Bernard's school life “ There was not a Jewish school in the town, you went to the normal Christian schools, and I mean that did not make any difference,... Because nobody ever looked at you as being different, and yeah it was quite a happy time, till later on, after Hitler came to power, I mean that altered things then.” Interview with Bernard Grunberg 2015 Bernard at school in 1934 When did Hitler and the Nazi Party come to power? Read more January 1933 Why would this change Bernard's school life? Read more As the only Jewish boy in his school Bernard experienced fierce anti-Semitic bullying after the rise of the Nazi regime, and was forced to leave school early. “...That was my worst time, I mean I was mentally and physically attacked everyday, and I had to put up with that for nearly three years.” "Before I left school, you lost all your play mates, all your friends, non-Jewish friends because again propaganda told them they were not to do anything to do with Jewish boys or girls, or even with the families, and so you are isolated, but it did not bother me, because my dad being cattle dealer and keeping cows,... it gave me something to do away from school, and I enjoyed doing it, because not only was I away from any sort of attack, of any description or name calling whatever nothing like that happened, because I was on my own premises had plenty to do, and nobody else would come there because they had been told not to under their sort of, Nazi teaching, so away from school I was a happy little boy, you can say." Interview with Bernard Grunberg 2015 Bernard describes this part of his life as being "my worst time" but also being "a happy little boy". How did he stay happy even though he was being bullied at school? Read more Bernard's father was a cattle dealer and owned his own house and land. Bernard's time at school was very abusive but when he went home he focused on helping his dad with the cattle and felt like he had escaped from his troubles at school for a short time. Bernard never missed school because he was being bullied. Bernard's wood plane "...I was from home, was sent eastward to Berlin, to get this technical education..." Interview with Bernard in 2015 This certificate tells us that Bernard studied at the joinery college in Berlin. The certificate notes Bernard's performance and is complimentary about his work ethic and skill level. What does Bernard mean by a "technical education"? Read more A technical education is to learn a skill. In Bernard's case he was studying joinery which would enable him to make things out of wood. Why would Bernard's parents send him to Berlin? Read more They believed that if Bernard had a skill it would be easier for him to emigrate to another country in order to escape the Nazi persecution he was experiencing. "there was one time during that, I was only there for about nine month, but the small group of Nazi Youth came on to these premises where this school was and set fire to the joiner’s shop...” Interview with Bernard Grunberg 2015 Soon after this event and the November Pogrom (The Night of Broken Glass) Bernard was sent to England on the Kindertransport. His parents would later send him a trunk that contained his tools. Why would they send Bernard joinery tools? Read more The tools arrived in 1939, and Bernard’s father hoped they would help him to make a living in Britain. ‘BG’ has been branded onto the tools to make them appear second hand and allow them to enter the UK without further cost or restriction. What impact did the Nazi era have on Bernard's education? © The National Holocaust Centre and Museum Manage Cookie Preferences