During her absence in England, another Nazi edict was issued to embarrass the Jewish population, which demanded that from the 1st of January, 1939, all Jewish women add the name, Sara, to their name, and all men, Israel. The school had to become the Dr.Leonore Sara Goldschmidt Schule, which involved great expense in reprinting stationary and Report Cards. All adult Jewish people had to register for a "Kennkarte" (identification document) which carried a big "J" on the outside and a photograph and two fingerprints [1] on the inside, making the person look like a criminal. When the winter term report cards were issued later that month, late due to all the upheaval, they were the last ones issued before the enforced name change. They were all beautifully hand written in an effort to carry on in a normal manner. When an inspector came to see about the furniture that was to be exported, the author had to show him the furniture and use her wits showing him ordinary items and not the antiques as the Reichsfluchtsteuer (tax on fleeing the country) was to be levied on the value of this furniture. By the time Lore returned on the 25th of January 1939 [2] the passports for her children had arrived. A second cousin on her mother's side, Herbert Loewy, a former judge, came to offer his assistance with legal problems should they arise in Ernst's absence. His help was much appreciated. She wrote a letter to the Stadtpräsident (the town president), High School Division, applying for an extension of the Cambridge Examination Centre until 1940. [3] She stressed the importance of the centre for the emigration prospects of the students as, following negotiations with the Home Office and Cambridge University, she was about to open a branch of the school in Folkestone, Kent. She signed it Dr.Leonore Sara Goldschmidt, with Sara added to her name. But when Dr.HŸbner forwarded this request for extension to the Reichsminister fŸr Wissenschaft (Minister for Science), adding an affirmative paragraph, [4] he did not add the name Sara! On the 20th of March an internal memo from the Minister of Education to the Stadtpräsident extended the Cambridge University Examination Centre at the Dr.Leonore Sara Goldschmidt Schule until the 31st of March 1940. [5] The news from the USA was mixed. Theodore Huebener, [6] who had hoped to see the Goldschmidts before Christmas, had finally realised how desperate the situation had become. In her reply [7] to his letter, on the 13th of February, she emphasised the importance of receiving his letters: "of friendly feelings of men like you in other countries, because, beyond all material help, we want even more preserving of self-esteem and self-control". She continued: "I do not think that a great many people will be able to wait for their affidavits in this country. Most of the emigrants will have to leave Germany for other countries transitorily before being able to immigrate to the USA, especially those teachers who had been put into concentration camps in November." She described her efforts in Folkestone and with the training farm near Oxford. She stated that the University of Cambridge had promised support with her application to the English Home Office. But lack of capital was the main hold up as the German authorities refused all transfer of funds from Germany. Alvin Johnson's letter [8] , received on the 20th of March, 1939, implied a turn for the worse, as he was told by US immigration that they will only give agricultural preference visas to trained farmers and not to her pupils. Having met the farmers that she had sent so far, he commented: "They are very good and I hope to settle them soon. If they are intelligent and work hard they can make a comfortable living. This means that there really is no permanent place for a farm manager like Mr.Moch." The news from Britain was more hopeful. A copy of a letter from J.H.Langdon, the Hon. Organising Secretary of the Movement for the Care of Children from Germany, British Inter-Aid Committee, Bloomsbury House, London to E.N.Cooper Esq., Home Office, Aliens Department, Cleland House said, [9] "I believe you have already received an application in respect of a school of some 200 children to be opened near Folkestone for the pupils of the former Goldschmidt School in Berlin, which would be under the auspices of the former director Dr.Goldschmidt. The School would be co-educational, and I am informed that the whole of the education would be in the English language and that at least half of the