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In Nazi
Germany
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A particular theme of the trip,
which stood out to me upon first viewing the photographs were the many
trips my family took to the Synagogues in the towns and cities that they
visited. They visited a Synagogue wherever they went. I could not help but wonder how many, if
any had survived the Nazis.
My great uncle took tourist snaps of soldiers in Nazi uniform and street
scenes with the swastika flag prevalent throughout.
Also there were pictures of people whom they had met during the
trip, including the Rabbi Carlebach and his family at their Synagogue in
Hamburg.
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My family visited the Synagogue of
Hamburg on 31st August and were later to enjoy hospitality at
the home of Rabbi Carlebach, his wife Lotte and nine children. In addition to photographs of the
interior of the synagogue, including the “treasures”, were pictures taken
in the Carlebach’s garden, family pictures which inspired me to try to
trace the participants. Although
Germany was under Nazi rule, the pictures offered no clue to the tourists
of the horrifying events that would materialise just a year later.
Photographs from the interior of Rabbi Carlebach’s
Synagogue, Bornplatz
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The mood in the garden that
August day appears cheerful and the photographs show a happy family
scene. I am not sure whether this
would have been the case at the time or indeed whether my family had any
inclination as to the seriousness of the situation unfolding in Germany.
Jewish Family life in London in the 1930’s was comfortable and Jews in
Great Britain were not particularly threatened or harassed. I do not know whether the visit was just
a coincidental meeting on a family holiday or if indeed it had been planned
sometime before. I expect that
Rabbi Carlebach did discuss the intolerable state of affairs with his
guests and perhaps my relatives were able to understand for the first time
just how serious the political situation had become for Jewish families
throughout Germany.
Rabbi & Lotte Carlebach in their garden
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Rabbi & Lotte Carlebach with eight of their children in the
garden of their home together with Leopold, Lily and Joan Hirshfield
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In little over a year the historic
Synagogue would be destroyed by the Nazis and Lotte Carlebach would be in
the midst of a heroic and desperate struggle to find homes in Britain for
the Jewish children of Hamburg.
Many of the children who were “lucky enough” to find homes in
Britain via the Kinder transports would never see their parents and loved
ones again. I can recall my grandfather
once telling me that Desmond had worked in Germany before the war, but
unfortunately I have no idea why.
Did my relatives play a part in assisting with those transports and
if so, how could I find out what they did and how they did it?
Certainly there is evidence that
Desmond did assist in the evacuation of Jewish teenagers and young adults
and according to a book about his life “Labour’s Visionary – Lord
Hirshfield” he spent much time during the second world war working at
“Bloomsbury House” where the Jewish community had set up an emergency
headquarters. The book states that Desmond was familiar with German
and Germany and that Desmond was active on many levels. “Until
December 1939 refugees were admitted on the understanding that their maintenance
would be guaranteed by the Jewish Community, and Desmond importuned
friends, relations, clients and even casual contacts to act as
guarantors. He also busied himself in finding homes and, perhaps most
difficult of all, jobs for the newcomers.” It goes on to say that
“After negotiations with the National Union of Agricultural Workers and the
Ministry of Labour, Desmond helped to work out a scheme which enabled over
a thousand Jewish newcomers, all in their late teens or early twenties, to
find jobs on the land.”
So it would
seem that Desmond was involved with the “Movement for the Care of Children
from Germany”. Further evidence of
Desmond’s work has been provided by Prof. Gillis-Carlebach in her document
“A Story Behind Three Letters” June
2003
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