Tamara Sessler - February 4, 2008
Good Experiences with the British
You had good experiences with the British it sounds like?
Oh, very good from the very beginning, very good ones. My sister came to people who I would say if they were Israelis who I would say they were the salt of the earth--a Christian family and he was I think eighteen years her junior and she used to be a ladies maid in one of the stately homes and he was butler. And one Saturday--Sunday in church the minister asked the people who would be prepared to take in a Jewish refugee child--and you know their background by now, she was a maid and he was a butler--they looked at each other and he put up his hand and he took my sister in. I have ??? contact with his granddaughters still. I had them over for ten days at our place ...
What were their names?
...about ten years ago.
What were their names?
Seymour. Marvelous people. You know, I used to go to tea with them. They always made the proper English tea, you know, ??? jelly, salmon sandwiches--she had a stock of things that she shared with us. And every time I left he gave me his hand--I used to call him ???--I always had six pence in my hand when he left me. Marvelous people, absolutely marvelous people. I kept in contact with their daughter until she died but with the granddaughter, I'm in contact all the time.
So they took your sister.
They took my sister.
What's your sister's name?
Norton.
Norton?
Norton. Her husband was ???. He was the one who was baptized I told you about. But his name wasn't ??? but he was an officer in the British Army and when he was sent abroad they asked him to change his name, you know, they did that with the British soldiers.
What's her first name?
It used to be Emmanuela but she wouldn't like me to tell you that.
Okay.
She's called Teddy.
Teddy.
I think Emmanuela's a very nice name but she hates it.
Well, it indicates the level of religiosity that your parents, that your parents had. Emmanuela's...
Not a Jewish name.
...not a Jewish name.
Nor is Fritzi.
How did you get the name Fritzi?
Because they thought I was going to be a boy. They wanted Fritz but I disappointed them, I was the third girl.
I'm sure not. Um, so you exper...you had a good experience...
Have something--chocolate--help yourself. Have some chocolate--sit. These are also very nice.
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