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Guest Blogs.

From Vienna to Treforest

by George Schoenmann

I would like to congratulate The Jewish History Association of South Wales/Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig De Cymru on reaching the five-year milestone and am pleased to have been able to contribute to the work they have done.

My main focus has been concerned with the contribution that the Jewish refugees made to the economy of south Wales from 1938 onwards, and particularly the Treforest Trading Estate. I had a close involvement there, although I was only a child at the time, I was old enough to know what was going on and am fortunate in being able to remember it well.

Records show that there were 78 companies on the Treforest Estate in 1939, and 49 of them were owned and run by refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe. They provided employment for 3,881 people in the area and contributed greatly to the war effort.

But it was not only in Treforest that factories were established, and I want to mention other names and places in south Wales. The first that comes to mind is Merthyr Tydfil, and more specifically Dowlais, which was home to Welsh Products, who made Glamor Buttons, and also wooden toys. Close by was OP Chocolates, famous for their chocolate covered wafer biscuits. A little nearer to Cardiff in Caerphilly were Western Gloves, and on the same site Western Fabrics. Another glove maker was Polya in Pontypridd. Then in the Rhondda Valley we had Porth Textiles, and Wilpak, who made cardboard boxes. Further up the Valleys were Sobell in Hirwaun, who made radios, and later television sets. In Cardiff itself we had Gnome Photographic Products, who in later years became the leading manufacturer of enlargers for amateur photographers, and there were a lot of them in the days of black and white film photography. Although there were other factory estates further westward in south Wales, I am not aware of refugees settling there, but I may be wrong, and apologise for any omissions.

A question often asked is why did all these refugees come to south Wales? There was a very good reason for this. South Wales was a very depressed area, being dependant on coal and steel-making for employment, and the government was keen to establish light industry in the area, and had built a large number of factory units, ready for this, but due to the depression of the 1930s, takers were few and far between. So when the Jews of Central Europe were forced to flee from Nazi persecution, and applied for visas to come to Great Britain and bring their knowledge and expertise with them, the Government would only grant permission for settlement in certain areas. I believe that the choice was between southern Scotland, Tyneside, Cumbria, and south Wales. Of these the least worst option was south Wales. Which is why we all settled in and around Cardiff.

The families all knew each other and tended not to mix too much with the local population, for several reasons. The main one of course was the language difficulties. The main common language was German, as even the Czechs all spoke German, as nearly all who came over had been born before the establishment of Czechoslovakia as a country and was part of the Austrian Empire.

The other problem was the curfew. Germans and Austrians were classed as enemy aliens, and subject to a curfew at 7.00pm, and so could not go out after this time. They were not allowed to own a camera or have a radio. They had to report weekly to the local police station. They were also subject to internment on the Isle of Man. My father managed to avoid this, as he was an essential employee, and his firm could not function without him. These restrictions did not apply to Czechs, as they were classed as immigrants from a friendly country. There was a real fear that Nazi spies had arrived with the influx of Jewish refugees, and I suppose some did get in, but I did not know of any!

Company signs in Vienna and Treforest.

My father was the guiding light behind one of the leading companies, called General Paper &, Box Manufacturing Company Limited, which was taken over by Rizla when the war ended. As our family left Vienna in April 1939 with 10 Reichsmark (equivalent to £5,00 at the time) he only had a 10% shareholding, and when the offer from Rizla came in 1948 and the majority of the shareholders accepted it, he remained in the position of managing Director. But after three years Rizla decided to dispense with his services. His health suffered, but despite this he started another company, this time making furniture. He never reached old age and died in 1967 at the age of 68.

My family are all very conscious of the efforts my father made to get his family out of Vienna and escape the holocaust, which devoured so many of those who did not leave—including my Grandparents.

My father, Paul Schoenmann.

I have written a book about it, and still have copies which I can sell at cost for £15.00 plus £4.00 postage, if anyone would like to read the whole story.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy please use the Contact Us page.

Graphic showing the location of General Paper &, Box Manufacturing Company Limited.

by Bennett Arron

“What’s All This Antisemitism I Keep Hearing About??”

I grew up in Port Talbot, and although my family was the only Jewish family there, I never, ever encountered any antisemitism. School friends were much more interested in learning about my religion than being antagonistic towards it.

When I became a comedian, the fact that I was the only Jewish and Welsh comedian on the circuit was met with laughter (in a good way) and not contempt.

Over the years I have made many friends in the comedy world. Although we may have disagreed over things – mainly about who took the last drink from the fridge in the Dressing Room or which comedians do or do not deserve to be on 'Live at the Apollo' – we never really argued about politics or religion. Until recently.

It was subtle at first, little comments and asides, but over the past few months it has become progressively, or regressively, worse.

