Manfred Goldberg has recently died.
He was a Holocaust survivor with a moving story.
I was listening to talk he gave to the University of Sussex. It was beautiful.
I was most struck by his thoroughly pleasant & generous disposition when talking about his life story and the horrors he witnessed.
What’s interesting to me is the ordeal Manfred Goldberg’s father had to go through to secure papers to flee Nazi Germany. I forget how hard it was for Jews to get papers and leave - and, even worse, if you had a move a whole family to a foreign place. And then start again. His father managed to get out of Nazi Germany first (reference is made to Frank Foley) and had planned on taking the rest of the family with him afterwards on arrival in England. But within days, WWII had started. So, his poor wife and her two little babies were left behind in Nazi Germany. I just can’t imagine the toll on them both - esp. the wife. All alone without her partner/support and she had to look after 2 small kids who don’t understand what’s going on. Her strength and resolve must have been incredible. Hard not to have tears thinking about her despairing condition, while he was giving his talk.
For 6 years, his father, as refugee, was looking for his lost family. The strain that must have taken. He was also in a foreign country and couldn’t speak English, without the knowhow to get going with his life.
And then there’s the account of Manfred being squeezed onto a barge, like animals, in the Baltic sea, with so many prisoners, and being at the mercy of a true psychopath and sadist Captain. Tissues are needed at this point.
The wonderful part, for me, is that - having been reduced to the lowest rung of subsistence a human being can endure - he was honoured by the King of England and awarded an MBE, also met the Prince of Wales.
I wish I’d met him.
For 6 years, his refugee father was looking for his lost family. The strain that must have taken :( He was also in a foreign country and couldn’t speak English, without the wherewithall to move on with his life.
ReplyDeleteThat was true for almost everyone I knew. In 1960, my Australian Jewish school invited the pupils' grandparents to turn up to a honour ceremony. Of the 120 pupils in my year (and therefore potentially 480 grandparents), 4 turned up. The rest had died in the Holocaust or had never been found.
Every Jewish family has a similar story to tell, of lost family, of history undiscovered.
ReplyDeleteA shocking story. And there are so many others who had to go through the same terrible ordeals to restart their lives in another country.
ReplyDeleteWhat a story he had, I'm sure. What a nice tribute.
ReplyDeleteHis life stands as a testament to resilience, grace, and the enduring strength of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable suffering
ReplyDeleteVery nice tribute.
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd met him too.
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