Kestenberg Archive

MEF was born in Berlin in June 1933. She had two older sisters. Her father spoke out against the Nazi regime and in 1933 was forced to leave for Amsterdam. There he started a library dedicated to the fight against German antisemitism. The rest of the family followed to Amsterdam in 1934, where they lived in a house adjoined to the library. In 1939 MEF's father took the library to London because it became uncomfortable having it in a neutral country. The library became the Central Jewish Information Office in London, later called the Weiner Library. MEF recalls a happy and content childhood. Her father was often away from home because of his work, but MEF did not associate it with a negative or scary task. She played a lot with her sisters and other children in the street. At the outbreak of the war her father was in London and they were awaiting visas to go and meet him - but the visas arrived on the day the war began and they could not get to England. At this time the family had a German Jewish refugee live with them as a mother's help. MEF's mother began to work for the Jewish Agency because their father could no longer send over money. Despite all the prohibitions against where they could go and what they could do, MEF was not scared and still played with her toys. She was too young to understand that she should be scared, but was aware that all the adults were worried. At this time MEF's mother decided to leave the house to avoid being arrested, and they split up to hide amongst relatives. However it was too difficult on her daughters and she decided to return home. ; MEF attended a Jewish school and remembers having to run to the shelter during air raids. On the 20th June 1943 they were rounded up and taken to Westerbork. Although Westerbork was over crowded and the condition were bad, they were allowed relative freedom and able to put on theatre shows and classes for the children. MEF and her sister contracted hepatitis and were treated in the camp hospital. In December 1943 the family were transported to Bergen Belsen. The conditions there were appalling with many restrictions. MEF's mother and older sister had to work. However, because of their bought Uruguayan passports they enjoyed special status and were put in an exchange camp, meaning they were not tattooed and their heads were not shaved. In December 1945 MEF, her sisters and their mother (who was very weak from starvation) were exchanged for German Prisoners of War in America. They were put on a normal train for days and finally arrived in January 1945 at the Swiss border where they were taken by the Swiss Red Cross. MEF's mother was taken to the hospital but she died that night and was buried in Koitsling. They sisters remained in Sugallen with the Swiss Red Cross for a few weeks until they were taken by the American Red Cross to Marseilles. At this time MEF's father was working in New York for the British government and was doing all that he could to get his daughters into America. Finally they were reunited with him in New York. After a short while he had to return to England and did not want to take them with because of the war. He left them in the care of a Quaker family, and after a few weeks they moved to live with a Jewish family in Newark. They went to school and summer camps and enjoyed it. MEF says at this time she felt much older than other children around here, because her experiences had matured her beyond her years.