religious, Fiszel was very proud to be Jewish and was initially very upset when his children all chose to marry out. He never covered up his number tattoo but shied away from formal Holocaust education, preferring to share his stories on a one-to-one basis with family, friends and customers. In January 1995 he revisited Auschwitz as part of the 50th anniversary commemorations. Despite the extensive media coverage the visit was emotionally traumatic for him and marked the start of the heart problems which eventually killed him.

Asked how he survived when so many others perished, Fiszel used to name two factors. The first was that he had grown up in a very poor family, making him well used to hardship. The second was that he never gave up hope that there was something still to live for (he harboured a secret crush on a childhood friend), which gave him the Some of Fiszel’s precious memorabilia. impetus to keep on going.

10 AJR Journal | January 2018 a man supported

Larry Lisner is Fiszel’s son. His father’s Holocaust experiences have had a profound effect on his own life and on that of his sisters.

“We grew up surrounded by Holocaust survivors, but none of them really spoke about it until 50 years later,” he explains. “Our dad always seemed to be working. The only times I regularly saw him were when we went to watch Arsenal together.”

Larry himself left school at 16 and, like his father, tried his hand at several different professions. These included helping a close friend to establish a successful car brakes business, running a cut-price store in Dagenham and working for the Customs and Excise department. Forced to retire on health grounds in his 40s, he now spends his time helping other people within the close Southend community where he now lives, and pursuing his favourite hobbies of art, table tennis, snooker and fitness.

The AJR is an integral part of his life. He used to bring his father to the regional meetings and continued attending after Fiszel passed away. In 2005 he took over the minutes of the meetings, and also writes regular reports for the ‘Around the AJR’ section of the AJR Journal.

“The AJR has given me a constancy and I have grown very close to several of the other local members, including survivors,” he says.

Larry has also developed a very strong rapport with Dean Lloyd-Graham, his local AJR Social Worker. They speak at least once a fortnight, giving Larry the chance to discuss many different aspects of his life. Dean also advises Larry on his eligibility for financial support through the AJR’s Self Aid scheme, through Larry Lisner with his local AJR Social Worker, Dean Lloyd-Graham which he has recently been able to get a new cooker and a new sofa.

Currently looking forward to the birth of his second WHY NOT TRY AJR’S grandchild, Larry is grateful that both his sons live MEALS ON WHEELS SERVICE? nearby. He is very active within the Southend and The AJR offers a kosher Meals on Wheels service Westcliff Hebrew Congregation, regularly making up delivered to your door once a week. a minyan and contributing to the shul magazine. The meals are freshly cooked every week by Kosher to Go. “If I have one piece of advice for other AJR They are then frozen prior to delivery. members, it’s to never be too proud to ask for help,” The cost is £7.00 for a three-course meal (soup, main course, desert) he says. “The AJR has been a fantastic support for plus a £1 delivery fee. me and I’m sure there are other members out there who would benefit from the wonderful services they Our aim is to bring good food to your door provide.” without the worry of shopping or cooking. For further details, please call AJR Head Office on 020 8385 3070. Jo Briggs

