My Voice: Renée Mosbacher

Renée Mosbacher was born in 1929 in Vienna. Renée’s parents had both died before the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into Germany in 1938, and she was living with her auntie and uncle. Renée witnessed the growth of antisemitism and anti-Jewish laws. After the horrors of Kristallnacht, Renée and her brothers made a dangerous journey to England with her auntie in December 1938, where they were reunited with Renée’s uncle.

Renée recounts her arrival in London, the musical success of her brother Norbert, a talented violinist, and moving to Manchester. Over the next decades, Renée lived a busy life, became a parent to seven children, experienced happy marriages, and describes the joy and success of working, travelling and being part of a loving family.

Renée’s book is part of the My Voice book collection, a stand-alone project of The Fed, the leading Jewish social care charity in Manchester, dedicated to preserving the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.