Gathering The Voices Scotland
Testimonies of Holocaust survivors who settled in Scotland
During the school year, we had a request to support Auchenharvie Academy with the Holocaust topic within History. We approached Gathering the Voices, a charity whose 6 volunteers have gather testimonies from Holocaust survivors who, after experiencing Anti-Semitic racial persecution, came to settle in Scotland.
Recently, Gathering the Voices shared the video Martin Anson with Ms. Aileen Campbell, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government.
Gathering the Voices has made a video telling the story of German refugee Martin Anson journey to finding a new home in Scotland, with Education Scotland agreeing to promote the video to Scottish schools.
The film , which lasts for 36 minutes, tells of the anti-Jewish Racal persecutions suffered in Martin’s home town in Germany; the family arrest on Kristallnacht, Mr. Anson’s incarceration in Dachau ; his emigration to Glasgow in 1939; and his life in Scotland.
Read more in the newspaper article below.
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During the school year, we had a request to support Auchenharvie Academy with the Holocaust topic within History. We approached Gathering the Voices, a charity whose 6 volunteers have gather testimonies from Holocaust…
Recently, Gathering the Voices shared the video Martin Anson with Ms. Aileen Campbell, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government.
Gathering the Voices has made a video telling the story of German refugee Martin Anson journey to finding a new home in Scotland, with Education Scotland agreeing to promote the video to Scottish…
Continue Reading Video of refugee’s life story made available to schools
The Anson family is pleased to report that memorabilia from Steven’s late father Martin Ansbacher (Anson) is now being featured in the just opened and remodeled Core Exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB).
https://www.jmberlin.de/en/opening-new-core-exhibition
Here are photographs of the exhibits featured, and an explanation of what is represented.
The first photograph of the group below shows the family business in Leutershausen with anti-Jewish graffiti on it dated approx 1932 – the family moved to Landshut as a result shortly afterwards.
This photo has a unique story of how it ended up in the JMB. It was viewed at a car boot sale in Germany, and then featured/auctioned on e-bay and bought by a Leutershausen collector/historian a few years ago, shown to our family when we visited the town’s Burgermeister (Mayor), then shown to JMB, and then donated to the JMB to form part of Martin’s story.
Below it are other photographs of their time before the war.
Left – Martin and his cousin Wilhelm ran the “M & W TextileHaus” Drapery retail business – this is an advertising calendar holder from the business
Right – Martin and Beate (or Pat his future wife from Krieigshaber, Augsburg, married in Glasgow (1946) taken we think near the Jewish Sports Club in Augsburg about 1938.
They were just good friends, and both engaged to other people. The war and emigration ended those relationships or else I would not be writing this!
In the picture Martin is wearing the traditional German Lederhosen and Tracht Jacket. He brought this to him to Scotland, and wore it our shul for the fancy costume services at Purim.
Lower Right – Outside the “M & W TextileHaus” Drapery business in Landshut about 1937. The 2 fathers are on the outside, Wilhelm is center and Martin in the background.
Martin’s audio interview featuring his life story can be listened to and read at our website Gathering the Voices, starting with is childhood at
https://new.gatheringthevoices.com/martin-anson-childhood-and-school-days/
We are indebted to Aubrey Pomerance, a curator at the JMB, for featuring Martin’s remarkable life there.
Steven and Hilary Anson
On Sunday 26th April, Holocaust survivor Bob MacKenzie participated in a live phonecall interview on Facebook Live with Laura Pasternak, a Holocaust Educational Trust Regional Ambassador for Scotland. You can watch the interesting videos in two parts on www.facebook.com/hetrascotland.
As a Kindertransportee to the UK in 1939 aged 8, Bob, originally from Chemnitz, Germany was really keen for more people to learn about the Kindertransport while in lockdown.
Bob told of his Jewish father and Lutheran mother’s unimaginable decision to send him to the UK for safety before the war broke out, his arrival at the priory in Selkirk and welcome from the MacKenzie family who took him in with his older sister Isolde.
Bob emphasised the need to remember the generosity of families across Britain who sponsered and looked after refugee children like him. He ultimately showed his gratitude to his foster father by taking the family name (as they had only daughters) when he took British nationality in 1950.
Bob is used to volunteering and socialising, so lockdown presented an opportunity to be creative with technology and spread the work about Kindertransport to people stuck at home.
Sunday’s stream reached 671 people, had 348 views and 199 ‘engagements’ (comments, questions, ‘likes’ shares etc.)!
Laura wants to thank Gathering the Voices for having interviewed Bob back in 2014.
Bob’s testimony helped Laura steer the interview, and she showed the photos on the website on-screen during the call!
