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Journal ^ Association of Jewish Refugees a Legacy for Posterity VOLUME 7 NO. 10 OCTOBER 2007 journal ^ Association of Jewish Refugees A legacy for posterity ne of the most remarkable Berlin, followed by Vienna, then a number features of the AJR is its sheer of (German cities such as Hamburg, Munich, Olongevity. Founded in 1941, it is Frankfurt and Breslau (now Wroclaw). But still energetically preserving and promoting we have interviewees with places of birth the history and heritage of the community scattered throughout Eastem Europe - from it represents. Unlike its sister organisations, Elbing in East Pmssia to Lvov in Poland the American Federation of Jews from (now Lviv in Ukraine) and Uzhgorod in Central Europe and the Irgun Oley Merkas Carpatho-Ruthenia (Czechoslovakia, Hun­ Europa in Israel, the AJR is very much alive gary, USSR, now Ukraine), and even two and kicking: our members have the great from Italy, one of them with parents from good fortime to be able to read this joumal, Istanbul. Thanks to our efforts to interview but Aufbau, its American equivalent, ceased as representative a sample as possible, our publication in the USA some years ago. The interviewees' experiences reflect most exhibition 'Continental Britons', which ran aspects of the history of the Jews who for six months at the Jewish Museum in experienced Nazi persecution in Europe and Camden Town in 2002, generously funded came to Britain. by the AJR, demonstrated the Association's The 'Continental Britons' exhibition By far the largest group consists of pre­ commitment to memorialising the past of its duct interviews across the entire country, war refugees from (jermany, Austria and membership. avoiding the usual concentration on North- the (jerman-speaking parts of Czechoslova­ Inevitably, however, the lifespan of the West London, and to film 'ordinary' people, kia, mostly middle-class, assimilated Jews; AJR as we know it is limited. Now that even avoiding well-known refugees whose lives there is a group of camp survivors, often those refugees who came to Britain on were already largely documented. By early from Eastem Europe and more traditionally Kindertransports just before the war are in 2007, our team of interviewers had filmed observant, as well as some who survived in their seventies, the number of members who interviews with 150 refugees and survivors, hiding. But there are also interviewees who experienced life in Central Europe before from Edinburgh to Southend and from came to Britain via Palestine, or who escaped emigration is declining inexorably. And, Glasgow to Hampshire and Bristol. The to Shanghai and endured Japanese captivity, unlike immigrant groups from Jamaica, London area has a large but fair share. or who were deported from eastem Poland Bangladesh, Cyprus or Pakistan, the Jews We have a particular concentration in the to Kazakhstan by the Soviets in 1939 and who fled to Britain to escape Hitler have no Northern cities, Manchester, Leeds and made their way to join the British in the living community in their countries of Liverpool, thanks to the assistance we Middle East, or who left occupied France for origin with which to maintain contact, no received in finding interviewees from the North Africa, to be liberated by the Allies reservoir of 'Continental' Jewish culture on AJR's Northern Co-ordinator, Susanne after El Alamein. We have an interviewee which to draw and from which to replen­ Green. In Manchester, we were fortunate who was among the Jews from Denmark ish their ranks. enough to secure the invaluable co-operation famously rescued by sea to Sweden, and one But the AJR's Charitable Tmstees, with of Rosalyn Livshin, who effectively took on who was on the notorious ship St Louis, an eye to the future, have initiated a project the organisation of the bulk of the interviews which crisscrossed the Atlantic seeking a designed to preserve the history and culture in the North. Through her contacts with the country willing to accept its cargo of des­ of the refugee community for posterity. Since Orthodox community, she arranged a perate Jews. 2(X)3, the AJR has been funding a programme number of interviews with Orthodox The interviews also cover a very wide of fihned interviews with former refugees refugees and survivors, thus adding an range of wartime experiences in Britain. and Holocaust survivors now resident in important dimension to the story of the Jews Many interviewees had arrived before the Britain. 'Refugee Voices', as the AJR's testi­ from Central Europe in Britain, one that war as penniless refugees, often as domestic mony archive is called, is being directed by counterbalances any overemphasis on the servants, or had taken other forms of menial Dr Bea Lewkowicz and myself, who were more assimilated refugees. employment. Some were intemed on the Isle also responsible for the '(ujntinental Britons' As one might expect, the largest single of Man; there are vivid accounts by intemees exhibition. The AJR instmcted us to con- contingent of interviewees comes from continued ovedeaf A|R JOURNAL OCTOBER 2007 . 