I Was A German ***

Some German Jews managed to escape the Nazis. Clare Fraenkel’s grandfather Heinz was one of them.

Heinz Fraenkel was at a Berlin cinema on 27 February 1933. This proved to be a momentous night historically, as the Nazis burned down the Reichstag, effectively bulldozing German democracy a mere four weeks after Hitler had come to power. While the second world war was still some time off, persecution was already rife in Germany. The film he went to see was interrupted by stormtroopers, complaining about the heritage of one of the actors. Later, at a party, a well-wisher tipped him off that the Gestapo awaited his return to his apartment, advising him to flee immediately for Paris. Clearly blessed with strong instincts for self-preservation, he carried his passport and simply boarded the night train to Paris, and onward to England. He had his German citizenship revoked by the Nazis.

England was not entirely a safe haven. As the Nazis conquered much of Europe, the UK narrowly avoided the same fate. As a Jew and a journalist, Heinz would have been a marked man. The British government interned many German nationals in what were effectively concentration camps, Heinz duly swept up as an “enemy alien”. He was relatively fortunate to be placed on the Isle of Man, rather than running the U-boat gauntlet of being transported to Australia.

After the war ended, he returned to Berlin as a war correspondent, only to be arrested in Soviet-controlled East Berlin. Upon release, he settled back in the UK, raising a family – which brings us to Clare’s part of the story.

Despite being born and bred in the UK, Clare feels a disconnect in the wake of the Brexit vote. It has created a jarring sense of loss of roots. She and her brother decide to apply for German citizenship. As part of post-Nazi restitution, Article 116 II of the German legal system permits citizenship for those who lost it under Nazi persecution, and as direct grandchildren this permission is inherited. The revocation of citizenship is, of course, chillingly echoed in today’s geopolitical landscape.

Clare is an engaging and likeable performer, weaving storytelling, shadowplay and song elegantly. Some of the staging and characterisation choices did not entirely land; nonetheless, this is an interesting insight into our recent history.

Why did Heinz wait until the end of the party before fleeing to Paris, every second potentially crucial to escape? Like his granddaughter, perhaps he wanted to take control of his own path.