Of course, much of it is my own doing. You see I have, publicly, been airing my concerns about the horrific rise of antisemitism around the world and how it became more prevalent in the UK when Jeremy Corbyn became leader. So, I have therefore clearly opened myself up for the abuse I have received. Being called a “Filthy Tory” (never voted for them) or “Zio scum” (never really talked about Israel) or “Typical Jew” (perhaps) by comedian friends whom I have known for over 20 years is what I deserve for questioning anything. I have been sent vile personal messages on social media and been ‘blocked’ by people. But, as I said, it’s my own fault. Had I kept quiet about it as some other Jewish comedians have, then perhaps this wouldn’t have happened. After all, keeping quiet in the past hasn’t had bad consequences, right?

I was recently asked in an interview if I thought Jeremy Corbyn was actually antisemitic. I explained that I didn’t think he was but only he knows the answer. However, I do believe he didn’t do enough to curb the rise of antisemitism in the party.

Like many Jewish lifelong Labour voters, I felt lost. Whilst I agreed with many of the policies in the Labour manifesto, I could not bring myself to vote for a party that hadn’t done enough to quell the rise of Jew hatred. And the fact that the support has become so tribalistic is concerning. It’s almost like a devoted football fan; “Yes my team might have made a couple of mistakes and scored some own goals, but I will always support them and think that all supporters of other teams are scum”.

When did this happen? And when did football-style chanting become a thing in politics? When did the whole Politician Fanbase start? I have no memory of people in the 80s wearing a “I Heart Neil Kinnock T-Shirt” or singing “Oh… Micha…el Fo…ot”.

Then there’s the ‘whataboutery’ when I get asked “Well what about Islamophobia in the Tory party?!” As if two wrongs will suddenly make everything right. Islamophobia should be dealt with as much as antisemitism and any other form of racism or bigotry. Acknowledging antisemitism does not mean you are ignoring everything else!

At a recent gig in London I asked if any of the audience members were Welsh. A few put their up their hands and we chatted about Wales (it was funny – you had to be there). I then asked if any audience members were Jewish. No hands were raised. After the gig, three separate people quietly approached me and told me that they were Jewish but did not want to admit to it in a public space. This is where we are now. One of these people actually told me that they recently had to leave their home in the South West - where they had lived their whole life - as they were petrified by the rise of antisemitism in the area.

But, when I speak about any of this on social media, I am told that it’s all lies and smears or, as has happened on several occasions, I have friends sending me private messages or texts with: “What’s All This Antisemitism I Keep Hearing About?? Can you send me some proof? Thanks xx”

We are living in troubling times. Racism of all kinds is on the increase and it has to be stopped. And I feel, as a comedian who literally and figuratively has a platform, I need to do my bit to stop it.

email: bennett@bennettarron.com website: www.bennettarron.com

Guten Tag Attendorn! (Good Day Attendorn!)

By Lucy Mumford

The atmosphere in the group of awestruck teenage class-mates was electric, as they stood, eyes gleaming and hands shaking, within touching distance, of a 100%, genuine, antique treasure, that history tells us, should not still exist. The account they’d just heard of the chance discovery, after more than eighty years of loss, followed by a year of international detective work, was like something they’d read in an adventure story. It was sensational, it was real, it was here and this is the story.

Cwmaman, Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, September 2020 and lockdown was in its sixth month. Time at home for me, after my day at work as a key worker, was becoming increasingly dull and there was only one available release at this time, online shopping.

I have been known to spend a day at Pontypridd auction house, bidding on the odd lot or two, I received email updates and I noticed they were experimenting with online auctioneering, as they couldn’t open, so I took a look.

I looked through the catalogue, of hundreds of lots, with some photographs and a brief description; a few items caught my eye. My furloughed son would be able to attend appointments to collect any won lots, a day after the auction finished. I chose to leave four cheeky bids, though I had been hesitant about one lot, “3 pictures in gilt frames”, what exactly were they? Two pictures looked like chocolate box prints behind domed-glass the other looked like a Mr Darcy type, from a country estate. He looked the part, so I gave in, thinking I’d probably get nice frames or nothing, whatever.

Auction day came, I came home from work and checked my emails. I did have an invoice from Pontypridd auction but I’d only won one lot, the one with the three pictures. My son phoned me at work on collection day, excited, saying “ I think the picture of a man is a real oil painting!

When I first saw the pictures, I could see they were all a bit old and dusty and the portrait caught the eye, it was an oil, result! Looking closer I could see it wasn’t top class but done by a competent artist and there was some writing on the back. The writing was in italics and worn in places but the word “Berlin” and “1830” were clearest. I dusted the pictures, hung the portrait in my lounge and put the other two to one side until I knew where to put them.

