Content can be downloaded for non-commercial purposes, such as for personal use or in educational resources.
For commercial purposes please contact the copyright holder directly.
Read more about the The Creative Archive Licence.

Description

This is an audio clip from an interview with Julius Weil where he talks about getting the Kindertransport Germany from Cologne to Holland to England.

In his interview, Julius talks about living in Cologne with his parents and younger brother until 1938; on 9-10 November that year, his school was destroyed in Kristallnacht. Julius' headmaster successfully organised to get the whole school transferred to London. Julius was on the first 'Kindertransport' train to leave the country. He never saw his parents or brother again. Julius and his school colleagues were initially sent to Cricklewood, London. With the outbreak of war, Julius was sent to Bedford, where he was billeted with a non-Jewish family. After leaving school at the age of 15, Julius went to work for the Ministry of Supply (MoS) in its catering division, first in Bedford then in Egham, Surrey. He left the MoS at the end of the war and worked in a factory in Staines, Surrey. In 1956, Julius was invited by the first friend he made in England, another Jewish refugee, to go and work for him; his uncle owned the Standard Box and Carton Company, which relocated from London to Pentrebach, near Merthyr Tydfil. Julius spent the rest of his working life with the company, eventually becoming a director. Julius initially attended Orthodox synagogues in Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff, but moved to the Reform synagogue in 1968, at the time of his first marriage. He is still a member of the Reform community.

Depository: The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales.

Do you have information to add to this item? Please leave a comment

Comments (0)

You must be logged in to leave a comment