My Voice: Peter Kurer

Peter Kurer was born in 1931 in Austria. He had a happy childhood in Vienna, but everything changed with the Anschluss. His father narrowly missed being apprehended by the SS by feigning illness. Peter’s parents resolved within a week to leave Austria.

With the help of a Quaker couple, Peter’s family was guaranteed safe passage to England in 1938. The family settled in Manchester after the war where Peter’s father opened a dental practice whilst Peter and his brother attended a Quaker boarding school. Later, Peter married Heather in 1955, after which he completed his National Service. They settled in Cheadle and had four children. This book chronicles Peter’s successful career in dentistry, including extensive international travel to give lectures, and the instrumental part he played in establishing the Morris Feinmann Home in Manchester.

Peter’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.