11 AJR Journal | January 2018

In 1957, Erich was devastated when his surprise, he was knighted in May, 2010. REVIEWS brother Ossie, who had looked after him on the Kindertransport, died suddenly. This very readable and frank account of THE BOY IN THE STATUE Erich hurried to England but arrived just a remarkable life, with its many ups and FROM WARTIME VIENNA TO a day too late to see him. He writes downs, is written with sensitivity and BUCKINGHAM PALACE movingly about his brother and the effect gentle humour. It ranges from a tragic By Sir Erich Reich this loss had on him. parting from his parents to eventually i2i Publishing, Manchester 2017 achieving a highly respected position in the ASIN – B074DW4SYV Having come to England, Erich stayed on Jewish and the wider community in Britain. for some time working for the Kibbutz George Vulkan Quite a life! This auto biography traces movement. It was during this time that he the remarkable, extremely varied life met his first wife, Yona, and together they of a Viennese boy who started in very returned to Israel and Merchavyia. In 1958 THE STORY OF HUMANKIND unpromising circumstances and who a baby girl was born but unfortunately the By Eli S. LeJeune achieved the honour of being knighted marriage did not last. In 1963 he accepted (London: Austin Macaulay Publishers, in Buckingham Palace. an offer from Mapam, the socialist Zionist 2017) movement, to run a hostel in Manchester ISBN-10: 1786933993 The statue in the title refers to the for prospective Israeli immigrants. ISBN-13: 978-1786933997 Kindertransport Memorial at Liverpool Street Station commemorating the Here he met his second wife, Diana. The story of humankind is no small thing arrival in Britain of nearly 10,000 In 1964 they had a son, Allon, and the and to tackle it in 224 pages of fairly large Jewish children just before the war. The couple moved to Israel, although Diana font is a considerable accomplishment, majority came from Berlin, Vienna and found it difficult to adjust to Kibbutz life. especially as Eli LeJeune commences with Prague via Hook of Holland to Harwich. In 1967 Diana again became pregnant the Big Bang many millions of years before In Erich’s case his route was rather and they returned temporarily to London our species had even appeared on the different. so that she could be near her parents. scene. To add to the achievement, this is This move became permanent and Erich almost two books in one, in that it dicusses At the age of four he had already reluctantly left Israel after 18 mostly happy both science and religion. The first four experienced the horrors of the family’s years. chapters take one from the creation of our forced departure from Vienna to universe, through the various geological Poland and then the painful separation As in 1939, his future prospects looked formations and onto the emergence of from his parents, whom he never saw bleak, but he was able to put his human life. In this brief summary we get a again. He was one of only 70 children leadership skills and strong sense of lot of useful basic information such as the who came direct from Poland on the purpose to good use and soon found his size of our galaxy, the distance between us ‘Warszawa’, a Polish steamer, arriving metier in the tourism industry, rising to and the sun, the vast timescale of creation, in London six days before Britain director level in both the Thomson and and the names and approximate dates of entered the war. Thomas Cook organisations. Amongst earth’s main geological periods. It’s then some of the special tours he organised on to vertebrates, primates, hominids and, In England he was fortunate in being was one to Egypt which culminated in a eventually, humans. fostered by a very caring couple who, performance of ‘Aida’ at the Temple of although not Jewish, had escaped from Luxor, with Placido Domingo singing on Chapters five to twelve bring us to what German-occupied Sudetenland because the first night. is clearly the main motive for the book. of their political views. They ran a In the introduction Lejeune explains refugee hostel in Dorking, where Erich After leaving Thomas Cook he set up his that his interest in natural history and had a happy childhood and he kept in own company, Classic Tours. He organised anthropology led ‘along a different touch with his foster mother, Emilie, for specialised tours and participated in charity pathway’ in which he ‘sought to enrich the rest of her life. bike rides and treks in different countries, (his) understanding by introducing the particularly Israel. This aspect gave him God dimension’. The author tells us that At the age of 13 he was invited by great satisfaction and pride. During he ‘worked for several years in a financial an aunt to come to Israel, a move this time he became involved with the and commercial environment’ but oddly, which greatly influenced his future Kindertransport organisation, becoming in view of the content, fails to mention life. After staying in Haifa he spent the Chairman and representing it on the AJR (what I discovered via Google) the more next four years in a left-wing Kibbutz, Committee. A highlight was the 70th relevant fact that he used to be a member Merchavyia, in an environment which Anniversary in 2008 of the arrival of the of the Reading Hebrew Congregation. He really suited him. He became an Israeli Kinder in England. This moving event took asserts that ‘members of the human race citizen, joined the Army, became an place at the Jewish Free School in London, are both biological and theological beings’ officer and saw active service during with Prince Charles as guest of honour. and so writes in response to the current the Suez War. Among the many photos rise of atheist literature with its allegedly in the book, there is one of Erich as a Erich again met Prince Charles, this time ‘gratuitously offensive language levelled smart young Israeli soldier! at Buckingham Palace when, much to his against all forms of religious observance’.