staff employed would be British subjects. My Committee have no objection in principle to this school; some little time must elapse before it can be opened, because a number of the guarantors of the eventual pupils at the school are resident abroad, principally in the United States, and it will be necessary for us to take measures to protect the Movement against a failure of such guarantees. In the meantime it would be helpful to us if you could communicate to me the view of the Home Office on this project." But by March 1939, the political situation was getting more and more frightening as Hitler had been able to persuade Poland and Hungary to act as his henchmen. On the 15th of March, 1939, the remains of Czechoslovakia were carved up and annexed. This terrible aggression, unopposed by international condemnation, caused great concern among the Jewish population in Germany. To Lore, who had become nervous about Ernst's return to Germany, it added further anxiety. She decided to ring Lammers [10] , Chief of the Reich Chancellery. According to my mother [11] : "Lammers replied that nothing stood in the way of Ernst Goldschmidt's return. She replied to him that she would not accept this statement as a satisfactory answer and demanded that he would give her his word of honour to protect Ernst if he returned." This amazing dialogue was reported to me, the author, at that time but never forgotten. [12] On the 20th of March [13] , Lore decided that, if Ernst did not return to Germany, her children could be kept as hostages. As a result of this fear, the author and brother Rudi, would have to leave immediately. There was no time to say good-bye to friends. The last few minutes spent with our kind and loving Gertrud No‘l were most memorable, as on leaving, she, now an old lady, questioned the decision to emigrate, naively asserting that we may not be happy in England as Germany was such a wonderful country! The following morning, on the 21st of March, 1939, I, carrying a small suit case plus a book called "The Microbe Hunters", by Paul de Kruif, together with my brother, Rudi, carrying the Cremona violin, inherited from the murdered Alexander Zweig, flew from Templehof Airport, with DM10 (17s and 6p) each. We were met at Croydon Airport by our father and Dudley Cheke. After a short stop in London to visit Joseph and Elsie Bender at 29 Great Portland Street, W1 [14] , followed by an unforgettable ride on the top of a double decker bus to King's Cross station, we continued by train to Letchworth, Herts., where Mr.and Mrs.Harris and Mr.and Mrs.Fernyhough welcomed us into St Christopher School. My Abgangszeugnis [15] (the leaving certificate) in the name of the Dr.Leonore Sara Goldschmidt Schule was issued on the 23rd of March, 1939. It was signed by Rubensohn and arrived by post. On the 22nd of March, Lore received the Affidavit numbers, 63459-63462, [16] for the family via the US Consul. The waiting time for these numbers was about two years. This made any thought of going to the USA most unlikely and England had to be the country of immigration.
Ernst returned to Germany, an act of immense courage. Following his return, the Lift, which I had helped organise, was finally packed with furniture including the Bechstein grand piano. After the Reichsfluchtsteuer was paid, the crate was shipped to us, myself and my brother, in England. In Ernst's absence, a law had been passed on the 21st of February requiring Jews to sell all their remaining silver and gold to official shops. Therefore, Ernst decided to pack the silver into a large suitcase. Together with a huge canvass bag, officially containing only bedding but in fact also the Persian carpets, he and Philip Wooley went to the Zoo station. Philip Wooley described the incident: [17] "Ernst Goldschmidt suggested that he and I go along to Bahnhof Zoo to investigate the procedure employed in registering luggage for the journey to London. The point was: if a passenger, about to board the train to Ostend, handed over luggage, would it be subjected to customs control on the spot or would it be loaded onto the train and later, possibly, examined at the frontier? We noticed that the luggage was simply weighed, the passenger would pay the charge and receive a receipt. So far so good. A few evenings later, I handed in some rather heavy pieces of luggage for registration and transport to London. Like the passenger we had watched, I was given a receipt for the fee and the luggage, bearing a number corresponding with