Autobiographical interviews of Jews born in German speaking countries ("Yekkes") - 50/60 years after their immigration to Israel

Born 05/23/1914, Berlin. Graduation from high school 1932. Practical training in department store concern 1932-34, quit in 1934. Hachshara in Yugoslavia 1934-35. One year at the Academy for Jewish Studies, Berlin. 1936-38 institute of agriculture in Florence. 1939 emigration to England. 1940 volunteer in the English army -> Australia. Arrival to Palestine in 1942. Occupations: work in a psychiatric hospital, military service in the British navy, ship supplier and officer in the Israeli navy. Retirement 1959. Studied Psychology in Zurich. Career adviser. Interview: About his Hebrew name and why he does not use it. Did research on his name. Born 1914 in Berlin, father was a salesman, mother came from Posen. 4 ½ years in Posen with his mother, polish- German mixture, German culture was dominant. Big Jewish population. 1919 return to Berlin after father returned from war. 1920 school, first private then public. Very broad general education, Latin and Greek, English. 1932 move to Saxony. 1932 beginning of practical training, the company was aryanized in 1934, he had to go. Member of Zionist youth movement, emigration was clear. Why he did not go to University right away. Member of a liberal Jewish boy scout movement, 1931 he switched to a more Zionist orientated organization, Habonim. About the youth movement. Emigration: 05/23/1934 to Yugoslavia with a small group from the movement. Hachshara Kibbutz "Bamidbar". Met his wife Edith, she emigrated in 1935. He attended the ; Academy of Jewish Studies, Berlin. Little knowledge of Hebrew. Did not want to wait for the certificate and went to Italy. His wife emigrated with a single certificate and went to Kibbutz Kfar Szold. About the Kibbutz. 1936 move to Florence to get a better professional education for Palestine. 1938 all non-Aryan students who had not been at the University for more than two years were expelled. He went to Switzerland because he could not get a certificate anymore. Nursed an old relative near Locarno for a year, still trying to get the certificate. Reichskristallnacht: The English allowed passage for some groups of young people without a visa or a certificate. They were allowed to work in agricultural jobs. His parents were still in Berlin. 1939 they managed to flee with the help of relatives. They went to Belgium. One brother went to the USA. He visited his parents in Belgium in 1939 and saw them for the last time. His father tried to escape to France but did not succeed. He was taken to Auschwitz. Mother and female relatives lived in the Belgian underground. Grandmother died 1942 in Brussels. Mother was arrested in 1943 when she visited the grave and taken to Auschwitz via "Westerbork". He only knows this because a man who was with them told him. Has postcards from interim camps which do not make sense. 1938 Jewish youths were allowed to immigrate to England. Foundation of a Zionist Action Committee; Tedy Kollek was a member. He came to England in 1939 and took his first ; task of putting Jewish refugees into an agricultural training camp for English juveniles. Wachs was the director of the camp and became troubleshooter on English farms who had problems with Jewish refugees who did not know how to work. Organized discussion centers. After 1939 no more immigrants came, he worked 2 jobs until 05/10/1940. He was arrested. Internment, return to London, again internment in a camp near Liverpool. Volunteered to help on board of an emigration ship to Australia. The camp in Australia. His Wehrmacht passport was found and handed back to him. Remained in the camp for two years. 01/04/1942 his wife had succeeded to get a certificate for him and he immigrated to Palestine. About the camp in Australia and corporal Kar Schneider who had to watch his own parents because they were German citizens. Went to a Kibbutz, but left when it moved. 1942 move to Haifa. Worked in a private hospital for mentally disturbed people. About the hospital. After three months he joined the English navy. Served 4 ½ years, partly as translator, also as supplier. 1943/44 one year in Egypt. Birth of son 1943, spoke German for the first 5 years. 1947 he left the navy. Worked as private ship supplier until 1947. 1948 he joined the Israeli navy and stayed until 1959. Retired as first Israeli lieutenant commander. 1959 he went to Switzerland with his wife and began to study Psychology. A visit to Frankfurt. Return to Israel. School Psychology in Beer Sheva. Dissertation and ; doctorate in Zurich. 2 years Psychologist, return to the navy as Psychologist. Psychological research with his wife on board of navy ships. Language situation in the beginning: English was main language. 1952 /53 crash courses in Hebrew. Wrote his dissertation in German. Was navy Psychologist in charge for years. Was honored Psychological escort and founder of the navy. About Gerontology. About age and finding a sense in life. The problem of discrepancy between scientific and technological progress and the social mess in the world. About dealing with a life that was shaped by emigration. His relation to the German language. About his brother who almost lost his ability to speak German.