|
Shops were looted and synagogues destroyed in Kristallnacht
|
Werner Lach was 12 when he left Germany for a new life in Britain.
From 1933 onwards, the Nazis introduced laws against the Jews. Everyday life became more and more curtailed - and eventually the Lach family were forced to leave their home.
The night of 9 November 1938 was named Kristallnacht - Crystal Night or the night of broken glass. Nazi stormtroopers burned down synagogues and broke into Jewish homes. In all, 91 Jews were murdered and over 20,000 men arrested and taken to concentration camps.
It marked a turning point. After Kristallnacht, employers were urged to sack Jewish employees and offices were set up to speed emigration.
Werner Lach's father lost his job as an administrator in a Jewish-owned slipper factory in Cologne. Having lost his livelihood, he was determined to take his family to the United States.
 |
KRISTALLNACHT
91 Jews murdered
20,000 men arrested and taken to concentration camps
Jewish community fined one billion Reichsmarks
|
But it was difficult to enter the country, thanks to the quota system that operated at the time.
"My father applied to go to America like probably the majority of German Jews. We had an affidavit, which is a type of guarantee," says Mr Lach.
"But the Americans had a very strict quota regime and we were due to leave for America about three years later - which would be about 1941 - so we didn't feel we could stay that long in Germany.
"We had an uncle and aunt in England. We said we want to leave Germany and come to England, perhaps temporarily for a year or two.
"But we needed a guarantee for that and unfortunately that guarantee was not forthcoming. We applied for a visa but were told without a guarantee we wouldn't get a visa so we were stuck.
"I remember this very well. On Sunday morning, the postman came and there was this letter from the British passport control office in Berlin asking my father to send his and my mother's passport to have the visa entered.
"So the question was: 'What about the two children?' So he phoned up. 'Yes, we'll give them theirs as well'.
|
If it hadn't been for Foley I would probably be a mere statistic in the Holocaust
|
"The four passports went to Berlin and came back. They came back and we started making plans to leave."
The family assumed the visas were a lucky, bureaucratic mistake. It was not until 1998 that Mr Lech discovered that he owed his safety and that of his family to Frank Foley.
He says, in fact, they were worried that someone else would have been stuck behind thanks to the family's good fortune.
"I think we got out just in time. All the Jews from Cologne were deported. None of my family who all lived in the area who didn't leave before the war survived the war. If it hadn't been for Foley I would probably be a mere statistic in the Holocaust.
"To me he's a saint. It's a terrible shame that he's an unsung hero. He got no recognition for what he did. He was an absolute saint."
|
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
A Roman view of new year
My Tourette's tics are really funny
Bookmark with:
What are these?