Who Do You Think You Are - Matt Lucas 16th Jun
 

On BBC1 at 9 p.m. and repeated Thursday 23rd Jun on BBC2 at 1:15 a.m.

That one was good

I agree. I am always moved and angry at the Jewish stories. I'm not a fan of Matt Lucas but his approach and reactions sent him up miles in my estimation.

OC

Episode summary:

Matt Lucas was 22 when his father died. He and his elder brother Howard were brought up in a "reformed Jewish" household in London. His maternal grandmother Margot Williams nee Hillel, who came to England as a refugee from Berlin, died in 1999. Matt went to visit his mother Diana Lucas nee Williams who lives a few miles from where Matt grew up, and they looked at some old family photos including one of his grandfather Maurice Williams's 70th birthday party. There was also a photo of Matt's great-grandfather, Margot's father, Dr Gustav Hillel, who died when Margot was 20. There was a photo taken in 1913 of some of Margot's family at the engagement party of her mother's cousin Margarete / Greta Paradis and Max Salinger. Two of Margot's aunts, Sophie Blumenfeld and Herta Goldschmidt, sisters of her mother Terese / Rose Hillel, who were in the photo, were said to have escaped from Germany to Amsterdam. Greta and Max had three sons, two of whom went to Israel, while the third, "Uncle Wolf", came to England. Margot never told Matt and his parents much about her childhood, but they did have a photo of her when she was 5. A document headed "University of Berlin" showed that she had studied medicine there. There were some letters in German sent from Rose to Margot - Rose couldn't come to England with Margot because she was too unwell with MS. Diana had Margot's German passport with a red J on it. Matt now has German citizenship, as well as British.

Matt went to Berlin, where Margot was born in 1911. Matt went to the apartment where Margot lived as a child. He then went to Berlin University to see where she studied medicine, and met an historian who showed him the matriculation register which said that Margot began her studies there in 1930 aged 18, and a document which showed that she failed to turn up for studies in 1934. This was probably due to Nazi laws broHertsught in at that time which prevented many Jewish schoolchildren and students from receiving an education. Matt went to Charlottenburg, the area of Berlin where the family lived in the 1930's, and met an historian at a theatre near where their local synagogue was. The historian showed him some photos of the synagogue before and after Kristallnacht (now referred to in Germany as the November Pogroms). The date on Margot's passport was 14 Feb 1939, three months after Kristallnacht. The German family letters had been translated, and Matt read a letter from Greta to Margot dated 14 Apr 1939, saying that Terese had had a fall but was recovering. Terese's death certificate showed that she died on the 2nd Feb 1942, from nerve damage, MS, and heart failure. The Jewish Cemetery burial information showed that she was buried on the 16th Feb 1942, next to Gustav, arranged by Margarete Salinger. Matt went to the Jewish Cemetery to see the grave. The headstone had fallen over, and he said he would have a new stone erected.

Matt then went to the Netherlands and met the senior archivist for the city of Amsterdam, who showed him entries in the Registration of Foreigners for Sophie, Herta, Sophie's sons Fritz and Walter Blumenfeld, and Herta's son Werner Goldschmidt. There was no information on Greta Salinger or Herta's other son Hans Goldschmidt. Sophie, Herta, Fritz, Walter, and Werner were all still in Amsterdam in 1942, two years after Germany invaded the Netherlands. Their ID cards showed their addresses, with Werner's showing that he was a lodger with Otto Frank's family (i.e. the family of Anne Frank.) Matt went to the apartment and met an Anne Frank expert who showed him a film clip from a wedding party of a neighbour of the Franks', with Anne shown in the window. Matt looked around the apartment and saw Werner's room. He was also shown a photo of Werner, and an extract from Anne's diary mentioning that they left a note for "Mr Goldschmidt" when they left to go into hiding. Werner stayed on in the apartment for a while after that. Matt then went to Leonardostraat, where Walter and Fritz lived, and met an historian who showed him some information about Fritz. The documents showed that he was a wholesaler in silk fabrics, that his wife's name was Helene Nabarro, and that they had a daughter Sylvia Blumenfeld, born in May 1940. The Jewish Council's card about Fritz Blumenfeld showed that he and his family were transported on the 15th Jul 1942. Matt went to Westerborg, which was the central location for transportation in the Netherlands, to find out more. He met a researcher who showed him records which said that Fritz, Helene, and Sylvia were sent to Auschwitz, where Helene and Sylvia were killed immediately and Fritz was selected to work, dying on the 14th Sep 1942, of blood poisoning according to his death certificate, but the researcher was dubious about that being the real cause of death. A deportation list showed that Sophie and Walter were sent to Sobibor, where they both died soon after arrival, that Herta was sent to Auschwitz in Feb 1943, and that Werner died at Bergen-Belsen. Greta and Max also died at Auschwitz.

Matt then went to the National Holocaust Memorial in Amsterdam where his relatives are commemorated. He was told that Margot worked as a nurse in England. Matt then went to Maurice and Margot's local synagogue in North London and met a former colleague of Margot's who worked with her at the Association of Jewish Refugees, where Margot was admissions officer, helping refugees find homes, etc. Matt read an article about Margot's work there, and was shown a document which said that her cousin Hans Goldschmidt emigrated to Montevideo in Uruguay.

I found this very interesting and poignant. I have never liked Matt Lucas on TV but my estimation of him as a person has increased immensely. These family histories have to be repeated again and again so that nobody ever forgets what the Jewish people endured at the hands of the Third Reich.

I found it interesting that Germans no longer talk about "Kristallnacht" but instead "Novemberpogrome".

https://www.planet-wissen.de/geschic...ome/index.html

Sorry to be contrary but, whilst sad, I thought it merely went over a period that has cropped up in just about every previous series. I feel the same when WWI and WWII military ancestors are the focus. It was deeply personal for Matt of course but by only concentrating on the 1930s and 40s it didn't cover any new ground. The story of the European Jewish diaspora fascinates me and I would love someone to uncover the story of Jewish ancestors from much further back although I do appreciate that may be difficult largely [I]because[I] of the 30s and 40s.

I agree, although because the Nazis destroyed lots of records and synagogues it's very difficult to trace or find any records.

That was what I meant Maggie about it being difficult.

As I studied German and worked and lived in Germany for a while, I am understandably interested in German history.

My personal experience of the German people has been nothing but positive, yet I have always struggled to come to terms with their endorsement of Hitler and his ideology and their unwillingness to confront the unpalatable truth. Of course, there were some brave exceptions.

It is a warning for all countries to resist totalitarian rule.

I thought Matt struck exactly the right tone of interest and respect. I was transfixed throughout.