12 AJR Journal | January 2018

LeJeune does not shy away from for her mother’s past friends whom BEREAVEMENT difficult challenges and so, for the schisms amongst the left in the example, takes up such questions Spanish Civil War had torn asunder. FRANK, GERALDINE as ‘Will my prayers be answered?’ Miriam travels from place to place, 15 November 1923 – 30 November 2017. and ‘Why does evil exist in a world poignantly attempting to relive and Greatly missed by her family and friends. created by God?’ In an attempt to compare her own and her mother’s reconcile Genesis with the theory experiences, and re-establishing of evolution, LeJeune recommends contacts across Europe which were that the word ‘day’ in the six days of a part of their artistic and cultural GREAT TENORS creation has to be taken as a ‘poetic world. expression of a non-specific period of time, perhaps comprising millions or Miriam is trying to fit together a even billions of years’. puzzle which has always perplexed her: how is it that her relationship The book ends with a with her mother, which was so recommendation of religion as close when Miriam was young, comforting and supportive. Surely became so antagonistic. For nobody doubts this, but the atheist Miriam’s mother, always moving, The recent snow in Leeds did not deter challenge, which this book purports never sure how she and her members of the Holocaust Survivors’ to take on, is really not about daughter would survive, Miriam Friendship Association from enjoying Barry the utility of religion but about was what made her struggles Abis’ presentation on “Famous Tenors”. its presumed truth. For LeJeune, worth enduring. But as Miriam The showcased performers ranged from the however, scientific truth is secondary. became increasingly independent, 1920’s to the present day, including Gigli, He prefers ‘intuitive faith, which her mother could not bear the Björling, Caruso, Lanza, Pavarotti, Domingo, is a faculty higher than intellect’. loss. The author allows us to Carerras, Russell Watson and Il Divo. This book is suitable for those of see how painful Miriam found you who have teenage children or her mother’s rejection, but also grandchildren who are starting to how their personal dynamic ponder fundamental questions. was a consequence of the deep AJR ANNUAL TRIP Michael Levin insecurities associated with rolling Join us this year in dislocation. NORFOLK UNFINISHED PORTRAIT There is much else besides. The title: Sunday 13th May –Thursday 17th May 2018 By Miriam Frank ’Unfinished Portrait’ alludes to the Publisher: Gibson Square Books Ltd portrait her husband painted of her. ISBN-10: 1783341238 He had worked hard on it but it had ISBN-13: 978-1783341238 remained an ‘unfinished portrait’. She had lost sight of it after their Miriam Frank’s mother fled Germany relationship broke up. Now Miriam to escape the Nazis and was forced comments on the eyes¸ one alive and to flee from one country to another truthful, the other filled with a dark as fascism came biting at her heels; pain mixed with defiance. But there mother and daughter moved from is another meaning of ‘Unfinished Coach travel from London to Norwich, plus four Spain to France, finally ending up Portrait’: Miriam feels that she has not nights’ accommodation in Norwich. We will also succeeded in resolving the complex in New Zealand via Mexico. Miriam help arrange travel from other parts of England was born into exile. Even when misunderstandings with her mother or to Norwich. theoretically settled in New Zealand, in completing her mother’s ‘portrait’. Miriam found an emotional chasm Highlights of this trip will include Sandringham House, Sandringham Church and Sandringham between herself and the other girls, Miriam searches for light and life Museum, Felbrigg Hall, an award winning National though many became her friends. wherever she is and whatever she is Trust Property, Norwich Cathedral, a boat trip on the Finally Miriam came to Britain experiencing; how far this represents Norfolk Broads, a steam train through the beautiful where she worked as a doctor and a response to an inner darkness is left countryside, Sainsbury’s Visual Arts Gallery, plus anaesthetist. to the reader to decide. good food and good company aplenty. Merilyn Moos All meals and travel will be included. Places are In this book, Miriam is hunting limited. memories, especially of her Have you read any books recently relationship with her mother, who which you think are worthy of Please call Susan Harrod on had been deeply involved in the a review in these pages? If so 020 8385 3070 for full information pack literary world as well as for a time please email our editorial team on and booking form or email being a Communist. Miriam searches [email protected] [email protected]

13 AJR Journal | January 2018

before, during and after WW2; the author was Today it is world-renowned and still a family- a Reuters correspondent in Eastern Europe. run business. Around Tom Horvath Neumann Kathy Cohen

Glasgow: “Action on Hearing Loss” Pinner: Jewish Chaplaincy to the UK the AJR (a talk by Malaika Rose) armed forces This was a good opportunity for members to From small beginnings in the 1890s, the two Brighton & Hove: Topical share hearing aid problems and to receive help World Wars saw large increases in the numbers Discussion and advice from someone who has always of Jewish Chaplains; well-known figures have We were greeted with hot tea and cake on a worn them. served and continue to do so. cold morning and a discussion on current affairs, Agnes Isaacs Robert Gellman including disputes between the railway unions, developed. Glasgow Book Club: “Cartes Radlett: Adam Worth: Ceska Abrahams Postales from Greece” by Victoria international criminal of the Hislop 1800s. Bromley: We saw the film Discussion of this novel was artfully guided David Barnett spoke fascinatingly on the life of “Watermarks”. by Agnes to recall vignettes within the main this rags-to-riches-and-back-to-rags criminal, As a keen erstwhile member of Hakoah-Koeln I story, even though not all present had finished who was buried in an unmarked grave in was fascinated to see the girls in the Vienna film, reading the book. Highgate cemetery. who became even more lively and enterprising Vivien Lobell Anita Grant in later life. Lore Robertson Ilford: The Life and Work of Danny Kaye AJR OUTING TO “An Ealing: “Growing up in the Soviet Lynne Bradley gave us a wonderful talk with American in Paris”. Union” illustrations of Kaye’s many recordings; we also This musical is truly spectacular. We This was an interesting talk by Svetlana-Ruti, learned about his early life and how he found experienced an afternoon of such colour, detailing the advantages of her former life which fame. Very nostalgic for us all… exuberance and amazing dance routines, was counterbalanced by great lack of freedom. Meta Roseneil as well as ever-changing stage settings, Leslie Sommer which were a joy to behold. Thanks to the Muswell Hill: “The Sturgeon team at AJR for arranging this visit …and Edgware: “The Budapest House” by Queen” for securing such wonderful seats for us. Marcus Ferrar We saw this delightful film on the humble Hanne R. Freedman This is a story about a Jewish family in Hungary origin of the NY fish deli “Russ & Daughters”.

