Kestenberg Archive

MM was born in 1922 in Germany. His parents were both from well-established and respected middle class families who had been in Germany since at least 1700. His father served in World War One, where he was awarded an Iron Cross, and was held as a prisoner of war for five years in France. MM's parents married in 1921 and established a wine business. MM was their only child and he states he had an untroubled childhood. He first became aware of the situation when he was five and saw an SA march from his home. MM states school was fine and he was not discriminated against for being Jewish. MM believes these years that led up to the war are very important, as people often forget about the daily persecutions the Jews suffered. The family moved and both MM and his father seem to have been in Buchenwald for a short time (unclear from transcript). In 1938, the local synagogue was destroyed and MM led the services and read from the Torah because no one else was able to read Hebrew. He unsuccessfully tried many different ways to leave Germany, for example he paid for a visa to Paraguay but it was a scam and he could not buy a ticket to leave. ; Eventually, MM obtained a trainee visa to England which was available to those under 45 wanting to go into domestic service. He travelled with a kindertransport group, as an adult supervisor, and arrived in England 3rd August 1939. He boarded with an English non-Jewish family who were shocked by his story. He then stayed with a Jewish family. MM found England amazing, with the freedom and lack of danger. He trained in tool making and began night classes in mechanical engineering. When the war began, MM was classified as a “friendly alien” and was interned in the Isle of Mann in June 1940 after the fall of France. He was treated well and has no complaints about it. He continued his studies by correspondence. MM joined the British Army in the Alien Pioneer Corps as soon as he was able to, in December 1949. At the beginning it was mostly physical work on the bases in England. After MM showed his skill with tools, he was transferred to York for two years where he worked in gun fitting. He later began a staff sergeant and worked in Dover in an engineering position. At this time MM discovered, through the Red Cross, that his parents were killed (he is still not exactly sure where or how) and he stopped being observant. He had laid tefillin and prayed every day, but on Yom Kippur in Leeds in 1942, he walked out of synagogue in anger at what had happened to his family and never observed again. Towards the end of the war, MM took part in the advance in Germany. He was stationed in Hanover where his knowledge of Germany was very useful. He met many Bergen Belsen survivors. MM returned to his hometown and met his non-Jewish neighbours who had been very kind and helpful to his family, and they helped him to get his job back. After the war, MM finished his studies and became a chartered mechanical engineer, which he successfully worked in until he retired. ; MM married a woman from a well-established English family in 1951.