"Born in June 1924 in a Jewish family, he describes how he had a relatively normal childhood until the Anschluss of 1938 - when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany - meant that life "took a completely different meaning and survival became the only aim". "Jewish shops and premises, synagogues, offices and anything where there was a Jewish connection quickly became a target for violence, fire, destruction, robbery, and personal attack," he writes."
""In many instances they took delight and pleasure in their sadistic way of making Jews do things, however stupid, just to humiliate them and to stand there laughing or kicking and hurting anybody at will." He remembers his mother being marched out of their flat without warning by Nazi soldiers who ordered her to carry out humiliating tasks for hours, like cleaning filthy cooking stoves with a nail brush or sweeping the pavement outside the house with a toothbrush."
Eva King, aged 86, cares full-time for her husband Herbert, aged 101. Both were born in Vienna and now live in London. Both endured formative experiences that motivated them to provide shelter through the charity Refugees at Home. Eva experienced homelessness while Herbert arrived in Britain on the Kindertransport. Herbert, born in June 1924 into a Jewish family, documented his journey to London after retirement. His childhood remained relatively normal until the 1938 Anschluss, when survival became the primary aim. Jewish shops, synagogues and businesses were targeted for violence, destruction, robbery and personal attack, and families faced sustained humiliation and abuse.
Read at www.bbc.com
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