CONTACTS JANUARY GROUP EVENTS

Susan Harrod All AJR members are welcome at any of these events; you do not have to be affiliated Lead Outreach & Events Co-ordinator to that particular group. As the exact timings of these events are often subject to last 020 8385 3070 [email protected] minute changes we do not include them in the AJR Journal and suggest you contact Wendy Bott the relevant regional contact for full details. Northern Outreach Co-ordinator Ilford 3 January Social get-together 07908 156 365 [email protected] Pinner 4 January Les Spitz – Photographer Agnes Isaacs Leeds CF 10 January Ex Police Inspector – Paul Leach Northern Outreach Co-ordinator 07908 156 361 [email protected] Glasgow Book Club 11 January Social get-together Hull 14 January Social get-together Kathryn Prevezer Southern Outreach Co-ordinator Prestwich/Whitefield 15 January Social get-together 07966 969 951 [email protected] Edgware 16 January David Harris: “A four sites saga: a short history of JFS” Eva Stellman Didsbury 17 January Social get-together Southern Outreach Co-ordinator Radlett 17 January Social get-together 07904 489 515 [email protected] Muswell Hill 18 January (Earlier due to HMD) Maurice Kanarek: ”Prisoners of Conscience” film and Talk on KT-AJR (Kindertransport) Refuseniks Susan Harrod 020 8385 3070 [email protected] North London 18 January (Earlier due to HMD) Social get-together Glasgow Main Group 23 January Holocaust Day Lecture – Prof Otto Huttrer Child Survivors’ Association-AJR Henri Obstfeld Harrogate/York 29 January Social get-together 020 8954 5298 [email protected] Book Club 31 January Social get-together

