gb-003348-wl1805
type: RecordSet
biographical history: In 1928 Betty Wixon married Walter Fürstenberg, a welder, who had just returned after spending approximately seven years fighting in North Africa for the French Foreign Legion. They had one daughter, Kitty, who was born in 1932. As life became increasingly difficult under the Nazi Regime and Jewish men were forbidden to work, Betty Wixon continued to support the family with the income from her dressmaking. Walter and Betty decided it was time to emigrate but lacking the financial means it was difficult for them to find a country who would accept them. They researched the possibilities of settling in Australia, Venezuela, Singapore amongst others without success. Finally Walter was successful in joining the Kitchener Camp scheme which had been set up by British Jews in order to retrain Jewish men to learn a trade. This enabled them to enter Britain. He arrived in Britain in April 1939. After the Kitchener camp had been dismantled at the beginning of the war, he was given the options of either joining the British army or be interned on the Isle of Man. Walter chose the former, first in the Pioneer Corp and later as Corporal in the R.E.M.E Corp. He was demobbed in 1946. With the help of relatives of the Fürstenberg family who had been living in London for many years, Walter was able to arrange for an affidavit for his wife and daughter. However, when Betty arrived with her daughter at Dover, on going through immigration it turned out that her affidavit did not include her six-year-old daughter. The immigration officer turned a blind eye and both mother and daughter arrived in London where they lived for a short time with Walter's uncle and family. Kitty started going to school and within a short time, some three weeks after arrival, was evacuated to Norfolk where she lived for about 18 months before re-joining her mother in London. There after they moved around the country following Walter in between returning to London when there were lulls in the bombing but finally …
conditions of access: Open
has beginning date: 1963-01-01
has end date: 1986-01-31
has or had holder: gb-003348
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: deu
has or had some members with language: eng
has or had subject: 449
has or had subject: 381
has or had subject: 203
has or had subject: 1042
has or had subject: 504
has or had subject: 304
has or had subject: 496
has or had subject: 641
has record set type: Collection
identifier: WL1805
record resource extent: 1 folder
record resource structure: Arranged chronologically.
results or resulted from: 1
scope and content: This collection contains correspondence relating to the estate of Betty Wixon (née Davidsohn) and her German pension awarded for loss of earnings under the Hitler regime. Correspondence re estate and a copy of her death certificate and draft affidavit for Betty Wixon's restitution claim.
title: Betty Wixon: correspondence re estate and pension