that on the label stuck on it by the official. Off went the luggage to the luggage van, and I to my seat in the compartment. On reaching home (in England), I sent the receipt to a friend of Ernst Goldschmidt who later presented it at Victoria station." Eva Isaac-Krieger wrote independently about the luggage handler: "a devout anti-Nazi, a wonderful man, Herr Liedtke, our apartment superintendent, was also the luggage handler at the Zoo train station!" Obviously the reputation of the wonderful Herr Liedtke was justified as the stickers he placed on Jewish people's luggage indicated that customs had been done at Zoo station! With more than half the furniture gone and their children in England, it was time for Lore and Ernst to vacate the apartment at Auguste Victoria Strasse 62. They moved into the boarding section of the school. They also began preparations for Cousin Wilhelm to leave for St Christopher School and for Cousin Mine Presch, who was 16 years old and, therefore, ineligible for a children's visa, to obtain a training position in a hospital. Both left for England after the Easter school holidays. In England, these Easter school holidays had started on 1st of April, 1939. Because St Christopher School was closed over the holidays, the author had her first independent adventure, spending the holidays in Newport, South Wales, with Ella Glover's parents, both of whom were also mathematics teachers. On Good Friday, the 7th of April, [18] Mussolini invaded Albania, the sole Muslim enclave in Europe. The Pope said nothing! This led to a great debate about the immorality and unavoidability of war, but the Glovers were not convinced. Even at that late stage, there was no feeling of real urgency about the political situation and 'war was unthinkable' in England. On the 14th of April,1939 [19] , Lore Goldschmidt received a reply from the UK Home Office, forwarded by the Movement for the Care of Children from Germany, stating that the Secretary of State had no objections to the establishment of the school provided the Movement for the Care of Children took full financial responsibility for the children. This letter offered some hope but no financial help. When the school restarted on the 17th of April 1939, students of the Goldschmidt Schule received a terrible shock. Inge Fehr wrote:" The beautiful house at the Roseneck had been taken over by the SS and we moved to a villa, Kronberger Strasse 18, on April 19th 1939." [20] Some teachers must have been warned because, in a letter dated the 16th of April, [21] Arthur Heckscher, the mathematics teacher, described how he, Fräulein Dr.Whertheimer and Justice Loewy saved all the physics and chemistry instruments by moving them in a handcart to 18 Kronberger Strasse. This had been the 2nd building of the Lessler Schule. The main building, Hagenstrasse 56, had been confiscated by the Technische †berwachungsverein (Technical Supervision Authority) after Kristallnacht and a few months later, in February, 1939, Tony Lessler and her sister left for the USA. [22] This left 18 Kronbergerstrasse available with Lessler Schule pupils transferring to the Goldschmidt Schule. But as pupils were emigrating in ever greater numbers, only 3 members of my class in Berlin were still at the school [23] , classes had to be combined. Teachers had to be flexible, Dr.Wertheimer had to teach Chemistry in English to 2 students preparing for the Cambridge Examination. [24] In fact, the Fragebogen fŸr hšhere Schulen [25] (the statistical questionnaire for high schools) as of the 25th of May, 1939, showed that numbers had fallen by over 50% from the previous year. Only 245 children were left in the school including 20 boarders. Only 16 full time teachers and 3 part time teachers remained together with the 3 loyal English teachers who were preparing students for the Cambridge examination in July. Ella Glover, the English mathematics teacher, had married a German, Kurt Goemann, and was registered in that name. Even Dr.Lewent was thinking of leaving and had requested a testimonial from Lore Goldschmidt on the 10th of May. In a letter to his son Dieter in the USA he wrote: "The G's are still here to cope with existing circumstances which may mean vacating Kronberger Strasse 18 by the 1st of July. They are trying to obtain permission to export teaching material. You can imagine how much worry the thought of deputising holds for me. Every day there are less students in the class and I went home to-day totally depressed." On the 30th of