INT: So Saskia you were telling us about what you discovered after your mother passed away. ST: In the documents in her box I discovered in a medical document that it said that she’d had 2 pregnancies, two normal pregnancies, one in 1945 and one in 1954. The first child died in infancy. And then… Continue Reading Saskia Tepe – Reflection On Life
ST: So moving on to the UK. After spending three months in a facility hosted by the British Council for Aid to Refugees, getting basic training in English, ‘Can I have a pound of mince please’, ‘two tickets to…’ INT: And coping with the currency of pounds, shillings and pence. ST: Exactly. We moved to… Continue Reading Saskia Tepe – Settling In
ST: So, I don’t know how it happened, but she ended up in a camp and I didn’t really understand this camp that she was in until after she died and I started doing some research. But basically what happened is after the war ended the Czechs took retribution, if you like, on the Sudeten… Continue Reading Saskia Tepe – Immigration
INT: I was just going to ask which town was she living in when she came back? Was it the same town? ST: Yes. It was a little town outside of Jagerndorf. INT: Right. ST: And I’ve forgotten it…it’s Lobenstein, Lobenstein. So I’m not sure. I’m assuming that the Gestapo made some kind of base,… Continue Reading Saskia Tepe – Life During The War
Learn about the experiences of Saskia Tepe’s mother, Brigitte Langer, who suffered the tribulations of war and its aftermath three times. Once under the Nazis as a Mischling, then under the Czechs as a Sudeten German, and finally as a refugee in a DP Camp in Germany. The aftermath of the war also affected the… Continue Reading Saskia Tepe – Life Before The War
INT: And were there lots of refugees there? Did you meet other people? R.F: Yes there were quite a few refugees otherwise. From Germany and Austria. In Glasgow I met my future husband. INT: Where? R.F: I was introduced with a Jewish family in Glasgow. I was introduced to my future husband. He came from… Continue Reading Ruth Fraser – Reflection On Life
INT: When did you get married? R.F: 1945. INT: Where? R.F: In Glasgow INT: Was it South Portland Street? R.F: Yes. Something like this. INT: In Geneen’s? R.F: In Geneen’s restaurant, yes and the Chuppah…Ja. … they set up a chuppah. Yes. INT: And the Chuppah was there, alright. Who was the Rabbi? INT: It… Continue Reading Ruth Fraser – Settling In
INT: So where did you land? You came to London. Did you go to somebody’s house? R.F: Yes because at the time my brother was, his family were staying in London so I was first stopped in London. But I had to start my job as a domestic help. INT: Whereabouts? R.F: In London? Swiss… Continue Reading Ruth Fraser – Immigration
INT: So when did you leave Germany? Tell us about that. R.F: I left Germany end of 1938 together with a very good friend. INT: And he had connections in Switzerland, that’s why you went there. Is that right? R.F: Yes, connections. INT: Family? INT: What age were you then? R.F: Twenty-three. INT: And how… Continue Reading Ruth Fraser – Life During The War
Ruth was born in Leipzig on the 6th November 1915. Her maiden name was Frischer and her parents had a Kosher butcher shop. INT: Today is the 26th of March. INT: OK. Number one: life before the war. Can you tell us about your early life? For example what did you parents do? And how… Continue Reading Ruth Fraser – Life Before The War