Who were the boys of Lebanon Park?

WHO WERE THE BOYS WHO CAME TO LEBANON PARK?

The students’ responses and reflections were based on the true stories of the boys who fled Nazism in the late 1930s and came to Twickenham as part of the kindertransport. Of the ten boys who lived in the house in Lebanon Park we’ve managed to find out about four of the boys (and a young lady who helped them) who fled Nazi Germany and Austria and came to Twickenham. They were: Gunter Ruf, Rolf Metzger, Freddy Popper, Franz Reichmann... and we also know about Margot Brauer, a young lady who also fled Germany and looked after the boys in Lebanon Park.

ROLF METZGER

Rolf Metzger was born into a Jewish family on 21 August 1928. His family lived in the town of Mainz which is in the west of Germany near Frankfurt. Rolf, who changed his name to Ralph when he lived in England, arrived at the port of Harwich on 27 June 1939.

Rolf Metzger on his bycycle before he was forced to flee Germany.

Rolf and younger cousin Henri Stern on horseback

WHO WERE THE BOYS WHO CAME TO LEBANON PARK?

GUNTER RUF

Gunter was born into a Jewish family in the town of Herne which is in the west of Germany near the city of Dortmund. When the Nazis came to power life for Jewish people became awful. Gunter remembers not being able to do things he enjoyed, like swimming in the local pool, because Jews were banned. After Kristallnacht Gunter and his family were forced to leave their home and live in cramped conditions with other Jewish families. On April 19 1939 Gunter’s parents put him on a train to Holland as part of the Kindertransport.

Gunter on his first day of school in Germany in 1935.

FRANZ REICHMANN

Franz Reichmann was born in 1930 in a town called Beuthen in Germany. Just before Kristallnacht, Josef Goebbels visited Beuthen and made a deeply racist, antisemitic speech in the town. Local Nazis burned down the synagogue in Beuthen and the local Jewish people were made to stand for hours in front of the burning building. Kurt and Betty Reichmann took the heart breaking decision to send their three children to the UK as part of the Kindertransport. Franz was eight years old. It is believed that Franz’s parents, Kurt and Betty, were murdered by the Nazis on 13th June 1942 – possibly in Auschwitz.

Franz’s immigration document given to him by the British government when he arrived in 1939.

WHO WERE THE BOYS WHO CAME TO LEBANON PARK?

FREDDY POPPER

Freddy was born into a Jewish family in Vienna, the capital of Austria, on 14 June 1928. His parents divorced in 1936 and his father, a musician, went to live in Palestine. Freddy and his mum, Greta, were somehow able to escape Vienna in 1939 and come to London. Freddy came to live at the kinderhostel in Twickenham. After the boys left No.52 in 1944 Freddy became a tailor and then a highly skilled pattern cutter. In his spare time he loved playing music and played his clarinet in jazz bands.

Gunter on his first day of school in Germany in 1935.

MARGOT BRAUER

Even though the Kinderhostel was just for boys they were looked after by Margot Brauer. She has a fascinating story of her own. Margot was called ‘Gitte’ by the boys, who loved her very much. Margot herself was Jewish and grew up in Berlin. She was a brilliant athlete but the Nazis banned her from being a member of a club or take part in competitions just because she was Jewish. She witnessed Kristallnacht and was able to escape to Britain... but her parents weren’t able to. Instead, Margot’s parents helped to hide Jewish people from the Nazis.

All the boys together in the back garden of No. 52 Lebanon Park in Twickenham

There were other Jewish boys fled from Nazi Europe who lived at the house too. We haven’t been able to find out much about them but their names were: Fred Pauker, Emil Hauber, William Heidenheimer, Gerald Ohrbach, Harold Ohrbach, Kurt Kristeller.

WHO WERE THE BOYS WHO CAME TO LEBANON PARK?

LEBANON PARK KINDERHOSTEL

Hampton School pupils Josh and Felix spent months researching the story of the boys who came to Twickenham as part of the Kindertransport. To raise awareness of the Kinderhostel in Lebanon Park they recently made a short film about it. Please click on the image below to view the film: