TO HONOUR THE REFUGEE GRANDPARENTS.

A review of the stories of some of the grandparent generation who came to Wellington, New Zealand as the result of Hitler’s policies against the Jews. The full text of this paper is held at the Wellington Holocaust Research and Education Centre in Wellington, New Zealand.

 Dr. Susanna (Susi ) Williams geb. Lemchen November 2009, adapted for the website December 2010.

INTRODUCTION  

The impetus for this research was a comment from Carol Calkoen to a group of college students at the Wellington Holocaust Research and Education Centre, where she is the Director of Education. She told them that one of the sadnesses of being the daughter of Holocaust survivors was that she was brought up without a wider family, not even a grandparent. My reaction was “but I had four grandparents here” and even though we have written about them for the family, not much has been said about the other older people who I remember from my childhood. So I have slowly gathered together the recollections of others who also had grandparents in New Zealand. Inevitably I will have missed some out, so the process has been to collect the memories and preface them with some general observations which may be of use in the future. That way the broad themes which have emerged can be explored, and the individual recollections are an appendix which can easily have additions.

A search started in 2008 found family members of twenty grandparents who were willing to share their stories and another ten who were willing to talk but not to detail their memories. It has not been easy for everyone to help. Again and again the anxiety of whether their family members would have wanted to “tell” and whether they were in fact “Jewish enough” to be included, has been an issue. I have worked hard to gain permission to use these stories. It is important to bear in mind that what has been recorded is distant memory, which is valuable but not necessarily historically accurate. It is however treasured memory and I am grateful to those who were willing to share their thoughts so that the Wellington Holocaust Research and Education Centre can add to what we know of the refugees who came here.

It is also important to record that many families had to leave grandparents behind and these were never seen again by family here. The sadness of those grandchildren is still tangible.

OVERVIEW

When the first refugees from Hitler’s regimes came to New Zealand in 1934 one of the difficulties for the families was who would come and who would stay behind. It seems from discussions with many of the families that the “working” generation were the first to take the challenge of leaving as there was no future under Hitler, and that later some were able to sponsor, and persuade, their parents to come here too.

In looking at grandparents I have taken a broad inclusive view, including several who became grandparents after they got here, but were in the general age group of the others. Some of these grandparents arrived before the war, some during and some after the war. An emerging theme is that many of the refugees did not discuss much of what they had experienced, nor did many of them wish to talk about what and whom they had left behind. In my experience it is only relatively recently that people have begun to look back and try to piece together what happened. A search of the Jewish Review in New Zealand at the time my father’s parents arrived in 1938 reveals only a comment that Mr. and Mrs. J. Lemchen are visiting their son in Wellington.  Nothing further.

We know that New Zealand was not quite ready for an influx of refugees. Good information is available in Ann Beaglehole’s book “A Small Price to Pay”. Before the war a permit was required and a sponsor. For the older people that usually meant their working children. The sponsor had to guarantee the future financial security of the refugee. There would be no pension available for 20 years, a rule which has since been softened. Medical expenses were not free and hospitalisation would have to be paid for. In New Zealand these days the hospital fees are still not free for foreigners. After the war there were some exceptions made for survivors of the Concentration Camps.

In general terms in New Zealand in the 1930s older people lived with their families and did many of the household chores. Few families had servants. England was still regarded as “home” and there was less knowledge of Europe than there is now. The country was just coming out of “the depression” and at the end of the 1930s the prospect of war loomed large. Many young New Zealand men had lost their lives in WW1 and many families were still adjusting to the major trauma of damaged young men trying to pick up their lives here. Everyone spoke English and most Maori people still lived in the rural areas. There was no class system and although French and Latin were taught at schools, not many people had actually heard a foreign language unless they themselves had travelled overseas. There were Jews here and Orthodox synagogues in the major cities. The Liberal/Reform movement, which was well established in Germany, had not yet reached New Zealand. Most of the Jews were English or had come from Russia in the 1920s . They did not necessarily understand these European Jews.

