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Leila worried away at the problem of how to help her parents escape from Munich. She finally decided to tackle it piece by piece. The exit visa from Germany appeared intractable, and there was little help she could offer from the UK. But the other end of the journey involved acquiring an entry visa for her parents, and over that she might be able to use her connections at the Foreign Office.
She called MrSullivan’s office one morning, and asked for a meeting.
‘Of course, MrsLabowski,’ replied the secretary. ‘Might I tell him what it’s about?’
‘It’s complicated…but essentially I’m trying to get my Jewish parents, who live in Munich, an entry visa to the UK.’
There was a pause. ‘I see. Well, I’ll give MrSullivan your message, and see if he has any space in his diary. As you can imagine, things are very busy at the moment…’
‘Yes, yes of course,’ replied Leila, sensing the girl’s reluctance. ‘Well, if he could find time to see me, I’d be very grateful.’
At the BBC, Alec sensed all was not well. ‘You seem distracted, Leila. Is there something wrong?’
‘It’s nothing you can help with, but thanks for asking.’
‘I may not be able to help, but try me…’
‘It’s my parents – they’re stuck in Munich and I need to get them out.’
‘Mmm, that is tricky, I agree,’ said Alec. ‘It’s getting an exit visa that’s the problem…’
‘Quite,’ replied Leila.
‘Perhaps an old colleague from your Munich days might help?’
Leila had long since lost touch with most of her old colleagues at theMunich Post– Martin Gruber and Edmund Goldschagg had both gone into hiding when the paper was closed down – but she had kept up a regular correspondence with Julius Zerfass.
Julius and his wife Charlotte had remained in Switzerland after Leila moved to England, and now lived in an apartment in Geneva. He worked as a freelance writer, and she taught at a local school. That evening Leila sat down at her desk in the window and wrote to him, asking for his advice.
Two weeks later she received a reply:
My dear Leila,
How wonderful to hear from you and thank you for your news. I’m glad to hear the children are doing well. Charlotte and I continue to thrive. I write a little and manage to scrape a living. Geneva is a most convivial city, if a little dull by Munich’s standards. But I have discovered that ‘dull’ can be most comforting.
Now, my dear, you ask for my advice about how to help your parents. I remember Hannah and Levi well. But at their age, I fear, leaving Germany will not be easy.
Acquiring exit papers will be the major difficulty. The legal route for Jews to leave Germany is about to be rescinded. Hitler has just set a deadline of 17September by when all Jews still living in the Reich will be moved to ghettoes in the east.
So, we are left with the unorthodox route out. First, they will need forged papers, and here I have a suggestion. Do you recall a journalist named Ruth Andreas-Friedrich? She worked for a big publishing house in Berlin. She generally wrote about women’s issues – so perhaps your paths never crossed. I only know her because of my time as the cultural correspondent for thePost. She lives with a wonderful orchestral conductor called Leo Borchard, and through our shared love of music we became friends. When Charlotte and I left Germany, we tried to persuade them both to come with us. Although they are not Jewish, I worried that they would find the descent into totalitarianism too painful to witness. I believe both could have had very successful careers in America, for example. But neither would budge – they were determined not to abandon their homeland, and now they see their role as helping to protect as many Jews as they can. They run an organisation called Uncle Emil – so-called because anyone who rings them on the phone must first use the code, which is simply enquiring about Uncle Emil’s health.
They provide shelter for Jewish refugees and can also help with forged documents. I’ve already helped them from my end get a few of their people out through Switzerland, and I’m sure Ruth would have some valuable advice. The two routes refugees are currently using are through Switzerland and Spain. The latter would mean crossing the Pyrenees – clearly a problem for your elderly parents. But if you can get them out through Switzerland I will do all I can to help them get to England. Alternatively, Charlotte and I would make them welcome here.
I am including Ruth’s address and telephone number below. But needless to say, secrecy is vital. If you write to her, ensure that the letter contains nothing that could alert the authorities – letters are frequently intercepted, as I’m sure you understand. And if you manage to put through a phone call, please remember the code: ‘how is Uncle Emil?’
Wishing you all the best.
Julius
PS: Charlotte sends her love.
Although she was keen to get in touch with the organisation, Leila feared that phoning or writing from England might put them in danger. A personal approach would surely be safer and the obvious person to help was her friend Minki, who lived in Berlin. There would be risks, of course, but Leila was certain she could rely on her friend’s discretion.
She took out pen and paper to write to Minki but with no time to lose, decided to try to contact her by phone instead. Leila had no telephone at home. Although it was against the rules to make personal calls from work, particularly ones that involved the overseas operator, she decided to risk it.
The following day, when she came off shift, she went into an unused office next to her own and dialled the BBC operator. ‘I’d like to put in a call to Berlin, please.’
‘Berlin, madam?’ The operator sounded surprised.