June, Alvin Johnson wrote again. He was still trying to form his corporation and it must have become obvious to Lore that apart from the farmers, that she had sent, not much help would eventuate from him in time. On the 4th of July, just as the summer term was coming to an end, a new restrictive law against Jews was ordered. All Jews had to belong to a new organisation the Reichsvereinigung with its government in Berlin. The Reichvertretung der Juden in Deutschland, which had been a voluntary organisation, founded by Leo Baeck and administered by Dr.Otto Hirsch, was dissolved. The new organisation was under control of the Gestapo with Dr.Otto Hirsch in charge. [26] The organisation would act as supervisor of the Jewish school system. [27] Lore Goldschmidt's reaction was not recorded but it must have been obvious to her that her time in Germany was rapidly coming to an end. Nevertheless, a voluntary summer holiday "camp" was established by her at Hohenzollerndam 102 [28] to give her students an enjoyable vacation. The Cambridge University Examinations had to be completed. They started on the 17th of July, 1939. In spite of all the turmoil, 6 students sat the O-level examination, 4 boys from the Goldschmidt Schule and two girls from the Kaliski Schule. The 4 boys passed . [29] These were G.Meyer, H.Neckersalmer, W.Wischniak and M. Rosenthal. They took the following subjects: 6 passed English, 2 passed 12th Night, 4 passed Macbeth and 6 passed Authors. 2 passed Kings, 2 Old Testament, 2 English and European History, 1 Geography, 1 Latin, 5 French, 6 German, 1 Italian, 6 Mathematics, 2 Additional Mathematics and 2 Chemistry. 7 students passed the Proficiency in English examination. [30] That was an amazing achievement for both the students and the loyal English teachers. Once the examinations were over, Mr.Wolley and Miss van Hollick returned to England but Miss Glover, now Mrs.Goemann, pregnant, never left Germany . [31] Sadly, she could not be found after the war.
Lore and Ernst left Berlin for England on the 20th of July, 1939, with multi entry visas for the UK. They left Dr.Kurt Lewent in charge of the school. He described their departure in a letter to his son, Dieter, [32] in the USA. It was written in his spidery, elegant, gothic handwriting: "To-day is the big day when the G's are leaving us. I cancelled my three students in order to accompany them to the Templehof airport. What will happen in London? Fortunately she is not as far away and I can ask her before making decisions. But this time, I feel even less at ease as we are heading into unknown territory as far as the general situation is concerned and the future of the school in particular." (see footnote 215) On arrival at Croydon Airport, Lore and Ernst received their immigration stamps which read: "Leave to land at Croydon this day, July 20.1939, on condition that the holder does not enter any employment paid or unpaid while in the United Kingdom." The visa had no time limit. [33] They found that Canon Hyla Holden had made a start by renting a seaside boarding house, 6 Devonshire Terrace, [34] in Sandgate, a small seaside resort 2km west of Folkestone, Kent. Normally these boarding houses would be fully occupied, but with war clouds gathering rapidly, the usual holiday makers had not arrived. The boarding house, a terrace house, was located right on a pebble beach. It proved ideal temporary accommodation. It had a kitchen, dining room, living room and upper floors with bed and bathrooms, everything fully equipped. A caretaker couple looked after the house. Helene Schwabacher, Ernst's cousin, who had supervised the kitchen in the early days of the boarding school in Berlin and who, in 1938 had left to join her brother in Rickmansworth, again came to help. A few days later Lore and Ernst came to St Christopher School to thank Mr.and Mrs.Llyn Harris for their generosity and to take their three teenagers to Sandgate. Seeing my parents in England was a great relief, but leaving St Christopher School was sad as I had been very happy there. Sandgate was fun. Being so close to the beach made bathing possible and we soon settled down. We all had to help. The local shopkeepers were glad of our custom and often amused by our absurd requests, a German sentence translated into English. Refugee jokes abounded, all beautifully described by George Mikes in his book: "How to be an Alien". Within a few days of opening 6 Devonshire Terrace, more children arrived . [35] I wrote to Harry Nagler [36] :" A new