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Kehilat Middlesbrough
Newsletter No 5 January 2000
The Glory that was
Middlesbrough
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We did not initially
prepare the contents of this our fifth Newsletter with the
Kindertransport in mind. However, the truth is that we have
been collecting various articles and letters which have
accumulated from our many contributors on this subject. Always
looked down as the handmaiden of the North-East Kehilot, we
came into our own in the years 1939-1942.
Who can forget the
generosity of the Benjamin family who provided the premises at
5 The Avenue; the devoted care of the Mahlers, who managed the
Hostel; of Lionel Levy and Bency Simon who came every day to
see to the welfare of the children; of the various families
who each took in a small child for three years because there
was no room at the hostel; of Ilse Hass—one of the few
members of the Kehila who could speak German to the girls; of
old Mrs Wulwick, who looked after the kitchens. And indeed so
many others, some mentioned in this Newsletter and others we
have not yet heard about. As Churchill might have said of the
Kehila: "This was their finest hour." |
Visitors in
Town who looked us up
1. Mina
(Sztrum) Steiff spoke of her three kindertransport sisters when
they stayed at the homes of Ray & Joe Blakey, Leah & Issy
Bernard and Thalia & Bert Marks, before moving to the Hostel at
5 The Avenue.
2. Harold Claff -
relived his MHS days with special memories of WW Fletcher
3. Rabbi Meir Trepp,
Director of the Sunderland
Kollel in Gateshead - and deliverer of the last sermon in shul on
November 1st 1998 - was instrumental in providing
services during the last years to the Kehila when needed
Congratulations to Gillian
Hush on receiving the OBE for services to Journalism.
Friends in Middlesbrough
The
Newsletter Goes Public
The M’bro
Evening Gazette recently published an article on Kehilat
Middlesbrough. They had seen our Newsletters and came to the
conclusion that with such a lively and active readership it could
justifiably be said that we are indeed a "virtual Kehila".
The article quoted many of
the historical anecdotes which appeared in the first four issues of
the Newsletter and wished us good fortune for the future. A copy of
the article can be seen on our website.
The Gazette publishes a
quarterly magazine entitled "Remember When", which aims to
chronicle the recent history of the M’bro area. There have been
quite a number of items of Jewish interest and some of our readers
are occasionally quoted in the magazine. In due course we will also
put this material onto the website.
A Plea for Help!
The
exceptional generosity of several of our readers has enabled us to
produce five issues of the Newsletter. Unfortunately, as the mailing
list continues to grow - so do the expenses of producing and posting
nearly 300 copies of each issue around the world.
We particularly ask you to
consider sponsoring an issue of the Newsletter, or at least to share
the financial burden with us.
A further option is for a
number of readers to undertake the printing and posting of 50 copies
each—as one of our readers has done for this issue.
Those of you who are
prepared to participate in this way, please contact Donald Wiseman
for further details.
Home at Last
As reported in our first
issue, the two Wiseman Sifrei Torah were brought to Jerusalem after
the Closing.
One of them has now been
repaired and has taken its place in the Aron Kodesh in Pisgat Ze’ev
Jerusalem, where Donald Wiseman regularly davens, .
The other Sefer, made of
weaker parchment, is no longer useable, having been stored in the M’bro
Aron Kodesh where, experts here say, that damp came in from the
nearby sea air.
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