Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Tamara Sessler - February 4, 2008

When you were here already?

No, in England. You don't want to know about my time in England do you?

I do.

You do? In England I was first taken in by a Christian family. Um, no, I must go back first. When we got to England my mother stayed in London at the position that she had planned for and my sister and I went by train onto Birmingham with another two or three pairs of siblings. And we were sure we were going to be together being as we are brothers and sisters, we're together. And my sister already packed her ??? with her because she likes to read ???. And when we got to Birmingham there was one family waiting for her and another one for me. And this was--this horror of the situation will follow me all my life because I wouldn't let my sister go. I hung, I hung onto her and I screamed and I cried and nothing, nothing would let me let go of her 'til her family and my family got together and they promised that the next Sunday they would bring me to see her. And I was, I was--it was a very bad start for me because I hadn't learned any English for England. My sister learned a few words, my mother took a private teacher. I didn't learn anything and there I was with these people who meant well. After all, they put up the fifty pounds, one had to put up a security to take a refugee child in and they tried to be kind but I couldn't speak to them.

Do you remember their names?

Yes, I've got a picture of them--they were Mr. and Mrs. Stanton. And I'll tell you a horrible thing I did there. They put me into bed with their little daughter. Jacquelyn must have been three or four. I'd never shared a bed with anybody and it wasn't comfortable so at night I used to give her a little pinch she should start crying and they should take her out to their bed, which they did. And they were very nice in their way but they started talking about--now we're here, they had a green grocery and they started talking about the ??? shops which were not going too well and then they ??? them off sort of thing and then they travel on to different places. And they talked about Nottingham and I was in a panic because I thought, "They take me out of Birmingham where my sister is, then I'll have nobody." See what I mean? And I just, I just couldn't take it.