The grandparents, looked at now as a group, were of course vastly different from one another, as well as from the New Zealanders. To outsiders they may have seemed the same, and of course they had a great deal in common once they arrived in New Zealand. Looking at the contributions that have been sent in, the strands of FAITH, FAMILY, FOOD, LANGUAGE, and CUSTOM have emerged.

FAITH.

For many Jews in Europe being Jewish was a fact of life rather than a way of life. For these families Hitler’s desire to make Germany  “Judenrein”, free of Jews, was unexpected. Some had fought for Germany in WW1, some were married into important families with excellent connections, most were well regarded in their home towns. Basically they had expected that the political decisions would not affect them. When the younger ones left many of the elders had thought it would be a short-lived exodus. As Hitler was against any Jewish blood at all, those Jews who had assimilated were as unwelcome as those who had not. In a mixed marriage the Christian spouse was as unwelcome as the Jew. Attempts to solve the problems by baptism were common.

Julius and Adele Lemchen and their son Georg were among the few Orthodox Jews for whom the religion mattered. Ruth had promised when she married Georg that she would keep a Kosher home so that her in-laws could visit. When Julius Lemchen told his Orthodox community in Czarnikau in 1938 that he was leaving for New Zealand at the insistence of his son, they gave him a Torah to bring to New Zealand, in case there were no Jews. Unfortunately by the end of the war there was no synagogue and hardly any Jews left in Czarnikau. The older Lemchens were able to bring many possessions with them including candlesticks, Shabbos and Pesach dishes, and German/Hebrew prayer books. The family lived 20 miles from Wellington synagogue but Julius made sure that on Friday night the Jewish traditions were followed and for many years the Pesach dinners were a haven for other Jews who could not host one themselves. Ruth kept her promise, the household was Kosher, the Rabbi could eat there.

Looking back it seems sad that the faith which might have been a support was not a big enough factor for most of the refugees. On Yom Kippur even the least observant refugees instinctively went to synagogue. They did not necessarily feel welcome. Some had no previous experience of having attended a service. The men seemed tolerant of one another but the women, caught in the dilemma of not talking as was the Orthodox custom for some, or seeming to be aloof, were often made to feel out of place. With hindsight we know that the difference between Halachah (religious rules) and Minhag  (custom) made everyone nervous. Years later Maurice Pittkowsky, speaking at the 90^th birthday celebration of one of the refugees said, “with the arrival of the European refugees anti-Semitism came to New Zealand.” He indicated that because of the number and obviousness of the refugees they could not be ignored.

In synagogue the Hebrew pronunciation was as varied as the congregation and the Rabbi or Cantor. Because nobody commented on this the refugee families had further difficulty in following the service. It was not always seen as a privilege to be called up as it exposed the ability of the man.

In the book “Women of Theresienstadt” written by Ruth Schwertfeger and published by Berg, the comment is made that “another shock for newcomers (at Theresienstadt) was the strained relationships between Jews from Germany, Czechoslovakia and Austria. Relationships between Austrian and Czech Jews, although not always amicable, do not appear to have been so fragile as those between Austrian and German Jews.” Echoes of this are to be found in the Grandparent stories, and surfaced from time to time at the Jewish functions. The common German language, which meant that outsiders could not distinguish between nationalities added to the difficulties.

FAMILY.

The grandparents who came to Wellington came to a family member. It is clear that the choice had been made as much because of availability of permit as because that was the favoured son or daughter. Many had left all the family behind or else the families had gone to Palestine, France, Shanghai, South America, England, Portugal, Canada, or anywhere that a place could be found. At the beginning there was still mail contact but when war was declared that stopped and it was only after the war that the agonising task of looking for family members began. This is still not finished.