14 AJR Journal | January 2018

KINDERTRANSPORT LUNCH LOOKING Kinder were delighted to hear from Prof. Sir Simon Wessely, Regius Professor of Psychiatry, at King’s College London. Sir Simon’s father, FOR? Rudi, came on one of the Nicholas Winton Kindertransports. Sir Simon spoke about his father’s life and his The AJR regularly receives WETZLAR FAMILY return journeys to Prague. He told messages from our members Yvonee Levite Heurtier is looking for other descendants of Salomon Wetzlar, the audience about the documentary, and others looking for people or made with Esther Rantzen, of his father a silversmith in Bamberg, Germany, discovering the fate of his family during for help in particular subjects. and his wife Pauline, née Klein. Her such a return visit. Here are some of the most grandmother Brendina was one of their daughters. recent requests – please get in Sir Simon founded the King’s Centre for [email protected] Military Health Research. Its flagship touch directly with the person project is a large-scale ongoing study concerned if you can help. HACHSHARA / KITCHENER CAMP of the health and wellbeing of the Verena Buser is researching the UK Armed Forces, which had a direct history of hachsharot and non- impact on public policy, treatment and BUNCE COURT SCHOOL ALUMNI Zionist training sites in Nazi Germany. help for Service personnel. We heard Alexander Weidle, a historian at the Amongst those was the facility in about the work of the Israeli Army in University of Augsburg, is looking into Berlin-Niederschönhausen, led by helping regiments come to terms with the reasons for the separate suicides Leopold Kuh (Kew) and his wife Ruth. trauma they have suffered in combat of twins Ernst and Rudolf Farnbacher, They escaped in 1938/9 to England and how the British Army uses a who left Germany in August 1939 and built up the “Kitchener Camp” different method of treatment. aged 14 and attended Anna Essinger’s in Richborough. Verena would be “Bunce Court School“. Ernst interested to hear from former trainees We were very grateful to Sir Simon for committed suicide in 1941, Rudolf a who were in Niederschönhausen or in taking time out of his busy schedule to few years later. Alexander would like to the Kitchener Camp and who also went join us. hear from fellow pupils at Bunce Court to Australia or stayed in the UK. Janet Weston School in 1941 who might remember [email protected] the twins. [email protected] AMERICAN SCHOOL IN BERLIN Amy Minton is an historian and distant GLASGOW LUNCHTIME A PUBLISHER relative of the former headmaster CONCERT John Woods’ father, Leonard Berney, (Gregor Ziemer) of the American School Glasgow AJR’s music lovers (almost was a Belsen liberator who helped to in Berlin. She is seeking Jewish students all of us) had a delightful outing to a save the life of Nanette Blitz Konig, a from Germany and other countries lunchtime concert at the Royal Scottish former school friend of Anne Frank. who enrolled in the school after April Conservatoire. It was one of a series in John stays in touch with Nanette, who 1937 with a view to emigrating here or memory of a much-loved and popular now lives in Brazil and has written her elsewhere, and who can help to shed local pianist and piano teacher, Hilary account of being a Belsen survivor. She light on the school’s day-to-day life. No Rosin, who died a few years ago. has translated her book into English story too small, no stone unturned! and is seeking to get it published in [email protected] The audience which consisted of the UK. Any advice and help would be members of the general public, but much appreciated. DORSET REFUGEES with a predominance of the Glasgow [email protected] Catherine Gardner is looking for Jewish community, with Hilary’s information on the Dorset Refugee widower, Leslie Rosin, in row one. JCRA & DP CAMPS Committee which was established by Tom Sampson is a third year student her second cousin Heinz Alex Nat(h)an, The distinguished performers played at Cambridge currently researching who had been an athlete in Germany chamber music by Russian composers, the work of the Jewish Committee for and engaged in anti-Nazi political but the outstanding performer was the Relief Abroad at the end of WWII, work. He sought refuge in the UK young baritone, Aleksey Gusev, who particularly in the refugee camps of in 1933 and through the Dorset sang, among others, songs by Sergey Europe up to 1950. He would like to committee helped to save many Jewish Rachmaninov. We knew that we were hear from anyone who has personal children. Catherine is looking for in the presence of a future great star of experience of post-war refugee work, further information on the committee the operatic stage. or who lived in post-war Displaced and the children they rescued – Halina Moss Person refugee camps. including any who may still be alive. [email protected] [email protected]

15 AJR Journal | January 2018 Who Knew What?

This is one of those endless done locally in Minsk... One of our native cleaners, whom I occasionally slipped questions that bothers everyone something illegally to eat, saw the large concerned with, or investigating, timetable planning sheets spread out on the table, mentioned that she knew or affected by the crimes of a printing firm in Minsk who could committed during the course of do that.... Indeed there stood here large offset printing machines for colour the War. printing, and soon I had beautiful four- colour timetable sheets which I could take I recently read Eisenbahner in Krieg with me to a Timetable Conference. und Frieden (A Railwayman in War and Peace) by Karl Eugen Hahn, published in “Alas, my joy did not last long. With Frankfurt in 1954, when memories were very few exceptions the personnel of this still fresh for those who wished to keep workshop comprised Jews, since these them fresh. Hahn joined the Reichsbahn were the only people who could read and Jews could be liquidated there. Then and was sent as a ‘Blue railwayman’ to set Latin letters. On 6 November 1941 things would have been so much more Occupied France, later to Russia, Holland the business had to be closed down, convenient, for everything would have and Italy. ‘Blue railwaymen’ were civilians, because 18 Jews from the 20 workers been there together, especially the whereas the ‘Grey railwaymen’ were had been shot. I was enraged, I screamed property of the Jews, so that it would Wehrmacht members and came under at the supervising official that to spare only have been necessary to pull their military discipline but also military supply them would have been not only an act clothes off, remove rings and other items arrangements – a cause of endless friction of mercy but of common sense since we of jewellery carried on their bodies, and between the two groups. should keep such skilled labourers. All knock out any gold teeth. in vain, he told me that the SD (Security As one might expect Hahn spends much Service) had ordered the ‘’removal’’ of all “I stubbornly resisted this order and time justifying himself, describing negative Jews from Minsk, including his workers. I declared, also in the name of my fellow feelings concerning Nazi colleagues. was very annoyed and made a report to railwaymen, that I would not allow I found the following passages very my Präsident – but what could we do? Pogroms against the Jews on Railway revealing. The translations are mine. The orders had come from higher up.’’ Property and so make myself jointly responsible for what happened. I At Reichsbahnrat in Minsk, responsible Later on: ‘’During a heated argument countered all threats with the declaration for getting captured railways working with the SD in Minsk I was threatened that on railway property not the SD but I again and producing timetables, he with being shot if I did not arrange that alone had the power to make decisions. describes the awful conditions and how two trains with Jews from Bremen and Both trains were brought as planned to starving Russian prisoners started to eat Hamburg, who were to be transported Minsk and unloaded there. No brutal the flesh of casualties after a train wreck. into the emptied Minsk Ghetto, should deeds were carried out on railway not be terminated instead at two specific property.’’ ‘’I tried to get the printing of timetables suburban stations, so that the German This text demonstrates that every loyal, proud railwayman was fully aware of AJR CARD AND GAMES CLUB what was happening ‘in the East’; Of course he wishes to present himself as Please join us at our Card and Games Club one of the ‘good guys’, one who breaks Monday 12th February 2018 at 1.00pm rules to give food to slave workers and at North Western Reform Synagogue, complains about what is happening, Alyth Gardens, Temple Fortune, London NW11 7EN yet is proud of working so hard to Open to all levels Bridge players – come and join us ensure that all freight trains work to We also offer card games, backgammon, scrabble. You decide. timetable, irrespective of their loads. His Games are dependent on numbers being sufficient – the more the merrier main concern is merely that the mass murders should not affect his work or A sandwich lunch will be served upon arrival with tea, coffee and Danish pastries. his colleagues. But it is a genuine ‘eye £7.00 per person witness’ report and memoir and therefore Booking is essential – when you book please let us know your choice of game. of some value. Please either call Susan Harrod on 020 8385 3070 or email [email protected] Rabbi Dr. Walter Rothschild, Berlin

