My Voice: Gisela Feldman

Gisela Feldman was born in Berlin in 1923. Gisela recounts the Nazi rise to power and witnessing a terrifying night when her father was taken away by the Nazis. After Kristallnacht, Gisela’s mother knew they had to leave Germany. She managed to arrange visas for Cuba and passage there on a liner, the SS St Louis, for herself and her two daughters. However, Cuba, the USA and Canada all refused entry to the ship, and they were eventually given permission to come to England via Antwerp.

After working as an au pair and a machinist in London, Gisela went on to have a long career as a teacher. She married Oscar and they had three children. She moved to Manchester in 1995 to be near her son and grandchildren.

Gisela’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.