Ruth Rogoff:
I was born in Zwickau which is in Eastern Germany.
There’s quite a big mountain range which separates Germany from the Czech Republic, and these are called the Erzgeburge, the Copper Mountains.
My father took us all over the mountains leaving everything behind and went to Prague.
Hitler marched into Prague in March 1939.
My father realised he’s on a wanted list. So he left my mother and went to Poland.
It was extremely difficult for my Mother to be left alone with two small children.
Street by street, Jews were cleared and any moment it was probably our turn.
My mother she must have had a will of iron and great courage.
She went from one embassy to another, queued up all night.
And if she ever got to the desk, they said to her “We will take you, but we can’t take your two children”.
And my mother wouldn’t separate us. So she hung on to us.
The only thing she could think of was to hope somebody would take her and the children.
She was rejected by everyone.But then, the miracle happened.
A knock on the door meant death, because it meant deportation.
But for us a knock on the door was the beginning of a new life.
Because we opened the door to a woman from the British Embassywho had braved the curfew.
She brought the entry visa to Britain, train tickets to get through Germany, through Holland and a ferry to Ramsgate,
BUT she did not have an exit visa. You were supposed to have an exit visa to cross borders.
And she said “You’ll just have to say you’re going to see family in Holland and take nothing with you that could possibly show anyone that you’re going for more than a day.”
We made it through Czechoslovakia without any problem, and we got on the train in Germany.
Sat down, thinking “Good we’ve got a carriage to ourselves”, when an SS Officer came and sat next to her.
He was trying to chat her up. And he realised what was going on,and he couldn’t help us. And the fact that he sat there, now that might have been her salvation.
Off we went to the hook of Holland and got on a ferry to Ramsgate.
On the ferry, I kept saying “When are we going to be in England?” My mother got really fed up of me, she said “When it starts raining, you’ll know you’re in England.” So (laughs) as I was on the train, it began raining;and I must have been the only person there who was just totally thrilled, because I knew I was in England
The next morning was, Sunday, September the 3rd 1939.As we arrived to Liverpool Street Station, I put my foot on the platform,suddenly, everything went quiet and there was a huge announcement on the loudspeaker and everybody stood, perfectly still.
The announcement was, Chamberlain saying:
“I am speaking to you from the cabinet room at 10 Downing Street. This morning, the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 o’clock, that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now, that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently, this country is at war with Germany. “
That was 11 o’clock 3rd of September 1939, as my foot hit the platform. And that was the beginning of the Second World War.
Video summary
As a child, Ruth Rogoff escaped from Germany and arrived in Britain on the day that war started - 3 September 1939.
In this short film, she relates her childhood experiences and talks of her mother’s remarkable courage.
She begins by explaining how the German occupation of the Sudetenland led to her family fleeing Germany to the relative safety of Prague, Czechoslovakia.
She goes on to explain how Hitler’s annexation of Czechoslovakia and move into Prague in March 1939 led to her family being in danger once again.
Her father was a wanted man and escaped over the border, leaving Ruth, her brother and mother to fend for themselves.
Like many of the 56,000 Jews in Prague under Nazi occupation, Ruth recounts how her mother went from embassy to embassy, seeking a way to leave. When she was told she could only leave without her children, she refused.
Finally, a ‘miracle’ clerk from the British embassy, breaking the night curfew, brought the family papers to travel to the UK – but they could take nothing with them and had to make it look as though they were only going on a day trip.
PLEASE NOTE: This short film contains disturbing scenes. Teacher review is recommended prior to use in class.
Teacher Notes
This short film could be used as an introduction to the start of the Second World War and lessons on home front Britain. How did job, roles and lives change?
Explore the evacuation of children and the role and contribution that foreigners brought to the British war effort.
This topic appears in history at KS3 and KS4 / GCSE in AQA, OCR A, OCR B, EDEXCEL, EDUQAS and WJEC GCSE in England and Wales,and CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland.
It is also on the curriculum for 2nd, 3rd and 4th Level, National 4 and 5, and Higher in Scotland. It also appears in PSHE and PDE at KS3 and KS4.
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