I’ve been fictionalising some more of the letters to cover the period 1938-1941 and am now in the period just after the war started. I’m taking my clues from the later letters and I really do notice that there is much talk of the weather and the seasons.
I think also I’m picking up a bit of style from the voices of the girls. This is no bad thing, actually. It may give a greater sense of time and possibly even of place. However, in order to cater for a modern readership, I’m actually making the extracts shorter than the original letters.
Many of the letters also mention the girls’ social duty – the equivalent of military service for the boys / men. Aha, another topic to research.
And so it goes on.
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
The Wiener Library and the Holocaust Centre, Laxton (Beth Shalom)
These two museum / archives are going to be extremely useful. They both have so much material. The Wiener Library is a real academic’s dream of an archive. It houses many primary resources and some academic books. I may be able to find some of the records there that I need. It would be useful for instance, to find out exactly when Renate came over and whether she was an official part of the Kindertrasnport or not. They also have a rather good collection of photographs. These will no doubt be very useful in helping to understand daily life.
Sadly, they are closed until September 2011. They are moving to Russell Square. Still, that at least is handy for Euston station.
The Holocaust Centre, Beth Shalom, Laxton, is more of an education centre. Nevertheless, they have identified some excellent theoretical texts about genocide and why it happens. I think my novel explores this in a way as well. I hope I might be able to offer them a talk when I’m further along with the project.
Sadly, they are closed until September 2011. They are moving to Russell Square. Still, that at least is handy for Euston station.
The Holocaust Centre, Beth Shalom, Laxton, is more of an education centre. Nevertheless, they have identified some excellent theoretical texts about genocide and why it happens. I think my novel explores this in a way as well. I hope I might be able to offer them a talk when I’m further along with the project.
The Girls' Letters
I’ve been working on these quite a bit today and have actually written 1287 new words. I’ve decided to keep the content pretty much as is for the 1942-1944 years, though may have to make them more interesting. I’ve changed the names of the girls and given them fictional personas but retain the same innocence.
I’ve been working on the 1939-1940 letters and am creating the personalities of the girls. This is of course throwing up even more questions about what it was like then and I think I may have to write a little more about the development of the Hitler Youth and the Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM).
I was pleased that I had found a shape to the novel, though now I realise there are several gaps. However, at least I’ve now been able to start writing again.
I’m shaping the fictional letters in Parts I and III around the significant events in the Renate and the Hanni and Clara stories. Part II will largely be based on the actual letters and will show what is happening to Renate, Hanni and Clara though additional significant events will be told and fictional letters invented if need be.
I’m going to allow Clara’s gruesome end to remain a mystery –as it does to all concerned, though if I do include the epilogue, where the girls meet up as middle-aged women, I may discuss it then. Certainly it will be told in an appendix.
I’m fairly certain I’ll allow Renate to know about her imprisoned teacher by the end of Part III.
I’ve been working on the 1939-1940 letters and am creating the personalities of the girls. This is of course throwing up even more questions about what it was like then and I think I may have to write a little more about the development of the Hitler Youth and the Bund Deutscher Mädel (BDM).
I was pleased that I had found a shape to the novel, though now I realise there are several gaps. However, at least I’ve now been able to start writing again.
I’m shaping the fictional letters in Parts I and III around the significant events in the Renate and the Hanni and Clara stories. Part II will largely be based on the actual letters and will show what is happening to Renate, Hanni and Clara though additional significant events will be told and fictional letters invented if need be.
I’m going to allow Clara’s gruesome end to remain a mystery –as it does to all concerned, though if I do include the epilogue, where the girls meet up as middle-aged women, I may discuss it then. Certainly it will be told in an appendix.
I’m fairly certain I’ll allow Renate to know about her imprisoned teacher by the end of Part III.
Monday, 25 July 2011
The Kindertransport
I’ve watched some interesting archive films about the Kindertransport today. It is quite extraordinary that the German authorities actually allowed it to happen. They were probably happy to be rid of some of what they considered to be the superfluous Jewish population. Children were allowed one suitcase, one piece of hand luggage and ten Reichmarks. When they reached the German border, the German authorities were quite brutal. However, Dutch and English officials were much friendlier. Some Dutch women even brought the children hot cocoa.
On the whole, the children were well received in England though one or two were made into servants. They did have to have sponsorship - £50.00 each – the equivalent of about £1000 in today’s money. Some were fostered straight away, whilst others had to go to holding camps to start with. Note, in the film, there were flowers on the breakfast tables. Was this effort made just for the film? A little like Theriesienstadt all over again?
Once the war started, it was harder for children to keep in contact with their parents. Lengthy letters were replaced by 25 word telegrams. A few more characters than Twitter, then?
Those over the age of 16 became enemy aliens and were interned – in many cases transported to Canada. Later, because of poor conditions in those internment camps, they were allowed back to England provided that they joined the forces.
The hope remained that the end of the war would bring reconciliation between parents and children. It often didn’t, because the parents had been killed in the death camps. And even where parents did survive and parents were reunited with children, it was difficult. Six years is a very large slice of a child’s life. Most of them had become very English.
On the whole, the children were well received in England though one or two were made into servants. They did have to have sponsorship - £50.00 each – the equivalent of about £1000 in today’s money. Some were fostered straight away, whilst others had to go to holding camps to start with. Note, in the film, there were flowers on the breakfast tables. Was this effort made just for the film? A little like Theriesienstadt all over again?