school has started". Arthur Heckscher and I kept our correspondence going. He sent me a star chart of the northern hemisphere with prophetic words written on its cover: "Um nicht ganz vergessen zu werden" (not to be completely forgotten). Klaus Scheye, who joined the following month wrote: [37] : " In my address book, I had Mine Presch, a fellow classmate from the Goldschmidt days, a niece of Dr.Leonore Goldschmidt. I remember visiting her in Uxbridge, at the end of a London tube. We fell into each other's arms and it turned out that the school had risen from the ashes and was already functioning in, of all places, Folkestone, right next to the white cliffs of Dover. I immediately contacted Dr.Goldschmidt, and within two months was again 'home'." With her children settled, Lore embarked on the arduous task of trying to move her school to England. While all their personal goods, the Lift, the silver and the big bed sack had arrived safely, no Lift from the school had come. This meant starting from scratch and she began a huge effort to raise money to finance the beginning of a school. Her problems were so different from 1934, when she had had an adequate sum of money. In England she was almost without cash. Ernst's smuggling activities helped somewhat as his cousin Ernst Schwabacher advanced money against the jewellery. But otherwise it was cap in hand. She contacted the Movement for the Care of Children with whom she had made previous contact. Since December 1938, the Movement had registered and rescued over 8000 children. These had entered Great Britain on a "white card [38] ". This movement was known as the Kindertransport (Children's Transport). Usually, children left Berlin by train, sometimes under the guidance of Dr.Otto Hirsch, who accompanied them to London, but once they got there, each child would be billeted with its sponsor. Large sums of money had been collected in England by Jewish organisations such as B'nai Brith (Sons of the Covenant) and JRC (the Jewish Refugee Committee) which was deposited with the CBF, the Central British Fund for German Jewry [39] Lore Goldschmidt believed that by staying together as a group, greater emotional security would result for the children. It would also help parents, still in Germany, as they would know the surroundings of their children. She hoped that some money would be made available to sponser her project, especially for teachers who required individual financial sponsorship for their visas. When no help was forthcoming from these financial organisations, she became most distressed. She came back from London day after day crying that no one seemed to understand the urgency . [40] Unsure of their future, Ernst contacted the American Consul General in London on the 28th of August asking for his visa application to be transferred from Berlin to London. [41] In Berlin, Dr.Lewent, with the help of Dr.Meissinger and Miss Lilly Silberman, kept the holiday camp going and some adults came for English lessons. For a while, he hoped that the Goldschmidts could create another success from very little as before, but realised that circumstances were very different this time. He became depressed and very disappointed when he thought that Lore Goldschmidt was not sending sufficient information to him. [42] But Lore Goldschmidt could never talk about defeat and would not accept it. She could not communicate to him that she was encountering such enormous difficulties. She could only relate her successes and there were very few so far. He became angry that she had promised so much and was not able to deliver it. [43] But he remained loyally at his post and the new school semester of the Dr.Leonore Sara Goldschmidt Schule started on the 24th of August. By then, Lore had made some progress in England. First "Save the Children's Fund" and the Quakers had offered some assistance [44] . Then came the big break. Canon Hyla Holden found a private English boarding school for girls, which was about to close. The old headmistress, Miss Godfrey, sad that she had lost almost all her pupils, was willing to hand over the school to Lore Goldschmidt provided she plus the lone pupil, whose parents were in India and who had nowhere to go, were allowed to stay.
Thus on the 1st of September 1939 , [45] Lore accepted her offer and miraculously, with the help of Canon Hyla Holden, the JŸdische Privatschule Dr.Leonore Sara Goldschmidt was instantly transformed into Athelstan School, Shorncliffe Road, Folkestone (Photo 12 and 13).
