Finally Geraldine reflects on her parents’ lives and her own. She considers whether the world has learnt from the lessons of the Holocaust. INT: It’s a hard thing to know your mother suffered. GS: Very hard, but as children, we knew we weren’t allowed to leave anything on our plates; no food was to be… Continue Reading Marianne Grant – Reflection On Life
Geraldine talks about life in Glasgow; growing up as a child of two survivors and about her mother’s role as a minister’s wife. GS: And in the autumn of 1951, my mum and my grandma came to Glasgow and they were married in London and their life began. INT: And your father was a minister… Continue Reading Marianne Grant – Integration
Geraldine explains why her mother and grandmother went to Sweden after the war. She describes their life there. She then explains the unusual way her mother met the young man, who became her husband. INT: And then your mother, you told us this before, ended up in Sweden, with her mother? GS: She did, she… Continue Reading Marianne Grant – Life After The War
Geraldine talks about the increasing difficulties facing her mother and her grandmother as the war progressed. She describes their time in Theresienstadt and then in Auschwitz where her mother’s skills saved her life, when she was forced to draw for the notorious Dr Mengele. INT: That’s interesting. And life obviously changed very significantly for your… Continue Reading Marianne Grant – Life During The War
INT: Today is 25th of November 2015, and I’m here to speak with Geraldine Shenkin, who is going to tell me a little about her mother, Mrs Marianne Grant. Geraldine describes her mother’s background in Czechoslovakia by reading from Marianne Grant’s autobiography. She goes on to talk about her mother’s great love for drawing and… Continue Reading Marianne Grant – Life Before the War
Edith describes the many highpoints in her life and her one main regret. INT: And have you ever wanted to go back to Germany since? Since that last meeting with your father? EF: No, no. I did go with a couple of groups when we took students and I had a very good head of… Continue Reading Edith Forrester – Reflection On Life
Edith talks about her new life in Kirkcaldy and her education. She describes her reaction when she finally met her birth father again. INT: And what about going to school after that? EF: Well that was… INT: You still only spoke German? EF: Yes, well they put me in the infant class to learn English… Continue Reading Edith Forrester – Settling In
Edith describes her journey to Britain and arriving in London. She then talks about arriving in Scotland and meeting the gentleman and lady who soon became her beloved Mum and Dad. INT: So how did you come to Scotland then? How did that happen? EF: Well, when we arrived…I’d never been on a boat before… Continue Reading Edith Forrester – Immigration
Edith describes her family background and how she felt when her mother told her she was leaving Germany. She explains that she was too young to realise that her parents were not coming with her. She tells the interviewer about the Gestapo’s visit to her home. She then speaks about the fate of her Jewish… Continue Reading Edith Forrester – Life Before The War
Bob talks about the reasons he sees himself as Scottish and reflects on his good fortune in life. INT: You sound so much like just an average Scots person, you really do. Do you think of yourself at all as German anymore? BM: No INT: Not at all? BM: Not a bit. INT: When did… Continue Reading Bob Mackenzie – Reflection on Life