Kurt Stern - February 11, 2008
Politics Before the War
Do you remember anything about the Munich Conference?
No.
Uh, so there was no discussion at home about...
No.
...Germans taking the Sudetenland.
I think I blocked out most of my memories of childhood. I didn't open up until the first children transport organization that the sisters Leverton had organized in London. After that I opened up but I didn't talk to my children or anything actually.
Do you remember when the Germans came in?
Well, we ran away from Sudetenland before-as far as I remember before the Germans took over. My mother had one sister and two brothers. Um, the eldest brother, Walter-by the way my mother's name was Kronberger-the family name was Kronberger-and I think he was the head of the family actually, after my grandfather. He ran the businesses as far as I know so on. And he took his wife and his two children and my mother and myself to a place called Beroun which is near Prague in September '38. Um, I remember when the Nazis moved, moved into or the Germans moved into Czechoslovakia in March '39. I remember my mother telling us not to speak German in the streets. And um, well as you know I'm one of the Winton's children.
Uh, let me just stay with this just a second. So you lived in a one, one house-apartment with your uncles family?
No we had as I said a four story house and um, my--this Walter the eldest brother lived nearby in Nejdek with his family. The aunt that was married to the goy, she lived in the house, my grandfather and my mother. We probably each had an apartment in this uh, house. There was a warehouse at the back.
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