Surviving the Nazis, exile, and Siberia / Edith Sekules.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sekules, Edith, 1916-

Series:

Library of Holocaust testimonies 1363-3759

The library of Holocaust testimonies, 1363-3759

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sekules, Edith, 1916-.

Sekules, Edith.

Jews--Austria--Vienna--Biography.

Jews.

Holocaust survivors.

Austria--Vienna.

Northern Ireland.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Austria--Vienna--Personal narratives.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945).

Jewish refugees--Soviet Union--Biography.

Jewish refugees.

Soviet Union.

Holocaust survivors--Northern Ireland--Biography.

Jews--Northern Ireland--Biography.

Vienna (Austria)--Biography.

Vienna (Austria).

Soviet Union--Biography.

Northern Ireland--Biography.

Local Subjects:

Sekules, Edith, 1916-.

Soviet Union--Biography.

Vienna (Austria)--Biography.

Northern Ireland--Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

Personal narratives.

Physical Description:

xv, 168 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; Portland, OR : Vallentine Mitchell, 2000.

Summary:

Edith Sekules was born in 1916, into a family which was part of the then vibrant Jewish community of Vienna. At that time there were almost 200,000 Jews living in that city; today they number only a few thousand.

The flourishing Jewish culture, which expressed itself particularly in the arts and in commerce, was extinguished forever in 1938. Together with her husband, Kurt, and four-month-old daughter, Edith escaped to Estonia, where they landed with no money and no knowledge of the language. Kurt managed to find work and they got by until 1941 saw them interned in Siberia as enemy aliens. Edith describes in vivid detail the vicissitudes of their confinement and how their good health and optimism enabled them to survive. However, being a very independent person, Edith found imprisonment and having no control whatsoever over her day-to-day existence hard to bear.

Living in harsh conditions through scorching summers and arctic winters, they somehow made it through the war, three camps and a gruelling 3,350-mile journey home, having spent seven years in exile.

Relishing her freedom, in 1950 Edith threw herself with characteristic gusto into creating their own knitwear company in Northern Ireland, having accepted an offer of help from an old Viennese friend to start up the business. Despite many ups and downs, the company thrived, and was eventually supplying prestigious stores all over the world.

Edith feels exceptionally lucky to have survived through a time when millions of Jews perished, and decided to tell her story because she believes that any detail, however small, which adds to the memory of that horrific period, stands as testimony to the stature of the Jewish people.

Contents:

Edith Sekules' Family Tree x

Part 1 Farewell to Youth, Vienna: 1916-38

1. The First Goodbye: August 1938 5

2. My Forebears 8

3. Early Childhood: 1916-24 11

4. Schooldays: 1924-31 16

5. A Change of Direction: 1931-32 25

6. The Hotel Bristol: 1932-38 30

7. The Second Goodbye: 1938 42

8. Reflections on Vienna 48

Part 2 Exile: 1938-47

9. Estonia: September 1938-June 1941 53

10. Harju Camp, Estonia: July 1941 70

11. Oranki Camp, Gorki: July-November 1941 75

12. Aktyubinsk Camp, Kazakhstan: November 1941-July 1942 79

13. Spaski Camp, Karaganda: July 1942-January 1943 89

14. Kok U Sek Camp, Karaganda: January 1943-May 1945 92

15. Post-war Detention, Kok U Sek Camp: May 1945-January 1947 108

16. The Long Trek Home, Karaganda to Vienna: January-March 1947 116

17. Vienna: March-September 1947 122

Part 3 Never Say, 'I Can't'; Say, 'I'll Try': 1947-99

18. London: September-October 1947 129

19. Londonderry: October 1947-December 1949 132

20. Kilkeel - The Early Years: 1950-55 138

21. A Phase of Development: 1956-70 149

22. A Phase of Growth: 1971-74 155

23. A House of our Own 157

24. Winding Down: 1976-91 159.

ISBN:

0853033889

OCLC:

43287161