1 UiG.ACYFOR POSTERITYnmtimud fmni haw Kristallnacht service at AJR Centre and also by intemees deported to Australia expert in the field, to eliminate errors. (Some Please join us at the AJR Centre, Cleve on the notorious vessel Dunera. Others audio-typists don't know Charlottenburg Road, for a service commemorating joined the British forces; one ended up as a from Czeraowitz, or Pesach from payes.) Kristallnacht on Thursday 8 November fighter pilot flying Typhoons with the RAF But it is essential to provide scholars at 2.00 pm. over North-West Europe, and another was using the archive with a written transcript Following lunch, which will be at 12.30 pm, Rabbi Rodney Mariner of the sole survivor when his tank was blovm that they can read at their own pace, as the Belsize Square Synagogue will up during the ill-fated advance towards working from a film alone is well-nigh lead a short service, concluding with Amhem in 1944. The memories of refugees impossible. The Shoah Foundation's collec­ Kaddish. who retumed to a defeated Germany as tion of filmed interviews, though far larger The lunch and service will also be an opportunity to meet AJR members members of the victorious British forces are than 'Refugee Voices', does not have fran- from the North of England and particularly clear. scriptions of the filmed interviews; leaming Scotland who will be paying a three- Other refugees recall in detail civilian life from our experience as volunteer interview­ day visit to London. in Britain during the war, with the daily ers with the Shoah Foundation, we have To reserve a space for lunch (£5 on grind of shortages, rationing, air raids and included the transcripts as part of 'Refugee a first-come, first-served basis) and/ or the service, please ring the Centre long hours in factories and offices, though Voices', one of several features in which we on 020 7328 0208. a number were involved in civil defence, and hope to have improved on earlier collections. Michael Newman one worked in the Political Intelligence The archive consists of three parts: the Department of the Foreign Office. Of course, filmed interviews themselves, the tran­ we are confident that the archive will be some of the most powerful narratives are scripts (over 4,000 pages), and a large fittingly housed. We will keep readers those of the camp survivors, which form a database with 44 categories of information informed of developments. sombre and compelling contrast to those of about the interviewees, ranging from their In its 'Refugee Voices' archive, the AJR the refugees who escaped to Britain. The parents and places of birth to their experi­ is creating an important memorial to the interviews also contain accounts of a very ences of war and emigration, and their refugee community, one that will be avail­ wide variety of post-war experiences, with professions, families and places of residence able to scholars and researchers far into the career patterns ranging from an Oxford after 1945. In the first instance, we expect future. That community particularly needs professor to a milkman, and a large amoimt the users to be academics, researchers and such a memorial, against the day when the of information about many facets of refugee educationalists, followed by students. There generation of the refugees themselves is no life in Britain over the post-war decades. may also be commercial users, such as film longer with us. For with the best will in the The 150 interviews in the 'Refugee companies making television programmes world, the British-born children of the Voices' archive, amounting to well over 400 on the subject, who might be willing to pay refugees - the second generation - can never hours of film, will prove to be a goldmine of for the use of footage from the films. Ac­ reproduce the German- or Austrian-Jewish information for historians and other cess to the archive will be controlled, so that culture of their parents. Take my own case: researchers. The archive is designed to be it will be available only to bona fide users. though I have immersed myself in the user-friendly, so that the information it We are in the process of negotiating, on language and culture of German-speaking contains can be accessed as quickly and behalf of the Charitable Trustees, with Central Europe for many years, I can never easily as possible. All the interviews have institutions where the archive could be be a Viennese like my parents - only a pass­ been transcribed, i.e. all the words spoken deposited. We are currently negotiating with able imitation of a middle-class Englishman. have been typed out by audio-typists and a leading German university as the Studying modem languages at Harrow and put onto computer.
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