But it was too late! Too late because on that very day Hitler, in spite of warnings from Chamberlain, invaded Poland. A total "black out" was ordered immediately. No light was to be seen after sunset. The double decker buses, travelling slowly up the steep hill to Folkestone, looked like ghosts. Soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force moved in next door and on the unforgettable Sunday, the 3rd of September, 1939, at 11 o'clock, Chamberlain broadcast those fatal words: "We are at war with Germany". The announcement was immediately followed by an air raid alarm, false alarm as the plane was one of ours, and we, children, went swimming! Following the declaration of war, Aliens had to register and obtain identification cards. [46] They were classed as Enemy Aliens A or B. Class A were Nazis and interned forthwith. Class B, all the Jewish refugees, were not interned. Sir John Anderson, the Home Secretary, did not want to repeat the unnecessary hardship imposed on innocent aliens as had happened in WW1 when Ernst's cousins Ernst Schwabacher and Carl Goldschmidt had been interned. The border between England and Germany was closed. Among the last persons to gain entry into Great Britain was Gertrud Loewy, nŽe Arnheim, together with her mother, Ernst's cousin. She had been the school secretary in Berlin prior to November 9th, 1938. For the whole month of August, Lore had fought to raise money to overcome the visa restrictions imposed by the Home Office for German passport-holders on the 21st of May, 1938. She did not succeed in time and any further thought of rescuing the wonderful teachers, still left behind in Berlin, had to be abandoned. It was a real tragedy. During part of August 1939 [47] , Dr. Otto Hirsch had been in England but returned to Germany before war broke out. On the 19th of September, the Reichsvereinigung, with Dr.Hirsch as director, decided not to take over the Dr Leonore Sara Goldschmidt Schule and informed it accordingly. Dr.Lewent had to give notice to all the staff, even to himself . [48] On the 26th of September, Oberschulrat Prof.Dr.HŸbner sent an official memo informing the school that it would be closed as of the 30th of September, 1939. [49] On the 29th, Dr. Lewent called a dignified assembly worthy of the wonderful school. Bandman conducted the choir. On singing "Nun zu guter Letzt" (For the last time) he had tears in his eyes. [50] Lewent was heart broken as he looked at the empty buildings. While he, himself, was able to transfer to another school teaching part time, most of the other teachers had lost their livelihood . [51] By then, 27 days after war broke out, communication between Germany and England had become increasingly difficult. All messages between the two countries had to be conducted via the Red Cross in Switzerland or via the USA. It was a most distressing time for Ernst and Lore. But Lore had always preached: "Do not turn back or, like Lot's wife, you will turn into a salt column" [52] and with immense determination she 'moved on'. Some days after the acquisition of Athelstan School, named after the Anglo-Saxon king ®thelstan, 894-940 AD, we abandoned the house in Sandwich and moved to the large Edwardian building which came fully equipped with books, desks and even a gym. It was located fairly close to the centre of Folkestone. [53] As Lore had predicted, quite a few children, who had been billeted with families, some desperately unhappy, were sent by B'nai B'rith to Lore Goldschmidt's new school. As the news of the reopening spread, pupils appeared. Otto Fendrich wrote [54] : "It was in the winter of 1939 that we were told that the Committee (B'nai B'rith) had decided to move us from Macaulay House School in Sussex. I had been there since I arrived by Kindertransport in June, 1939; some of the others had been a little longer, some a little less long. I suppose there must have been about 20 of us in all, because a coach was hired to take us from Cuckfield to Folkestone. It dropped us outside Athelstan School in Shorncliffe Road. My memory of the first few weeks is of liberation: we were trusted to go out by ourselves, to keep any pocket money we had and our letters were not censored- all these were freedoms we had not had at Macauley House. The accommodation and the food were also much better. The general atmosphere was very congenial, and although there certainly was discipline, it was not obtrusive or draconian. Dr. Goldschmidt, as headmistress, was clearly in charge of every aspect of the school and more than capable of laying the law down when necessary (and it quite often was necessary) but even at the height of the storm one was aware of an undercurrent of affection and humour. The teaching was also of a high standard. I remember Miss Smith teaching English (the only Englishwoman on the staff until sometime later, when she was joined by a very young geography mistress), Mr.Stadelman (an ex-journalist) teaching German and Dr.Goldschmidt teaching History. There was also Dr.Julian Hirsch (French and Latin) and Mr.Sawady (religious instruction and more memorable, music)." Dr.Gertrud Schlesinger came to teach Mathematics and Science. Ruth Kristella who had married Max Goldstein, another teacher from Berlin, both joined the new school. Kristella taught sewing