Live ChatEscaping Nazi persecution, Jewish teenager Henny Franks left Cologne, and came to Britain on the Kindertransport. As soon as she could, she volunteered for the ATS, and was proud to be a member of the British Army.
Escape from Germany
“We lived in Cologne. I went to a Jewish school; we were very happy. My father was a first-class tailor, he employed people, had his own workroom. He had lots of customers of all religions.
“Then Kristallnacht happened. Except for us it was ‘Kristall day’.”
On November 9th 1938, Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses and killed roughly 100 Jewish people.
“I must say that in Cologne, before then I never had I any antisemitism against me. I was 15 by then, my sister 12 and brother 14.
“We were hiding on the roof. My mother told me that the Cologne people would not do it, so they had to bring in Nazis from Berlin, to smash the windows and set the synagogues on fire.
“After that, my parents smuggled us on the Kindertransport to England. My father had a big family here, his brother and cousins, and he wrote to them asking them to take us. My sister and I came first, my brother arrived later.
“We went to the station in Cologne, and there were a lot of children there, many from Austria too. We got the train to Holland.
“When we were at the border coming from Germany into Holland, a Dutch lady at the station was puzzled when she saw all the children on the train. She asked who we were and then when someone told her, she got a bunch of ladies together and brought us sandwiches and drinks. That was very nice.
“From Holland we got a boat to England at night. When we arrived in London the family were waiting for us. I saw two ladies and thought they must be for us. I thought my name was going to be Greentree in England and I said are you looking for the Greentree children. They said ‘No Gruenbaum’ - I said ‘That’s us’.
“When my brother came, nobody wanted him, they all wanted girls so after a while he was sent to a hostel.
“I came to Britain on 4th February aged 16, and I couldn’t speak a word of English. Six months later I was fluent.
“My family came to see me and asked ‘how are you?’. My cousin told me next time they ask say ‘mind your own business’ so I did. My father’s cousin said, ‘Henny, you mustn’t say that to anyone, it’s very rude!’ So, I never said it again!
“I was very happy with my family in England and it was quite big. They all came from Poland originally and all their children and grandchildren were all born in this country.
“I had a lot of extended family, some in England and in America. Sadly many, who were living in Cologne and moved onto Poland were killed by the Nazis. About 80 percent went to concentration camps, children as well.”
Part of the war effort
“My uncle and aunt who I lived with had four children, the youngest the same age as me. One son was in the Army, one daughter in the ATS [Auxiliary Territorial Service (women’s branch of the British Army)] and the youngest went into the WAAF [Women's Auxiliary Air Force].
“I too was asked to do war work and as I didn’t know any better, I said I’ll go in the Army. I had a choice, I had a friend who did fire watching for example, but it was the Army for me.
“I was sent to Chilwell just outside Nottingham for my training. It was enormous. I was in a very big crowd of Jewish girls like myself.
“Then I was moved onto Westcliff-on-Sea which was brilliant. Civilians weren’t allowed, it was just Army. When we marched through the streets I felt so proud, I felt more English than the English. And I am still proud I’ve been in the Army. I’ve done my bit. I love England very much.
“I then went back to Nottingham and I got my driving license. I drove trucks, big ones, with all things hanging out the back. As the weapons came they had to be taken to certain places. I didn’t know what was inside, but that’s what I did. I was there for many years until demobbing day. I was quite a happy girl and I made very nice friends.
“I was also proud to be part of the war effort against the Nazis. I fought back.”
Family
“When I was in the Army, I found out my mother was in Belgium, hidden with her two brothers. I was given 10 days leave towards the end of war and I asked if I could spend it with my mother. They said of course I could go, so I made my way with some British soldiers who were going back and forth. The troops stationed there helped me find my mother, and when I got to her she said ‘here comes the English soldier’!
“It was very emotional – so emotional. She told me how she had been smuggled into Belgium and when the war started there they went into the South of France. They had a room somewhere but had very little else. My father worked the land, and that’s how they made a living. But then as the trouble started in that region, the French there rounded up Jewish people for the Nazis.
“Apparently, there was a wedding that my mother went to, and then all of a sudden something started happening, and in the commotion, my mother went into the street and saw my father being pushed onto some ramps. He shouted to her ‘I’ll see you in England’. That was the last thing he ever said to her. Sadly he never made it. He was sent to Sobibor, a Nazi extermination camp. My mother never knew what happened to him and I’m glad.
“My mother was left on her own and was then smuggled into Italy, and then climbed the mountains to cross the border into Switzerland. The Nazis were shooting at her and all the others who were heading there. Children, mothers of children, anyone that was climbing. My mother said she had a cold potato in her bag, which she gave to a child climbing over the mountain. She said she had hoped that wherever her children were, people would be good to them too.”
For most of the war, Henny’s mother was kept in a refugee camp in Lugano, interned in Hotel Bristol, which Henny and her sister visited many times after the war.
VE Day
“I remember VE Day very clearly. I was in uniform. I was still in the Army.
“I lived near Oxford Street, Marble Arch and I went to see my cousin. She and I walked hand in hand through Oxford street with all the crowds and that was very nice.
“I knew I didn’t have a father anymore, but I was very happy, hoping my mother would be able to come to England, because there was no way I was going to leave.
“After the war the Army wanted to send me to Germany to help. It was a voluntary posting and I refused. I said, “no way will I go back, I’m glad I’m out of there, that’s a miracle anyway”. If they had ordered me to go, I would have gone. I couldn’t refuse orders. But they never did."
Post War
In 1947 Henny’s mother came to England as a domestic servant. And soon after Henny met her husband at a dance, a Jewish man born in England, who had served in the Army. She went on to have children and is now a great grandmother.