16 AJR Journal | January 2018

CHANUKAH WITH THE AJR

Hundreds of AJR members and friends celebrated Chanukah with us last month, at one of our numerous Chanukah parties.

The main AJR Chanukah Lunch took place in London on 14 Pinner December, where over 100 guests were entertained by a magician and the Nick Dobson singers. Smaller events took place in Glasgow and Brighton and many other places in between, with members enjoying music, magic and other entertainment as well as the obligatory latkes and doughnuts.

Here is a selection of photos from the events that had already taken place by the time the AJR Journal went to press.

Bernd Koschland lights the menorah at the main AJR Chanukah lunch, with the help of Jemima Briggs, daughter of our editor

Liverpool

Glasgow The main AJR Chanukah Lunch

AJR Staff

17 AJR Journal | January 2018

OBITUARIES Gerda Torrence (née Grossovar) Born Berlin 15 May 1922, died London 16 October 2017

Gerda Torrence was the only Kristallnacht, having been headhunted by child of Victor and Anna Gross a British fashion house. Gerda prepared for emigration by learning secretarial skills, and took her father’s Czech fashion and makeup. marriage. Gerda married Jula Torrence nationality. They lived a happy, in the late 1940s but was widowed in Gerda and her mother went to Prague to 1989. Jewish life in Berlin’s West End, collect their money. But Germany invaded where Victor worked as a master Czechoslovakia the following day and their After an enjoyable career in the fashion money could not be recovered. Gerda industry, Gerda volunteered at Chai and tailor. queued daily for a British visa. Finally, she at the Leo Baeck Lodge Day Centre, approached an SS officer, claiming she making many new friends. She learned After 1933, the Grosses still visited was needed in Berlin for a new job. He let Bridge and was an active member of both family in Prague regularly, using these her skip the queue on condition she meet the Lodge and AJR, at whose lunches her opportunities to move money out of him for coffee there! She and her mother napkin-folding skills were legendary. She Germany. Returning once with her immediately travelled to London to join was a regular at Covent Garden and a mother shortly after the annexation of Victor. Gerda found work in a fashion keen theatre and lunch goer. She enjoyed Sudetenland, the train was halted and company, joined Jewish clubs, played sport, visiting friends abroad. Gerda’s charm, Jews ordered off. Since they could pass went dancing and enjoyed herself, despite generosity, positivity, sense of humour for Aryans, Gerda and Anna remained on the war. and joie de vivre are sorely missed by her the train and witnessed eight Jews being family and exceptionally wide-circle of shot dead on the platform. Sadly her mother died of cancer in the friends. late 1940s. Her father remarried another Victor moved to England soon after refugee with a daughter by a previous Lesley Urbach

