Instagram story viewer> @wienerlibrary> Tagged

wienerlibrary

@wienerlibrary

5.6K

followers

872

following

📚The world's oldest Holocaust archive and Britain's largest collection on the Nazi era
🏛️Free exhibitions & events | Collections | Research | Outreach

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Reduced to tears by this meeting…Simon and I bumped into each other as strangers at an AJR gathering for 1st, 2nd & 3rd generation Kindertransport survivors.

Simon mentioned that his dad had fled Vienna on a train, aged 10.

‘So did Grandpa’, I said, ‘with his brother. Do you know which train?’

‘Not for definite,’ said Simon, ‘but I have the list of passengers that Dr Amy Williams sent me…’.

As Simon dug through his emails then ran a finger down a long printed column, we both joked that it would be a miracle if the boys had been on the same train together. It could never happen. But then there they were, three little names, almost side by side:

Otto Schacter
Herbert Heller
Kurt Heller

Completely stunned, we hugged and cried in disbelief. It felt such a comfort knowing that Simon’s dad had been there with Grandpa and Kurt on that unimaginable night as they left everything goodbye and set out into the unknown.

We then turned to the lady standing beside us, for a second incredible meeting. Lady Linda Reich (pictured left) described how her late husband, Sir Eric Reich, had escaped to England from Vienna just a few months later, aged only four, never to see his parents again. Sir Eric went on to inspire individuals to raise over £90 million for charity, and is commemorated as the youngest child in the Kindertransport statue at London Liverpool Street station.

Huge thanks to the AJR for bringing us all together and to Dr Amy Williams for such life-changing work to find and reunite families with their Kindertransport lists. It was such an honour to meet Simon and Linda - truly one of the most memorable and special moments of this journey.

#kindertransport #kindertransportsurvivors #holocaust #connections #amwri̇ti̇ng

62

14

On this day in 1971, Dutch composer Johanna Bordewijk-Roepman died in The Hague, leaving behind a remarkable body of music that is still being rediscovered today.
During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Bordewijk-Roepman refused to comply with the occupiers’ demands on Dutch musicians—a principled stand that came at a professional cost.
It was against this wartime backdrop that, in 1943, she composed her powerful Epiloog for Orchestra. Richly expressive and masterfully orchestrated, the work is testament not only to her strength of character, but to the quality and individuality of a composer whose music deserves a far greater place in our musical life.
Today, 55 years after her death, the most meaningful way to remember her is to ensure that her music continues to be heard.
Listen to the first-ever recording of Epiloog for Orchestra, performed by Symphonova, conducted by Shelley Katz. Link in Bio.

#onthisdayinhistory #onthisday #history #femalecomposer #reawakeningsuppressedmusic

3

0

🖤 The Human Cost & Political Accountability
The October 7, 2023, terrorist attack and the subsequent war have caused immense devastation, resulting in the loss of thousands of innocent lives and profound global grief. To truly honor the victims, we must examine the catastrophic failures that led to this tragedy.
⚠️ The Intelligence Failures
• Dismissed Warnings: Israeli intelligence had obtained Hamas’s operational blueprint — the “Jericho Wall” plan — more than a year before the attack. Senior officials largely dismissed it as aspirational.
• Ignored Alerts: Reports highlight that regional allies warned Prime Minister @b.netanyahu of a looming escalation days prior. Netanyahu maintains he was never explicitly warned by his own intelligence chiefs of an imminent, massive invasion that morning.
• Defenseless Festivities: The Nova Festival took place near the Gaza border without heavy military deployment. Army commanders approved the event despite general intelligence chatter, leaving limited security forces to be quickly overwhelmed.
⚖️ Leadership & Public Backlash
• Unequal Burdens: Public anger has frequently touched upon the actions of political leaders and their families. While tens of thousands of regular citizens and reservists were mobilized to the front lines, critics pointed out that Netanyahu’s son remained in the United States during the war, sparking severe public backlash.
• Demanding Answers: The failure to prevent the October 7 massacre — and the massive, prolonged military campaign that followed — remains a deeply painful and polarized issue. Both the perpetrators of the terror attack and the political leadership must be held accountable for this historic breakdown in safety.
#October7 #NovaFestival #NeverForget #InnocentLivesLost #humanityfirst♥️

821

5

https://wienerholocaustlibrary.org/event/book-talk-in-search-of-the-perfect-romanian-professor-marius-turda-in-conversation-with-professor-dan-stone/

7

0

Today we start out European Book tour in London @wienerlibrary. From here we will go to Frankfurt, Berlin and Vienna. It’s not too late to join us. Check out our Link in bio to learn more to register. #BookEvent #HolocaustEducation #FamilyHistory Berlin
JewishBerlin JüdischesBerlin GermanJewishHistory JewishBooks HolocaustHistory
BerlinEvents LiteraryBerlin @livunipress @rutgersupress @MNGUP_Books @goodreads
@juedischesmuseumberlin @jgzberlin @juedischekulturtageberlin @neuesynagogeberlin

9

0

82 years ago this month, Robert (Bob) Hanf was murdered in Auschwitz.
Hanf (1894–1944) was far more than a composer. He was a violinist, writer, poet, draughtsman and painter — a remarkably multifaceted artist whose creativity moved naturally between music, words and images. Several of his visual works are now held by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
His musical voice was silenced by the Holocaust, but his work was not erased.
Among the works that survive is his Serenade for Orchestra, composed in 1935: five concise, interconnected movements, premiered in Haarlem in 1937.
Today, we remember Hanf by returning to what he created.
Listen to the first recording of Bob Hanf’s Serenade for Orchestra, performed by Symphonova and conducted by Shelley Katz, recorded as part of the Reawakening Suppressed Music project. Link in bio.

