Kestenberg Archive

FG was born in May 1927 in Vienna, Austria. His father came from an affluent family; whereas his mother did not. However, FG's mother was an intelligent woman and highly educated: she was the first female to graduate from the Vienna Polytechnic where she studied civil engineering. FG's parents were left-wing and secular. In fact, FG was registered as being “without religion” on his birth certificate. At approximately age ten, he was reregistered as being Jewish. In December of 1938, FG and his sister HG who was two years younger than him, were sent on a kindertransport to England. FG was responsible for looking after his younger sister. When they arrived in England, they were taken to a camp-like location, later HG was sent to live with a family in Yorkshire, England. She was homesick and subsequenlty FG was sent to live with her, and the family. Both HG and FG attended school, and occasionally corresponded with their parents. Unbeknown to FG and HG, their parents divorced . Their mother escaped from Vienna and moved to Palestine while their father relocated to Italy. In the February of 1940, HG and FG were sent to the USA to live with two different families. ; Eventually their father was able to reach America. Once he was able to support them financially, they were able to move in with him. In July 1944, FG's mother came to the United States. FG's parents remarried and the family reunited. FG married a Eva who comes from a similar background. They have three children. FG says he finds it difficult to connect to people born in the USA; he has a much better and natural connection to those from a European background and to to whose who had similar experiences. FG and Eva did not raise their children religiously as FG opposes organised religion.