The My Voice book collection comprises the poignant narratives of Holocaust survivors and refugees living in Greater Manchester, the North West and London. These accounts, written in the first person, intimately capture their experiences before, during, and after the war years. Each book serves as a powerful reminder, ensuring that these stories are preserved and passed on to future generations. The collection offers invaluable insights for students and scholars specialising in contemporary history, Jewish studies, and memory studies, making the books essential reading material in these fields.
My Voice
You are looking at 1 - 10 of 29 items for
- Type: Book x
- Refine by access: All content x
Adash Bulwa was born in Poland in 1926. After the outbreak of war, he recalls the Germans entering his home city of Piotrków Trybunalsk and the establishment of the Jewish ghetto, which had terrible living conditions. Adash recounts his harrowing ordeals in the concentration camps of Bełżec and Buchenwald. Most of his family were killed in Treblinka, and he worked and suffered in factories and labour camps, all while he was still a teenager. Following liberation, Adash returned briefly to Poland and then emigrated to England, eventually settling in Manchester. He made a living as a tailor, married his wife Zena, and they had two daughters. Post-war, Adash searched for his brother David, who had been smuggled out of Poland before the war, and they were reunited in the 1950s. Adash’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.
Anne Super was born in 1938 in Warsaw. Her earliest memories are overshadowed by the Nazi persecution, which led her parents to arrange her rescue by a milk woman. After a traumatic separation, Anne never saw her parents again. As a hidden child raised Catholic, during the war Anne endured deprivation and survived illness. After the war, Anne was adopted by her uncle in South Africa, reconnected with her Jewish roots, met her husband Maurice, qualified as an optician, and started a family. After exciting years in Namibia, the family settled in Manchester. Anne’s story includes reflections on her identity, traumatic childhood, and her lifelong commitment to honour her parents by living a fulfilling life, full of adventures and pursuing her many passions. Anne’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.
Chaim Ferster was born in Sosnowiec, Poland. He lived with his parents and three sisters above the brush factory owned by his father. They were religious Jews and only spoke Yiddish. He was 17 when war broke out and German soldiers arrived in his town. After surviving a harrowing selection process, Chaim was sent to one camp after another and set to work. Then, in September 1944, he was sent to Auschwitz. In April 1945, he was forced onto a death march to Buchenwald. After liberation, Chaim was reunited with his sister and one of their cousins and they came to Manchester, where he found work as a sewing machine repairer and eventually became a toy manufacturer. He married Nan and they had three sons, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Chaim’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.
Danny Herman was born in 1935 in Königsberg in East Prussia. As the Nazis were rounding up Jews, Danny’s father managed to escape to England in July 1939. He travelled to the Kitchener Camp in Kent, which helped refugees secure visas for safer places. Danny and his mother arrived in England just three days before war was declared in 1939, and his father was later sent to an internment camp on the Isle of Man. Danny went on to become a successful runner, competing in many international athletics events and volunteering in many roles, including at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Danny’s detailed memories of arriving in England, initially at the seaside in Kent and then moving to Manchester, create a vivid picture of life-changing events as experienced by a young child. Danny’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.
Elena Grosskopf was born in June 1924 and grew up in Merano on the Austrian-Italian border. Following a happy childhood in the Italian Tyrol and later on in Milan, the rise of antisemitism in Mussolini’s regime in the late 1930s caused Elena’s parents to arrange for her to escape to England with her brother Josie. Elena recounts their experiences of life with foster families and in hostels in Manchester, and as evacuees in Blackpool. After the war, Elena married Leo. They settled in Manchester and had three children, regularly travelling to Italy to spend time with Elena’s parents who had miraculously survived the war and found one another again there. Elena’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.
Ernest Hirsch was born in April 1925 in Neidenburg, East Prussia. When Hitler came to power in 1933, East Prussia was taken over by Nazis and his family’s business was boycotted. After moving to Berlin, Ernest witnessed the horrors of Kristallnacht in 1938 when his synagogue was set on fire. Ernest and his siblings left for England on the Kindertransport and were placed with different families. Unfortunately, his mother never managed to escape. After the war, Ernest served as an officer in the Royal Scots Fusiliers and had a successful career in the textile industry after studying at Leeds University. Ernest and his first wife settled in Manchester in 1970, where they had three children. His wife sadly passed away in 1992 and Ernest later remarried. Ernest’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.
Fay Phillips was born in Gilly in Belgium in 1932. After the German invasion of Belgium, Fay recalls her family’s escape to France in a little van as part of a large movement of refugees, then later being sent back to Belgium, where she had to be hidden by the Resistance and moved around to several different places, including an unhappy time in an orphanage. After the war, Fay spent time in London working as a nurse, and eventually settled there working for local government when she married Len and had two children, David and Ruth. After many years, they moved to Whitefield in Manchester to be near their grandchildren. Fay’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.
Gerda Rothberg was born in 1926 in Lötzen. She had a happy childhood, which was shattered by the Nazi rise to power. Following her father’s detention after Kristallnacht and the introduction of many anti-Jewish regulations, her family sought to flee. Gerda and her two sisters escaped to England via the Kindertransport in June 1939, while her parents waited for her father’s identity documentation to arrive. Gerda lived in Liverpool for a few years and then moved to a hostel in Manchester. She found employment in dressmaking, following in the footsteps of her father who was a tailor, and started to enjoy life again. She married Nat in 1949 and together they had three children. Gerda later discovered that her parents perished in Theresienstadt. Gerda’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.
Gisela Feldman was born in Berlin in 1923. Gisela recounts the Nazi rise to power and witnessing a terrifying night when her father was taken away by the Nazis. After Kristallnacht, Gisela’s mother knew they had to leave Germany. She managed to arrange visas for Cuba and passage there on a liner, the SS St Louis, for herself and her two daughters. However, Cuba, the USA and Canada all refused entry to the ship, and they were eventually given permission to come to England via Antwerp. After working as an au pair and a machinist in London, Gisela went on to have a long career as a teacher. She married Oscar and they had three children. She moved to Manchester in 1995 to be near her son and grandchildren. Gisela’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.
Hans Rose was born in 1928 in Münster. His happy childhood with his parents and sister Eva was shattered by the rise of the Nazi regime. After the devastating impact of Kristallnacht and his father’s imprisonment in Buchenwald, the family emigrated to England in August 1939, a month before the outbreak of war. Settling in Glossop posed challenges, notably his father’s internment as an ‘enemy alien’ on the Isle of Man. The book depicts Hans’s education, successful career in Manchester’s textile sector, and a content family life with his wife Adele and three daughters. Hans’s passion for sailing and outdoor pursuits, love of travel and optimism shine throughout his post-war narrative. Hans also reflects on his complex relationship with Germany and the tragic fate of Münster’s Jewish community. Hans’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a series of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.