Another problem was that although the need to leave Hitler’s regimes was the dominant factor, not all families liked one another. Couples who had previously just tolerated one another were suddenly forced into close proximity in the new situation in which they found themselves. This was true within the marriages as well as across the generations. One of the “Christian wives”, as she termed herself, found that being thought of as a Jew had a very negative impact on her marriage. Grandchildren knew that the grandparents added to the tensions within the households. Some grandparents wished bitterly and overtly that they had chosen to “go to the other son or daughter”.  Gratitude is hard to sustain and it is probable that many of the tensions within the families would have surfaced in Europe anyway, but at least there would have been physical space, and a possibility of making a change. There would also have been friends to ease the intense family interactions. Fortunately many also rose to the new challenges.

For one family the situation was reversed and refugee grandchildren Mary and John came to New Zealand after the war to join their grandparents who were already established here. That story is included in the Appendix.

FOOD, LANGUAGE and CUSTOM.

It is hard to separate these themes, so they are looked at together. There were some Kosher households but for most it had not been an issue in Europe and they felt no need to start that here. In the section on faith the differences between the refugees groups is mentioned in connection with Thereseienstadt. There were similar differences here. The grandparents mostly kept their own traditions whereas the younger generation liked that but also tried the new.

To start with food.  Are lattkes Jewish or Polish or Russian? How do you make Apfelstrudel and is it Jewish or Viennese? Why did my Orthodox German family not know about Gefiltefisch? Can you make a good cheesecake? What is the difference between Baisertorte and Pavlova? And do you want to change. Several grandchildren wrote about the wonderful afternoon teas to which other refugees were invited. They were the cornerstones of hospitality for the grandparents in a country where the local milkbar was the place to get a cup of tea. Bearing in mind that many of these women had not cooked, but had instructed their maids in what to do, it was a major achievement when some began to make a living by selling homemade cakes. Many of the grandparent stories have been written by those who were small children sitting unheard at the side of a chair, watching their sad, quiet grandparent lean forward and easily take part in a conversation. Sometimes they even laughed. Small wonder then that the refugees stayed largely in their own groups.

Certainly the common language for many was German, but the customs were different and the food was different. Many jokes are told about husbands yearning for their mother’s homecooking. This was on a much wider scale. Here the cheese was different, there was no good coffee, eggs tasted and looked different, but the butter was good and the cream plentiful.

The emphasis on hospitality meant that small local groups developed which largely took the place of family. In Palmerston North that centred round Dr. and Mrs. Gabriel. In Upper Hutt the suburban train took an hour from Wellington and was a great Sunday outing for many families to the Lemchen household. Lower Hutt, Karori and other Wellington suburbs all had similar groups. The children were sent outside to play except for when the food was served. One imagines that at that time the problems of the world were discussed. It is clear that little was discussed in front of the grandchildren. Even then not all grandparents took part. The issue of Kosher food meant that if someone lovingly brought a cake with them the fine line could be crossed. To abstain from eating is always possible but even now that adds tensions in some families.

The refugees brought with them some of their own prejudices. It is hard now to look back and understand how strong these were, but several grandchildren have told me that another refugee’s name would be mentioned with the comment “of course that person is an Austrian, (or Pole or Czech or German )” said in a tone of contempt. Fortunately those prejudices slowly died out as people began to understand one another.

MONEY.

No discussion on the grandparents would be complete without mentioning money. For them this was largely a taboo subject, but it underpinned much of what happened. Some families could bring money, many sold everything just to get a ticket to leave Europe, some had been poor at home too, some lost everything on the way. As previously stated there was no pension available for 20 years, so in fact most did not ever get one. Those who did were jubilant as expressed in several of the stories. Therefore many of the grandparents were left financially dependent unless they could get a job, or “start again”. Some were successful at this, for some total despair and depression took over. There was refugee aid from within the Jewish community, but we are left with few details of how that was given. Even after the war when some reparation became available there was anxiety about whether this should be sought. Like much other aid it was not given, it had to be applied for. A moral dilemma.

In mentioning money the question of whether people stayed in New Zealand or returned to Europe after the war can be considered. For some this was a financial decision, with the prospect of reclaiming land and having a pension in Europe. In the recollection of the grandchildren there seems to be no direct knowledge of which factors were important.

