St. Thomas à Becket Church, Huntington
Susi Rice from Brilley, will tell of her turbulent early life, from when her family lived in Berlin before the war, to the present.
Susi Rice
She will describe her family background and events in Berlin, pre-1933, when the threat of Nazism drove the family from Berlin to Teheran. With a brief return to Berlin, they then fled to Italy, followed by a harrowing journey to England.
Susi’s grandparents. Her Grandmother died in Auschwitz and her Grandfather died in Theresienstadt Concentration Camps. They were encouraged to go into trains by being told they were to go to an ‘Old People’s Home’.
Susi will describe the trials faced by her Mother as an alien when war broke out in 1939 and will give a vivid description of people and events from 1939 until her Mother’s death in 1949, including a description of life in the remarkable refugee boarding school which she and her sisters attended.
Susi Weissrock’s brother, sisters and parents, before they left Berlin in 1933. Little did they realize when this photograph was taken that most of the family would perish in death camps.
She will end her talk with “Where we are now”. With the current worldwide political situation regarding refugees, this should be a highly potent talk, from one who faced similar persecutions nearly sixty years ago.
After the war, Susi (centre) with her older sisters, in London
There will be wine and canapés after the talk.