#onthisday #onthisdayinhistory #reawakeningsuppressedmusic #composer #bobhanf

4

0

Over 600 documents survived against incredible odds, hidden throughout the Holocaust by my Grandpa’s parents, Adele and Erwin Heller. As Hitler’s grip tightened, they sent their young sons to strangers in England on a Kindertransport train. Adele and Erwin then fled a Nazi holding house and disappeared into hiding, surviving for years as U-Bootes, kept alive only by those who risked their own lives to help them.

The existence of this archive is a miracle. Its contents are more miraculous still. Across letters, photographs, official notices and testimonies, they trace the happy life of a normal Viennese family; the relentless persecution following Hitler’s annexation of Austria; desperate appeals for help and escape; the logistics of sending traumatised children to unknown strangers overseas; fragmenting correspondence as war separated children and parents; the extraordinary kindness of those in England who rescued two desperate children; the heartbreaking fates of beloved relatives in Hitler’s concentration camps; and the eventual reunion of parents and children, grown strangers after years apart.

Piecing together, translating and digitising this vast, previously unexplored family archive has been painstaking and heartbreaking. The documents remain in Vienna, where Bettina Heller, daughter of Grandpa’s brother Kurt, has been instrumental in helping me weave our family’s history back together. Through countless hours of video calls, we have dated, ordered, translated, catalogued and digitally archived each document preserved so carefully by Erwin, through his unimaginable years in hiding.

It has been laborious and humbling, but the result is an archive of international significance. Once my research and writing are complete, it will be digitised and held by the Wiener Holocaust Library, where it will be accessible to readers whose interest can help keep these stories alive.

I can’t wait to share more as my Kindertransport middle-grade novel publishes in January 2028, marking 90 years since the Kindertransport operation that saved 10,000 children from almost certain death.

#history #kindertransport #holocaust #archive #amwriting

28

3

A glimpse into Ignatz Waghalter’s forgotten opera Jugend
A new recording has been added to Reawakening Suppressed Music: the orchestral opening to Act III of Ignatz Waghalter’s 1917 opera Jugend (Youth).
Just 78 bars long, the excerpt gives us a tantalising glimpse into an opera that was once a success on the Berlin stage but has almost entirely disappeared from the repertoire.
Marked Allegro con fuoco, the music bursts into life with the full orchestra, reaching extraordinary dynamic extremes of fff and ffff. A contrasting tranquillo section brings a moment of repose before the opening energy returns.
More than a century after Jugend was first performed, this remarkable music can be heard again.
Listen to the recording and discover the story behind it on the Reawakening Suppressed Music website. Link in bio!

#reawakeningsuppressedmusic #music #recording #waghalter #suppressedmusic

0

0

I’ve been very quiet on Instagram recently, so thought I’d pop back up with an update, prompted by my little boy asking if I’m “STILL writing ‘that book’??”The answer is ‘yes!’ — but the end is almost in sight now…

Almost five years ago, I began piecing together the story of my grandpa’s escape from Nazi-occupied Vienna on a Kindertransport train. Grandpa (Herbert Heller) was 10 and his little brother, Kurt, was 8 when they escaped. Both boys were taken in and raised in England by Lady Emily Lutyens.

Their parents survived in hiding in Vienna, while most of their wider family perished in Hitler’s concentration camps. But beyond those bare facts, I knew very little. The trauma of his childhood was too great for Grandpa to speak about during his lifetime.

Five years ago, I discovered an archive of family documents that had survived the war in hiding, kept safe against all odds by Grandpa’s parents. As a surprise for my mum’s 70th birthday, I began translating and piecing together the letters and photographs, with the help of Kurt’s daughter, Bettina.

As we did, the extraordinary scale and international significance of the archive became clear. This was a story that needed to be told and commemorated.

Five years on, I’m delighted to have signed with a Big Five publisher, who will bring Grandpa’s story to readers worldwide in January 2028 — the 90th anniversary of the Kindertransport, which saved 10,000 unaccompanied children from almost certain death in the Holocaust.

With support from Arts Council England, the AJR, The Wiener Holocaust Library, The Lutyens Trust, RIBA, the DOW and many other incredible people and organisations, I’ve had the honour of piecing together hundreds of archive documents and discoveries to weave this story of persecution, survival and deep-rooted human compassion back into existence.

I’ve discovered a family I never knew, and faced heartbreaking discoveries at every turn.

Now, as I wrestle the final manuscript into shape, I thought I’d share a few archive moments from this incredible journey — and hopefully explain to my son why I AM STILL WRITING this book! 💕

#childrensbooks #kind

54

39

📖✏️ "Year 13 History students visited the Wiener Holocaust Library. They took part in a fascinating workshop and investigated priceless historical sources as part of their A Level coursework. Our students were commended for their hard work and engagement, well done!" ~ Ms Parker

#HolyFamily #Walthamstow #WoodStreet #SouthWoodford

45

0

Charlotte Salomon was a complex character who lived through unimaginable horrors. In October 1943, she was murdered at Auschwitz. We all know the terrible ending. But what about the secret she carried with her? Watch the reel to find out more — and hear from our playwright, Julia Pascal. #charlottesalomon #abuseawareness #holocausteducation #jewishhistory #wienerlibrary @wienerlibrary

3

3

It was so brilliant to run the Student Bus Reunion from March of the Living at The Wiener Holocaust Library.
Amazing to see our students again, as we looked through archival objects relating to our time on the March in Poland, had a tour of the library and the highlight of our reunion - the chance to hear again from survivor Alfred Garwood MBE!
A brilliant day. Message me for more information on this year's March of the Living Student Bus!

63

3