Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Hanna Ramras - January 26, 2008

Relationship with Foster Parents

I see. And then the Style's took, took on, took the responsibilities on of raising you.

Oh, the Style's lavished--whatever I needed I had it and more.

Did you keep in touch with them when you went to Manchester?

I did but they, they did not.

Didn't respond.

I kept saying, "Please come and get me. I'm very unhappy."

They also must've been devastated.

Later on, much later on before I left for Brazil I went to say goodbye. I went to Swanage and I spent one day there. By that time I was a kosher eater. I couldn't accept more than a cup of tea. I didn't want to--I could have--I mean, nobody would have known, right? But there was a turning point and the turning point took a long time for me reach it. It was a struggle but I had friends in Manchester and after the war was over and we saw what was left of our families we were given British nationality and we were very happy for that. And I always considered England my home until I came to Israel.

You said there was a turning point. Was it a particular experience, an event?

Yes. The experience was that we belonged to a religious, religious Zionist movement--youth movement called B'nai Akiva and in that movement I found friends and I found much more information than I got in my, my cousins home--important information. Information about past and the whole present and future that there would be a home--a Jewish home in the world one day.

Was your cousin a Zionist?

A Zionist? Evidently he was because all his children are here. He was a rabbi doctor on ??? very well known rabbi and uh, a tremendous speaker and uh, he was very proud of my family much later when he got to meet my husband and my children--we were then living in Brazil--and we visited and then my son came to study in Israel--went to high school here.


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