Kurt Treitel Born Berlin on 10 April 1922, died London 4 November 2017

Kurt was probably the oldest- On Kristallnacht, Kurt and his father surviving Kindertransportee in were alerted by a neighbour and fled across Berlin to old friends, the Horwitz the UK, having arrived from family, who sheltered them in their attic. Berlin on 24 March 1939, just Kurt’s parents arranged tickets for Kurt and his younger brother Guenter on the two weeks before turning 17. Kindertransport (an uncle helped with day, and finally qualifed in his mid-40s. guarantees). Kurt’s diary – written in His successful legal career spanned many Determined to enjoy every minute English – describes his Berlin farewell and happy years at the Treasury. of his new life, Kurt was notoriously voyage on the SS Manhattan. optimistic, positive and kind. Kurt enjoyed travelling, photography, His parents and sister, Celia, arrived in art-collecting and opera and, once The eldest of three children to Theodor England shortly after but in 1940 Kurt retired, also contributed to Holocaust and Hanna Treitel, a successful Berlin was interned on the Isle of Man. He education, sharing his experiences with lawyer and kindergarten teacher, secured a US visa but, unable to travel (among others) the Shoah Foundation Kurt grew up in a cultured family because of the sinking of all shipping, and schoolchildren at Dachau. whose friends ranged from rabbis to tailored in London and Bradford. leading theatrical figures and eminent He will be remembered by Renate, politicians, including Reichstag President In 1955 he met and married fellow Berliner his children, his four grandchildren, Paul Löbe. Renate Elgin. They settled in Golders and all his friends, as one of nature’s Green and had four children: Richard, gentlemen, with his huge smile, Forced to leave the Jonathan, David and Caroline. Renate kindness, courtesy, great intelligence, Friedrichswerdersche Gymnasium at 15, persuaded Kurt to pursue his dream of astonishing memory, and ability to get he moved to the American School of becoming a lawyer like his father: he on with everyone; very much missed. Berlin, where inspirational headmaster studied for six years at night school, Gregor Ziemer protected Jewish pupils. worked unpaid for a solicitor during the Caroline Treitel

18 AJR Journal | January 2018

WHY NOT CONVERT YOUR OLD CINE AJR FILM CLUB FILMS

Our next film showing will be at LUNCH MARCH 2017 AND PUT THEM Editor: Rev.Wednesday Bernd Koschland 10th Chairman: January Sir Erich 2017 Reich ON DVDS Sha’arei Tsedek North London Reform [email protected]

Contact at AtAJR: AlythSusan Harrod Gardens Previous Synagogue issues at: FREE OF CHARGE? Synagogue, 120 Oakleigh Road North, [email protected] or www.ajr.org.uk/kindertransport 44 (0) 20 8385 3078 12.30pm

Whetstone N20 9EZ Contact Alf Buechler at [email protected] or From the Editor’s Desk tel 020 8252 0375 or 07488 774 414 on Monday 29th January 2018 Dear Kinder and Friends

This edition has again a wide variety of contribution including one held over at 12.30pm from Chanukah. There is a welcome article from Michael Newman as well as a variety of letters including two from California. The previous edition Lunch of smoked salmon bagels, receives a couple of pats on the back. switch on electrics חג שמח .Chag sameach to all Kinder, friends and your families Danish pastries and tea or coffee will We are delighted to be joined by Rewires and all household

be served first. My dear fellow Kinder Stephen Pollard, electrical work

Thank GodEditor winter is slowly of Thereceding Jewish and we can beginChronicle to look forward to a little warmer sunshine. In most parks the crocuses are blooming in their PHONE PAUL: 020 8200 3518 SUFFRAGETTE various colours. Furthermore we are nearing what I would call the festival of freedom,Booking Pesach. isI am essential sure most of us for will becatering with our families purposes. as the Mobile: 0795 614 8566 youngest starts the five Kushiot.£7.00 per person In early 20th-century Britain, the growing I use this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful and happy Chag. Sameach

suffragette movement forever changes For details please call Susan Harrod on the life of working wife and mother Maud 020 8385 3070 Watts (Carey Mulligan). Galvanized by or email [email protected] Books Bought political activist Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Modern and Old Streep), Watts joins a diverse group of women who fight for equality and the right Eric Levene JOSEPH PEREIRA to vote. Faced with increasing police action, 020 8364 3554 / 07855387574 (ex-AJR caretaker over 22 years) Maud and her dedicated suffragettes must [email protected] play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, is now available for DIY repairs risking their jobs, homes, family and lives and general maintenance. for a just cause No job too small, very reasonable rates. £8.00 per person Please telephone 07966 887 485. PillarCare BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL Quality support and care at home

