Ellen Rawson is a frequent speaker at the National Holocaust Centre and Museum.  She was born Ellen Herrman in Königsberg, East Prussia in 1922. Ellen, her two brothers and parents lived happily until Adolf Hitler came into power.

The change was subtle, but when it became apparent that Jews would face increasing anti-Semitism and prejudice in every facet of society, Ellen's parents organised for Ellen to come to England on the Kindertransport. Ellen and her brother Gert were the only survivors of the Herrman family. 

Ellen has spoken to a large number of school children and adult visitors on many occasions. The talks are filled with information that is engaging and important for all to understand and during these talks, Ellen has shown photographs which help to facilitate an insight into her life. We have been lucky enough to acquire these photographs for the collection.

These photographs and others have been increasing in number over the last 2 years and the collection at the National Holocaust Centre and Museum has significantly grown. The photographs allow us to tell us a story via imagery. They evidence stories and provide a visual image that can’t be showcased via a traditional talk because they have a new context. The wealth of information that we can glean from these pictures is immense. Ellen has worked with the museum to ensure that the photographs are correctly provenanced and that we provide a name to the many members of her family who were murdered in the Holocaust.

Below are a selection of some of these beautiful pictures. They celebrate Ellen and her family’s life before the rise of the Nazis.