and cooking. Alfons Cohn, who had been one of the early members of the Goldschmidt Schule in Berlin also rejoined and looked after sport. The very English Miss Godfrey accepted the relatively unruly boys and girls with great humour. Helen, the only English girl, soon declared that she was having the best time of her life. All the older pupils were gathered into a School Certificate Class and prepared to take the Cambridge examination the following July, 1940. The selected text books were: Shakespeare's "As You Like It", George Elliot's "Silas Marner" and Sheridan's "School for Scandal", books never to be forgotten. The author was a member of this class. Miss Smith, who came from Elham, Kent, must have come via Canon Hyla Holden and Miss Nussy. She turned out to be a magnificent English teacher who systematically and painstakingly transformed our English to School Certificate standard by teaching grammar, prŽcis writing and style. [55] While communication between England and Germany had ceased, correspondence with the USA was possible. Lore received a reply from Alvin Johnson to her letter of the 18th of August giving him her new address. He hoped to prepare the ground for settlers by the 15th of September. [56] Shortly thereafter Lore received a letter, dated the 10th of September, 1939, from one of the settlers, Leonard Heimann. [57] He wrote:" After an interview with Prof.J. and another one with a Mr.Mims (who will be appointed as the first manager of the settlement) I may give you the following information about the farm: Both gentlemen intend to go to Wilmington within the next few days. They will select the best part of the land to start with and will order the existing houses to be repaired as temporary cottages for the first settlers; that may take about 6 weeks. Then we go down with 4 other families. The cost for the completed farm unit will be US$3600 and will be repaid with interest." The letter gave further details about the settlement to be undertaken. This first letter was followed by a second one written on the 7th of December from Watha, North Carolina. The local people had welcomed them. He described the houses as comfortable but primitive with a wood stove for heating. They were at present digging draining ditches and preparing the land with fertiliser. They were being paid $2 per day. But he sounds content and reports that he found Alvin Johnson a most impressive and fascinating personality . [58] On the 11 of January 1940, Lore received a short letter from Johnson confirming Heimann's account. [59] On the other hand, the US authorities in the UK never answered Ernst's letter of the 29th of August 1939, concerning the US Visa transfer from Berlin, forcing Ernst to write an inquiry letter on the 28th of January 1940, to the Overseas Settlement Department at Bloomsbury House asking for information and further instructions. After Christmas, Lore received a Red Cross Message from Berlin informing her that her brother-in-law, Kurt Presch, father of Mine and William had died of kidney failure in the Jewish hospital in Berlin. It was sent by his housekeeper. Lore was very sad as she had truly hoped that he would follow them to England. Mine and William were, therefore, orphans and Lore always tried her best to help them and act as their parent.
[1] Kennkarte of Lore Goldschmidt 14/2/1939 in possession of the author
[2] Passport entry, Flughafen Tempelhof, 25/1/1939
[3] Letter LG to Stadtpräsident, 7/2/1939, copy Bundesarchiv, Potsdam
[4] Attachment HŸbner to Minister for Education, 13/2/1939, Bundesarchiv,Potsdam
[5] Internal note from the Reichsminister, 20/3/1939, Bundesarchiv,Potsdam
[6] Letter from Huebener to LG, written 28/1/1939, received 11/2/1939, inpossession of the author
[7] Reply to above, 13/2/1939, copy in possession of the author
[8] Letter Alvin Johnson to LG, received 20/3/39, in possession of the author
[9] Letter from Bloomsbury House to Home Office, 17/3/1939, copy in possessionof the author
[10] Lammers, Hans Heinrich, Chief of the Reich Chancellery
[11] Conversation communicated to the author on the day before her leaving,20/3/1939
[12] At the time, the author did not give credence to this story, but, following a telephone call from Lubliniec in the year 2000, the author consulted "Who's Who in Nazi Germany". This amazing truth became apparent: "Hans Heinrich Lammers was born in Lublinitz, now Lubliniec, in 1879, the son of the veterinary surgeon. He studied law at Breslau and Heidelberg. He became the county court judge in Beuthen, now Bytom, in 1912. After military service during WWI, he joined the Reich Ministry of the Interior as a senior government advisor. In 1933 he was promoted to Head of the Reich Chancery. An imaginative bureaucrat, who combined a sense of protocol with natural brutality, Lammers legal expertise was much appreciated by Hitler who had known him for many years. He was made Reich Minister without Portfolio in 1937." What was his connection to the Zweigs? By 1879, Wilhelm Zweig had probably left Lublinitz but his father, Adolf, was certainly alive and was the well known publican there. Other members of the Zweig family owned the farm at Molna, a few kilometres outside Lublinitz, which may have used the services of Lammers' father?. How long had Lore known this man?
