Resources

Renee Bornstein survived the Holocaust by hiding in barns, farms and convents. Marianne Cohn, a resistance worker, was murdered by the Gestapo for trying to help Renee and other children escape.

Béla Guttmann was a successful Jewish football player who represented Hungary at the Olympics in 1924. He survived the Holocaust by hiding and managed to escape a forced labour camp. After the war he became a famous football coach and manager, leading the Portuguese club Benfica to two successive European Cup wins.

John Hajdu is a survivor of the Holocaust in Hungary and lived under the subsequent socialist regime in Budapest. Having lived in the UK since 1957, John’s experiences of life after the Holocaust and as a refugee tell of the turmoil of post-World War Two Europe.

The diary written by Anne Frank is famous around the world as an eye witness account which gives an insight into the persecution faced by Jewish people under the Nazi regime.

Gino Bartali was an Italian cycling legend having won the gruelling Tour de France twice, once prior to and once after World War Two. But the true heroism of Bartali’s actions went far beyond his prowess on the bike, as he used his sporting fame to help save the lives of many Jewish people.

Despite being both gay and Jewish, Gad Beck survived the entire duration of Nazi rule living in Berlin. He was 19 when, in 1941, his friends and neighbours began to be rounded up and deported. He made the decision to actively resist Nazi persecution, assuming a leading role in the Chug Chaluzi Jewish resistance group.

In this educational resource for secondary age students, Blanche Benedick tells her story of escape from the Nazis. Blanche's family were Jewish and lived in Nazi-occupied Denmark - they were helped to escape to Sweden by Danish and Swedish people who risked their lives to help them make the crossing by boat.

David Berger was born in Przemysl, south-east Poland. He left his hometown when the Germans invaded in 1939 and was shot dead in Vilnius, Lithuania two years later in 1941.

Nine year old Martha Blend excaped from Austria on the Kindertransport in 1938, leaving her parents behind. Here she describes her life in Austria, the journey to the UK, and the fate of her family left behind.

Nine year old Martha Blend escaped from Austria on the Kindertransport in 1938, leaving her parents behind. As part of our 2011 Hidden Histories project Martha showed us her autograph book which she brought to the UK with her.