Please call Susan Harrod on 020 8385 3070 LEO BAECK HOUSING ASSOCIATION  Hourly Care from 4 hours – 24 hours or email [email protected] CLARA NEHAB HOUSE  Live-In/Night Duty/Sleepover Care RESIDENTIAL CARE HOME  Convalescent and Personal Health Care Small caring residential home  Compassionate and Affordable Service with large attractive gardens JACKMAN .  Professional, Qualified, Kind Care Staff close to local shops and public transport  SILVERMAN 25 single rooms with full en suite facilities. Registered with the CQC and UKHCA 24 hour Permanent and Respite Care COMMERCIAL PROPERTY CONSULTANTS Call us on Freephone 0800 028 4645 Entertainment & Activities provided. PILLARCARE Ground Floor Lounge and Dining Room THE BUSINESS CENTRE • Lift access to all floors. 36 GLOUCESTER AVENUE · LONDON NW1 7BB PHONE: 020 7482 2188 · FAX: 020 7900 2308 Telephone: 020 7209 5532 For further information please contact: www.pillarcare.co.uk The Manager, Clara Nehab House, [email protected] 13-19 Leeside Crescent, London NW11 0DA Telephone: 020 8455 2286 spring grove London’s Most Luxurious CATERINA ANDREAE RETIREMENT HOME TRANSLATOR 214 Finchley Road www.fishburnbooks.com London NW3 Jonathan Fishburn English to German / buys and sells Jewish and Hebrew books,  Entertainment German to English ephemera and items of  Activities  Stress Free Living No job too small or too big Jewish interest. He is a member of the Antiquarian  24 House Staffing Excellent Cuisine Competitive rates Booksellers Association.  Full En-Suite Facilities and references provided Contact Jonathan on Call for more information or a personal tour 020 8455 9139 020 8446 2117 00 34 971 886 566 or 07813 803 889 or 020 7794 4455 [email protected] for more information [email protected]

19 AJR Journal | January 2018 Jewish Britain on film

A fascinating collection of films and Council in 1947 to rarely documentaries depicting a century seen material from the 1962 of Jewish life in Britain has just been documentary The Vanishing made available to watch for free Street, a moving record of a on the British Film Institute’s online once-thriving East End Jewish archive. community on the cusp of enormous change. The various The collection, which includes films explore many big issues One of the many films available to view for free in the BFI’s collection documentary, first-person accounts, Ifas you well would as documenting like to place a searchthe notice in a historical dramas and artists’ work, futurefamily issue weddings of the AJR and Journal, community please email has everything from a 19 minute [email protected] that includingtypify Jewish the words More information on www.player.bfi.org.uk/ film of the Chief Rabbi’s Emergency SEARCHlife in Britain. REQUEST in the title of your email.free/collection/jewish-britain-on-film

THE YEAR OF IRENA SENDLER

Throughout 2018, Learning from the of the Warsaw Ghetto. Over the next Righteous – the Holocaust education 12 months all the Charity’s workshops, charity that works with children aged exhibitions and events will focus on her between 10 and 14 of all faiths and story, its historical context and the lessons cultures – will be celebrating the life of that can be learnt from her example of Irena Sendler. altruism.

Sendler was a remarkable woman who The launch event is on Sunday 21 January co-ordinated a rescue operation that in north London. More information from successfully enabled many hundreds of [email protected] or Jewish children to escape the horrors 020 8364 9404.

Norfolk here AFTER BRESLAU we come A new documentary featuring the fates of 14 young survivors The AJR has just unveiled the 2018 destination from Breslau is being premiered for its annual trip – the wonderful county of on 14 January at JW3. Norfolk. ‘We are Jews from Breslau’ is a Highlights of the four-day trip, which film of pressing topicality that takes place from 13 – 17 May, will include shows where a policy of closed Sandringham House, Sandringham Church doors towards refugees leads, Step in the footsteps of the Royal Family at the parish church of St Mary and Sandringham Museum, Felbrigg Hall, Magdalene, Sandringham and which relates the founding Sainsbury’s Visual Arts Gallery, Norwich of the State of Israel to the Cathedral, a boat trip on the Norfolk Broads medieval times. Travel will be by coach from London and experience of the Holocaust and a steam train through the beautiful East the AJR can also help arrange travel from other parts of through the lives and stories Anglian countryside. England to Norwich. of its protagonists. More information and trailer on The group will be based in Norwich, which For more information please contact Susan Harrod on www.judenausbreslaufilm.de has a fascinating Jewish history dating back to 020 8385 3070 or [email protected]

Published by The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), a company limited by guarantee. Registered office: Winston House, 2 Dollis Park, Finchley, London N3 1HF Registered in England and Wales with charity number: 1149882 and company number: 8220991 Telephone 020 8385 3070 e-mail [email protected] For the latest AJR news, including details of forthcoming events and information about our services, visit www.ajr.org.uk Printed by FBprinters, Unit 5, St Albans House, St Albans Lane, London NW11 7QB Tel: 020 8458 3220 Email: [email protected]

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