I had a closer look at the portrait, hanging above the sofa in my lounge, magnifying glass in hand, looking for clues to its identity, the name on the back could be the artist but it was difficult to be sure exactly what it was. The shirt pin on the front was more revealing, it had a gold coloured arrow, pointing to the man’s left, I know this meant protection. Sitting on the arrow was a short, squat creature, with a very long tail; I looked at German mythological creatures in an online search and there was one with a long tail called Bahkauv, that had two versions, one dragon like and the other, short and squat, both with a very long tail. This beast harassed drunken men and lived in the sewers in Aachen, I thought the “drunken men” bit and “protection” would fit in with the broken nose that the man in the portrait appeared to have. Something made me wonder if he could be Jewish, being German, but then again, he could be anyone from anywhere, a resident of Berlin.

I thought the people to know would be in Berlin’s national art gallery, the Alte Nationalgalerie, and checked out their website, which was also available in English. I should say here that in my other reading and communications I initially relied on Google translate and later DeepL translator, which is more accurate. I sent copies of photographs of the front of the portrait and back to their “point of research and scholarly contact” and Holger Neiderhausen replied, saying they had passed my emails and observations to their research colleagues. Majka Cornelia Schielinski replied saying that the sitter was Mr Abraham Ursell 04/10/1802-25/12/1882), painted in 1830 in Berlin and that the painter was unknown in the Alte Nationalgalarie. She did send a link, https://www.juedisch-in-attendorn.org/julius-ursell-weg/streckenverlauf-highlights-infos/station-7-die-firma-a-aursell/ which led me on my international research journey.

The Jewish Cemetery, Attendorn.

I translated the page into English and initially contacted Otto Hoffer, who is the Attendorn city archivist, he thought the picture could be a significant find, if it really was Abraham Ursell. His first question was “why was Abraham Ursell in Berlin in 1830?” Knowing now, what I learned about Berlin and Aaron Abraham Ursell, ( who went by the name Abraham, though his father Abraham Aaron Ursell , went by the name Aaron) I suspect Abraham was in Berlin on business, sourcing metal for his factory, that amongst many things produced zinc and tin-plated wares. Berlin was known at the time for having many factories that processed metal ores.

Otto led me to Hartmut Hosenfeld, Tom Kleine and Anke Reinitz, who work as the Juedisch-in-attendorn initiative. Harmut has researched the Jews in Attendorn for 40 years, reinstating their memory. He has written a book about them, which also has an English translation and kindly sent me a copy; this helped a lot in my research of the family and how the portrait could have ended up in Wales. Hartmut was awarded the Order of Merit Cross, for his work, the highest award a civilian can have in Germany, it is like a knighthood here.

The painting’s journey had many leads, was it brought into the UK by family members fleeing Germany in WW2? I researched Segfried Ursell’s journey here, as he was Abraham’s grandson, he came here with his wife Helene, and daughter Ilse; his son Fritz Ursell was already doing post graduate wave research at Bristol University, after his Maths degree. I researched online and discovered Ilse and her mother had left a lot of restitution papers at The Keep, in Sussex University, as well as information online about the family. Ilse was now 98 years old and had suffered a stroke, but found a way to contact her, under her married name, Eton, and her children David and Rachel, who did say that they now do have relatives that live in Wales. They showed their mother a photograph of the portrait, I had sent them by email. Their mother definitely recognised the picture but couldn’t remember who’s house it had hung in, she had only been 16 when she left Attendorn. The family were sure the portrait would not have been sold or lost as David had a portrait of Mina, Abraham’s daughter in law. If the painting had been seized by the Gestapo, as family members tried to save valuables by sending them out in crates, known as lifts, the portrait would have been destroyed, because it was of a Jew, slightly and it’s style, would see it labelled as degenerate art. The SS guards had looted the family villas, they too would have destroyed this portrait. We checked the family import papers and restitution claim, just in case it was looted art. When finally we could get some access to the paperwork, thanks to the researchers at The Keep, the painting was not listed there.

I researched the painting’s movements from this end, which was tricky due to data protection. I searched and searched and discovered that the painting had been at a restaurant in Cowbridge and had been bought by them in April 2011 from an English importer of Antiques and Folk Art from Europe. The antique dealer’s digital records only start in 2012, information before then was sketchy.

I suspect the picture had been found in a wall, floor or attic of a house somewhere in Germany, undergoing repairs and ended up in the open market that way? Hartmut’s book did mention that two of the grand-daughter-in-laws of Abraham, Else and Martha, had smuggled family valuables out to family and friends in Berlin, Munich, Dusseldorf and Cologne, in large suitcases, including to Martha’s sister Dr Margrete Kahn, in Berlin, one of the first women in Germany to get a Phd and it was in Maths. None of these women lived to tell their tale, though much of the family valuables were recovered from family and friends, post war.

After much contact with Attendorn and the family descendants, I decided that the family should own the portrait collectively, it would be on permanent loan to the Sudsauerlandmuseum and in the care of the Juedisch-in-Attendorn initiative and that was agreed.

The story has come full circle, back to the teenagers, on the stage in Attendorn’s town Hall, in front of the painting, after the big reveal, at the Shalom Attendorn 2021 festival. Abraham Ursell returned home in honour.

All images courtesy of Lucy Mumford.