Once the war started, it was harder for children to keep in contact with their parents. Lengthy letters were replaced by 25 word telegrams. A few more characters than Twitter, then?
Those over the age of 16 became enemy aliens and were interned – in many cases transported to Canada. Later, because of poor conditions in those internment camps, they were allowed back to England provided that they joined the forces.
The hope remained that the end of the war would bring reconciliation between parents and children. It often didn’t, because the parents had been killed in the death camps. And even where parents did survive and parents were reunited with children, it was difficult. Six years is a very large slice of a child’s life. Most of them had become very English.
Reshaping the story
I think I’m getting this under control now. I have actually remarshaled everything so I can carry on shaping the story forwards. The middle section I’m very much shaping around the girls’ letters as I have these, and then showing the parallels that happen in Renate’s and Hanni’s story.
I’ve spent some time rereading the letters today and some bits and pieces my mother-in-law – Renate – had written. She has translated about half of the letters and written about the same amount out in modern German. I still have to decipher the rest. The German isn’t a problem, but decoding the gothic script is tricky. Some girls write more clearly than others.
Each new bit I write seems to ask more questions. It reminds me very much of doing my PhD. Of course, often, what I find out then reshapes the story again.
I thought I’d actually made up more of Renate’s story than I had. In fact, though, it was all there in her letters and the autobiography she had started writing.
This really is turning out to be a rewarding project.
I’ve spent some time rereading the letters today and some bits and pieces my mother-in-law – Renate – had written. She has translated about half of the letters and written about the same amount out in modern German. I still have to decipher the rest. The German isn’t a problem, but decoding the gothic script is tricky. Some girls write more clearly than others.
Each new bit I write seems to ask more questions. It reminds me very much of doing my PhD. Of course, often, what I find out then reshapes the story again.
I thought I’d actually made up more of Renate’s story than I had. In fact, though, it was all there in her letters and the autobiography she had started writing.
This really is turning out to be a rewarding project.
Friday, 22 July 2011
On the trail of Clara Lehrs
This lady, my husband’s great-grandmother, has been on my mind much today. I’ve been looking at some documentation about Theresienstadt where she went before she was later transferred to Treblinka and killed. Before that, she lived in the Jewish community in Rexingen. This wasn’t exactly a ghetto, but may well have seemed like one then. The Jews were already severely supressed and living in poverty though this was probably preferable to being in a proper ghetto.
It’s a little chilling seeing some of the old photographs. Can one of the people in them be her?
I’ve found some quite moving films about Theresienstadt, though information about life in Rexingen is quite hard to find.
I’ve also been in touch with the people from the Michael Hall school. I’m hoping I can find out more about what it was like when it was evacuated to Minehead.
It’s a little chilling seeing some of the old photographs. Can one of the people in them be her?
I’ve found some quite moving films about Theresienstadt, though information about life in Rexingen is quite hard to find.
I’ve also been in touch with the people from the Michael Hall school. I’m hoping I can find out more about what it was like when it was evacuated to Minehead.
Revisiting the texts
I’ve really taken the novel so far to pieces. I wasn’t too happy with the shape and I’d got some information from the girls’ letters in the wrong place. Today, however, I’m pleased to say, I’ve found an overall shape for the novel. It will be in three times as well as three strands.
The first part will show the beginnings of the Holocaust as the girls perceive it and the outbreak of World War II. A second section will show a period of relative stability, though not a comfortable period: acceptance of Jewisheness by main character and some familiarity with life during a war. The German’s girls’ innocence will be at its sharpest here. The third part will be about the gradual realisation by all of the players of what is going on – and this will include a nervous breakdown of the main character. The resolution is of the main character accepting Englishness, the German girls wanting to do something to rectify the situation and the efforts of Clara Lehrs paying off –even though the reader has to come to terms with her horrific death. The challenge will be making the ending upbeat but not in danger of playing down the horror.
I may include an epilogue later on: I may describe the reunion of the women who wrote the letters.
As usual, when one looks at what one has written previously, one finds a thousand faults with the writing. It’s hardly surprising that this time the faults are even greater: I’ve not touched the text for over three years. Hopefully, my normal editing routines will rectify this.
I’m now almost certain that my next project might be a biography of Clara Lehrs – possibly written for young adults.
The first part will show the beginnings of the Holocaust as the girls perceive it and the outbreak of World War II. A second section will show a period of relative stability, though not a comfortable period: acceptance of Jewisheness by main character and some familiarity with life during a war. The German’s girls’ innocence will be at its sharpest here. The third part will be about the gradual realisation by all of the players of what is going on – and this will include a nervous breakdown of the main character. The resolution is of the main character accepting Englishness, the German girls wanting to do something to rectify the situation and the efforts of Clara Lehrs paying off –even though the reader has to come to terms with her horrific death. The challenge will be making the ending upbeat but not in danger of playing down the horror.
I may include an epilogue later on: I may describe the reunion of the women who wrote the letters.
As usual, when one looks at what one has written previously, one finds a thousand faults with the writing. It’s hardly surprising that this time the faults are even greater: I’ve not touched the text for over three years. Hopefully, my normal editing routines will rectify this.
I’m now almost certain that my next project might be a biography of Clara Lehrs – possibly written for young adults.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)