Close-up of the book cover. Photo: Courtesy of Vallentine Mitchell & Co Ltd.
‘Berlin to London: An emotional history of two refugees’ by Esther Saraga
Review by Marian Liebmann
One might think the market is flooded with books about and by refugees, but this one is an exceptional treat. It is a combination of a couple’s personal story (Wolja and Lotte) and a context reseached meticulously by their daughter, Esther Saraga.
When Saraga and her brother came to clear their parents’ house after the death of their mother, they discovered boxes of old letters – thousands of them. Instead of consigning them to the recycling bin, she realised their importance, and undertook to go through them to elicit her parents’ story, especially the emotional impact of fleeing from Nazi Germany.
The project took sixteen years. Saraga, a lecturer in sociology at the Open University, has included her own reactions as she worked on the material. Indeed, these form one of the most powerful aspects of the book, with comments and observations at several important junctures.
I should declare my own personal involvement. My parents (also Jewish refugees) were good friends of Wolja and Lotte. When my father died and my mother was overwhelmed with tasks, my brother and I spent six weeks living with them. Reading this book, I could almost hear them talk. I had often experienced similar thoughts, feelings and quandaries to Saraga, as she worked through the process.
The letters cover all the topics where correspondence was needed – initially letters between the couple, and to various authorities to effect their emigration to the UK in 1938 (already quite late); then letters between them when Wolja was interned as an ‘enemy alien’ in 1940, and letters to get him released. Later there were many letters concerning their applications for compensation, a saga that took twenty-five years.
In between they were living an ordinary family life, as far as they were able. Wolja worked in the telecommunications industry but felt a lack of recognition for his work. Lotte had been ejected from medical studies in Nazi Germany, but finally graduated at the age of fifty-five and became a lecturer in liberal studies.
It is a beautifully written book. It will appeal to those who are gripped by the ups and downs of their story, and also those who appreciate the contextual research that gives a wider view of the events of that time, and how their story fits into this.
And, of course, stories of refugees are ever more relevant to our current situation. One of the lessons of this book is that, in our natural prioritising of ‘first aid’ and practical help, we must not overlook the long-term emotional struggles for refugees as they try to settle in their new homelands far away from families and friends.
