Hanna Ramras - January 26, 2008
Start of War
When the war started, how did you and your foster family respond to that?
My foster family was so worried about me because Swanage was on the coast and the, the Germans flew over the Channel very quickly and started bombing. And they had the responsibility of taking care of someone else's child so they decided to send me to the interior--not further inland--to boarding school. And I went to boarding school and it was much quieter there.
Were they bombing Swanage?
They, they were bombing all the coastline and they came in very frequently. But uh, they felt that it would be wrong for me to stay and, and be frightened to death of the explosions and things that they didn't want to traumatize me further so they sent me to boarding school. It was an absolutely fabulous school and a very good education. And it was in Devonshire. I don't know how--whether you're familiar with uh, with the map of England...
It's a beautiful part of the country.
Oh, beautiful and not too far from Plymouth which was a navel center so once the war started and they started bombing heavily--which didn't take long--we would go up on the roof at school and watch Plymouth--the fireworks in Plymouth. And it picked up speed and I don't know how prepared the British were, I don't think they were but uh, the feeling of um, let's say that the feeling of patriotism there to that country--I had that feeling for England because they took in refugees. They did not close the door and they took in Jewish refugees. And one group was brought over by an exceptional man. His name was Sir Nicholas Winton.
© Board of Regents University of Michigan-Dearborn