[13] Memory of the author
[14] Address from Leonard Heimann's letter, 7/12/1939; footnote 242
[15] Abgangszeugnis of author in possession of theauthor
[16] American General Consulate, Berlin, 22/3/1939, in possession of the author
[17] Passages from Berlin, Private publication
[18] Dates confirmed with 1939 Almanac
[19] Letters from the Home Office and Bloomsbury House, 14/4/1939 in possessionof the author
[20] Passages from Berlin, private publication, in possession of the author
[21] Letter from A. Heckscher to the author, 16/4/1939
[22] Hier ist kein Bleiben länger, publication, WilmersdorfMuseum
[23] Letter from A Heckscher to the author, 22/5/39
[24] Letter from I Wertheimer to the author 18/5/39
[25] Fragebogen fŸr hšhere Schulen, 25/5/39, in possessionof the author
[26] Leo Baeck Yearbook, XXXII, page 365
[27] Juden in Preussen, editor Kleming, in possessionof the author
[28] Letter from A Heckscher to the author,18/7/39
[29] Letter from A Heckscher to the author
[30] Cambridge University Examination archives
[31] Letter from Lewent to his son, 20/7/1939, copies of excerpts with theauthor
[32] Parts of letter from Lewent to his son 20/7/39, the beginning of a very sadcorrespondence
[33] Passport entry in LG's passport, copy in possession of the author
[34] U.K. Registration Certificate of LG, No 686899, 1/8/1939
[35] Photo of 9 children on beach in August 1939 in possession of the author
[36] Passages from Berlin, Private publication
[37] Passages from Berlin. Private publication
[38] Amy Zahl Gottlieb, Men of Vision, Weidenfels and Nicols
[39] Amy Zahl Gottlieb, Men of Vision, Weidenfeld and Nicols
[40] No written documents exist about these negotiations, authors memory only.
[41] Copy of letter from EG to US Consul, London, in possession of the author
[42] Letter from Lewent to his son Dieter
[43] Another part of aa letter from Lewent to son Dieter
[44] No written documents in possession of the author, only Lore's notes.
[45] Lore Curriculum Vitae, written on 25/4/1952
[46] Original document lost, only later versions available
[47] Paul Sauer, Otto Hirsch, Leo Baeck Yearbook, 1987, page 366
[48] Letter from Lewent to his son Dieter in the USA
[49] Copy of memo from HŸbner, 26/9/1939 reproduced in "Hier ist keinBleiben länger."
[50] Passages from Berlin, private publication
[51] No letters from Lewent to LG exist. All excerpts come from Lewent's letters to his son.
[53] Photographs in possession of the author
[54] Letter from O.Fendrich to the author, 29/1/1986
[55] Memory of the author
[56] Letter Johnson to LG, 8/9/1939, in possession of the author
[57] Letter from Heimann to LG, 10/9/1939 in possession of the author
[58] 2nd letter from Heyman to friends, 7/12/1939, in possession of the author,
[59] Johnson to Lore, short letter 11/1/1940, in possession of the author
