Holocaust Memorial Day — Elfriede’s story
On Thursday 27th January 2012 I attended a Holocaust Memorial Day event at a local library. The speaker was Elfriede Starer. The following is based on my notes from Elfriede’s address.
“We are here to commemorate the Holocaust though we also remember those who have died in all genocides. Europe’s most recent being less than 20 years ago of Bosnian Muslims.
A single man goes missing no one pays attention, then a family goes missing and maybe someone notices, a whole community disappears overnight what would you do?
If I were to give a title to my talk it would be, ‘Facts and figures have faces.’
In 1933 as a 5-year-old I was on holiday at the seaside in Germany. I remember the night vividly. I heard the tramping of feet and a brass band playing. I looked out the window of the place we were staying. I saw the soldiers goose-stepping, I saw the swastika. It seemed all so exciting. Then my mother came in and told us to move away and not to look out the windows. My mother was different. I had not ever experienced her speak to us like that. There was something frightening I could tell about what we had seen by her reaction though it was difficult for a 5-year-old to understand.
On 30th January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, our lives changed. I was told not to tell anyone who came to visit us. Many of our friends were leaving. As Jews, we were not allowed to go to the Public Park, a place of sanctuary for city flat dwellers.
On my 8th birthday tragedy struck my family. We were once again on holiday; we were swimming in the sea. My brother and I returned to the shore but my father did not. I later learned that a strong current had taken him and he was drowned. Ironically if my father had not of died I, my brother, my children and 10 grandchildren may not have existed.
When I was 11 the Police came to our flat and told my mother we had to leave and go to the Police station. My brother who was ill lay in his bed. The officers said to my mother that she could leave without him. Wrapped in blankets my mother took him.
At the Police station, there were many people, it was full. We were told we would have to walk. With the others we began to walk, we walked for 36 hours without food. We did not know to where we were walking.
After a time we realised the guards were no longer with us. In time we came upon a farmhouse. We asked the family were where we? They replied, “Poland.”
We were so lucky as in time Poland was the close its borders to Jews leaving Germany.
I recall a young woman wrote to her brother in Paris telling him how the Germans had treated the Jews. He was so enraged by what he heard that he bought a revolver, went to the German Embassy in Paris and at point-blank range shot the ambassador. He later died.
Hitler reacted and Goebbels used this as his time to begin his open attacks on Jews. J was painted over Jewish shops; Jewish homes and synagogues were burned. In that one night, 2500 Jewish people are estimated to have been killed.
We continued to live in Poland helped by the local Jewish committee. My mother heard that England was taking in Jewish children though they had to be displaced in a certain year. We did not qualify then she learned that an exemption was made for Jewish children who had no father.
My brother and I were sent on the Kinder train and were taken in by a family in Coventry.
I did not see my mother for many years though like all people separated in traumatic circumstances our relationship was not great, that was life, not a fairy tale.”
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