9th November, 1938
Picture this: you’re a child, between the ages of 9 and 14. You’re living in Vienna You’re Jewish.So far, so good.But its March, 1938, when German troops are marching over the Austrian border—unopposed. More than 175,000 Jews are living in Vienna and every one of them is suddenly desperate to get out of the country. Your parents included.Then comes 9 November, 1938: Reichspogromnacht. Scores of synagogues are put to the torch, hundreds of Jewish businesses are ransacked, thousands of Jewish men are beaten on the streets and a great many are shipped off to concentration camps.In Season Two of CENTROPA STORIES, you will meet three of our interviewees whose parents took them to Vienna’s train stations and put them on Kindertransports to England, then went home to wait for the knock on the door they knew would come.You’re also going to meet three people who fled with their entire families—and ended up hiding in Budapest, sent to a prison camp in Kazakhstan, and even to a British army prison—in the Indian Ocean.
Introduction: November 9th, 1938
Introduction: November 9th, 1938
Edward Serotta
Sophie Engler: From Vienna to a village in Scotland
Jilly Bond
Sophie was born into a wealthy family that would soon lose everything, including the lives of her family. Just nine-years-old when her mother brought her to the train station, Sophie could only hope she’d see her mother again.
You can read Sophie Engler’s Centropa biography and see his family pictures here. (german only)Audio
Sophie Engler: From Vienna to a village in Scotland
Jilly Bond
Kitty Suschny: From Vienna to Manchester
Jane Bertish
Kitty’s father died of a heart attack well before the Germans marched into Austria. After the Anschluss her brother fled and Kitty’s mother took her to the station. “Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’m the widow of an army officer.”
Read Kitty Suschny’s Centropa biography and see her pictures here.Audio
Kitty Suschny: From Vienna to Manchester
Jane Bertish
Lilli Tauber: From Wiener Neustadt to Cockley Cley
Sara Kestelman
Lilli was living in a small town when suddenly, all her non-Jewish friends started avoiding her. Then came November 9th. Lilli’s parents desperately looked for a way to save their daughter.
Read Lilli Tauber’s Centropa biography and view his pictures hereAudio
Lilli Tauber: From Wiener Neustadt to Cockley Cley
Sara Kestelman
Heinz Bischitz: From Oberwaltersdorf to Budapest
Allan Corduner
Heinz came from the only Jewish family in their village and got along with everyone. Until Austria was subsumed into the Third Reich. A tale of fleeing to Hungary for safety. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
You can read Heinz Bischitz's Centropa biography and see his family pictures here.Audio
Heinz Bischitz: From Oberwaltersdorf to Budapest
Allan Corduner
Kitty Drill: From Laa an der Thaya to Mauritius
Julia Franklin
Kitty Drill came from a family of cattle dealers and fruit sellers. When the Germans occupied Austria, eight mem-bers of her family took a ship down the Danube, another to Haifa, and ended up in a British prison in the Indian Ocean.
Read Kitty Drill’s Centropa biography and see her pictures here. (german only)Audio
Kitty Drill: From Laa an der Thaya to Mauritius
Julia Franklin
Kurt Rosenkranz: Vienna to Kazakhstan
David Horovitch
Kurt was obsessed with football (soccer). When the family fled to Riga after 1938 and he became obsessed with Communism. Until a Red Army soldier knocked on their door, ordered the family to follow him, and sent them on a train to a gulag prison camp. “Communism,” Kurt said, “You’re dead to me.”
Read Kurt Rosenkranz’s Centropa biography and view his pictures here. (german only)Audio
Kurt Rosenkranz: Vienna to Kazakhstan
David Horovitch
BONUS MATERIAL
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