Kestenberg Archive

EL was born in Bremen, Germany in 1924 and grew up in nearby Bremerhaven. She was an only child but spent a lot of time with her extended family, as her mother came from a large family. EL recalls a happy childhood. The family were not religiously observant but strongly identified as Jews; they would sometimes go to synagogue and EL went to Hebrew school. EL had both Jewish and Christian friends. She went to an all girls public school and never experienced any antisemitism there. She does recall Nazi indoctrination and brainwashing that existed in the schools. EL was not really aware of things being bad, until she went to a beach one day and there was a sign that said “No Jews allowed”. It was then that her parents decided they must leave Germany. EL's mother's family were patriotic Germans and did not believe that anything bad would happen, and therefore refused to leave. EL and her parents left in 1936 to South Africa. When they disembarked off the boat, people were demonstrating on the port that they did not want the Jews to come. EL's paternal grandfather joined them in 1939, but apart from him there were no other survivors in the family. EL finds it very hard to think of all her family suffering and she does not dwell on the details. ; The family was very poor at first in South Africa, but she did not feel deprived because many others were in the same situation. Her father had been a cattle dealer in Germany, and now opened a butchery which did well, making the family comfortable. EL married at 19 to a South African Jew of German descent. They had two children and moved to London when they were 11 and 14. Both EL's children married non-Jews. EL considers her totally irreligious. EL works as a tour guide in London and often guides German groups, but never admits she is from Germany. EL feels a greater connection to South Africa than Germany.