F A R E W E L L
We were optimistic

   Shortly before the war there was a letter: ‘We’ve just heard from Berlin that Lore will be able to leave in four days‘ time.’ That was on 20th June ‘39. So some quick packing, my parents went to the station, they waved us off and there we were, sitting in the train and setting off. My parents had an affidavit for America; we were supposed to be going to America too, it was all arranged and we were optimistic. No one thought that it wouldn’t work out. My parents already had their ticket for the Queen Mary to go to America, and on the day when they were supposed to be leaving, they were in Holland, and on that day Hitler invaded and so they couldn’t get away. That was such a very sad story, really dreadful. They had their container in Rotterdam ready with all their furniture, all broken, everything smashed up.
My best girlfriends both went to America with their parents, they were lucky. It almost worked out for us. Just one day would have made all the difference.
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