THE LEGACY.

One thing is clear, even if they had no money many of the grandparents did leave legacies of language, ideas, love of books, appreciation of art, knowledge of Europe, recipes, music, an understanding of the wider world and for small children they brought with them the gift of time, even if this sometimes was a double edged gift. They brought love and courage. They were the vital link to the pre Hitler world in a way which the parents could not be.

Acknowledgements.

I am very grateful to all those who shared their thoughts and memories with me. In the way of the grandparents, much is hinted at rather than spelled out. Hopefully the grandparents would have approved.

The appendix has contributions from

1.     Carol Bateman (Green)  - granddaughter of Elsa and Edwin Wolff

2.     Ann Beaglehole  - granddaughter of Zsofia Forgács

3.     Tim Haiselden and Jill Whitmore  - grandchildren of Else Opel

4.     Claude Kahn  - grandson of Berthold Kahn and Dr. Robert Lerchenthal

5.     The Lemchen sisters  - grandchildren of Adele and Julius Lemchen, and Gertrude and Ulrich Mai

6.     Pamela and Carol Rothschild  - daughters of (Hans) Peter, whose grandmother Augusta Salomon came to Wellington in 1937 with her daughter Betty and grandson Hans Peter.

7.     Gabrielle Samols  -  granddaughter of Helene Schilling

8.     Judy Sedley (born Vamos)  – granddaughter of  Charlotte Sarah VADAS

9.     Steven Sedley   -  grandson of Matild Czegledi

10.  Dorothy Tortell and John Schiff  - grandchildren of Gustav Weissenstein

11.  Donald Verry and Cathy Verry  -  grandchildren of Katarina Koppel

12.  Barbara Lazarus, Margaret  Kuttner, and Doris Wise  -  granddaughters of Johanna and Hermann Leyser, and Bertha Westheim.

13.  Susan Wolkowicz and Margaret Littman -  granddaughters of Rosalie Salomonis, the mother of Hilde Gabriel.

14.  Mary Mowbray and John Erdos who came as children to join their grandparents Albert and Julia Lenart in New Zealand. Their other grandmother Sophie Erdos came later.

I also wish to acknowledge the others who shared thoughts with me:

Peter Fleischl  -  grandson of Rose Barber who came here after the war for a brief period until she died.

Phillip Green and Valerie Levy  -  grandchildren of Wally Baer (formerly Simon) and Walter Baer

Liz Gianoutsos  - family Grau – grandparents Jacob and Maria Seiden

Barry and Robert Kohn who had 2 grandparents here for a short time before they left again for Costa Rica.

Maria Newman  - who had 3 grandparents here.

Michael Sternberg  -  grandson of Dr. Ignatz Sternberg

There are several others, like the Wolfsohns who came from Shanghai after the war to join their son Leo in Upper Hutt and the Weile grandparents who came with their son Rolf from Europe. For these no recent family information has come to hand.

Postscript: Since the original paper was written I have become aware of Adolf Seiden , brother of Jacob, grandfather of Helene Band now Carroll;

Stefanie Fried mother of Max Fried and Elly Winter, grandmother of Vera Goldberg and Peter Winter;

Ignatz and Gisella Winter parents of Otto Winter,grandparents of Vera and Peter

Otto Kramer father of Louise Johnstone, grandfather of Mike Karen and Paul;

Blanche and Koloman Buchler grandmother of Julius Stafford’s children Carol Emanuel and Albert Stafford;

Bernard Huppert grandfather of Jill, Tom and Richard;

Zofia Aronson mother of Roma Herrman, grandmother of Ruth and her brother

Thanks to Peter Wise for sending me these names.

Further information for many of the grandparent families is held at the Wellington Holocaust Research and Education Centre, 80 Webb Street, Wellington, New Zealand.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it phone 64-4-801 9480

Signed Susi Williams