I was born in the town of Chemnitz in South East Germany. I do not recollect my very early years but in 1933 my father lost his job in Chemnitz and we moved to a small town called Neukirchen, about five miles from Chemnitz. My parents bought a semi-detached house with a large piece of… Continue Reading Bob Mackenzie – Life Before the War
Bob explains the origin of the Kindertransport Movement BM: This is the 18th of March 2014. The British Parliament was approached by the ‘Movement for the Care of Children of Germany’ to hasten the travel permits. The movement promised to fund the whole of the operation and stated that they would not be a drain… Continue Reading Bob Mackenzie – Background
Bob talks of his own family in Glasgow and the importance of the wider Jewish community there INT1: One last question really about your time in Scotland. What were the high and lows for you? Obviously you got married, you had children BK: Yes. Well, obviously getting married was a high INT1: Mm BK: Um,… Continue Reading Bob Kutner – Reflection On Life
Bob explains how he met his wife, what kind of jobs he did as a civilian during the war and the restrictions which Jews and foreigners experienced at that time. INT1: How did you meet Barbara? BK: Well, I was acquainted by then with a guy called Sidney Shear He plays the piano at the,… Continue Reading Bob Kutner – Integration
In this section Bob describes his first jobs in Britain when he left the army after the war. He also talks of his time before that as a soldier in the British army. INT1: Did you work when, when you arrived here? BK: Yes, I started out as a small time commercial traveler. Working for… Continue Reading Bob Kutner – Settling In
In this section Bob explains how he came to Scotland and what his initial experiences of life in Britain were. INT1: When did you arrive in Scotland and how old were you then? BK: As I said, I estimate I arrived in Scotland about forty nine. 1949. And how old was I? Well you again… Continue Reading Bob Kutner – Immigration
In this section Bob gives details of his brother’s work as a French spy and of his own efforts to get out of Italy and reach Britain. INT1: You were in Milan BK: Yea, this is the, the high and low point of our family life really. Um my brother got himself sort of conscripted.… Continue Reading Bob Kutner – Life During The War
In this section Bob describes his childhood. He was born in Germany into a Polish-Jewish family. The family moved to France and then to Italy when Hitler came to power in 1933. INT2: When were you born and what was your name when you were born? BK: My name was Norbert Kutner, and I was… Continue Reading Bob Kutner – Life Before The War