It was clearly upsetting for Freddie Ingram to talk about the friends he lost in the Holocaust, but he knows he was one of the lucky ones. He managed to escape the horrors of Nazi concentration and death camps which saw some 1.75million children perish. His own school friends were among them.
| The most important thing is that everybody is told what happened in the Holocaust and make sure it doesn’t happen again. |
In 1938, Freddie was ten and living in a town close to Nuremburg called Fuerth. He had lots of friends. He was happy at school and had a close family life. In November of that year though, things changed. 'Kristallnacht' (the night of broken glass) happened.
"Nazis broke into all the Jewish homes and businesses and smashed them up and arrested most of the fathers," recalls Freddie.
His own father was fortunate enough to escape being arrested and immediately began organising the evacuation of his family. Within a month, Freddie was on a train bound for Holland with his brother and cousin.
It was a "scary" journey watched over by Nazi soldiers. From there he was shipped to England, and transferred to Newcastle.
He didn't know anyone here and had difficulty with English when he first came over, but found he was welcomed by other children.
"The children in all the schools were basically very friendly and very interested. We were accepted. In this area, people are very friendly to others who have difficulties or are in trouble, and in those days more so probably than now".
There were differences of course. Freddie remembers being laughed at by other pupils during his first gym lesson because he wore clothes that were not exactly the fashion over here. They quickly became dusters.
One thing he'll never forget is the poverty he saw he saw in the North East, especially in Gateshead.
"There were children without shoes and socks. They hadn't seen a drop of water or a bath for months. It was very depressing in those areas we saw on the poor side of town."
Although he was happy to be here though, he really missed his friends from Fuerth. However, he feels, he was very fortunate to have had his parents with him over here.
A lot of the children who came over here left their parents behind, hoping they would follow later, but they never did. "I was one of the lucky ones", he says.
He also knows that if he'd stayed in Germany he would have suffered the fate of many he knew who were taken to Auschwitz and gassed. Many members of his family suffered a similar fate. Some 70 uncles, aunts and cousins were killed. Few survived.
He has never been able to forgive the Nazis for what they did, but doesn't hate the Germans and certainly not the younger ones.
"I don't blame the German people of today because they had nothing to do with it," he says. "The most important thing is that everybody from schoolchildren to adults is told what happened in the Holocaust and make quite sure it doesn't happen in the future."
About the team
This article was produced by editors Lindsay Marchant, 17 & Paul Holland, 14, with reporters Simon Mather, 13 and Emma Dickman, 10. It was published on the Newcastle City Council website to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
