Rosa's Child (9 page)

At the CBF Grace met the secretary of the Jewish Refugees Committee, Heather Salmon, whose pleasant and assured manner put her at her ease from the start, despite the difficult nature of what they were there to discuss.

Rosa Bechhöfer, the penniless, unskilled and unmarried Jewish mother, was desperate to save her children from an unknown fate under the Nazis.

Otto Hald was a great womanizer. Whilst the nature of his affair with Rosa remains unclear, he did not hesitate to abandon her upon discovering she was pregnant with his twins

The Antonienheim Jewish orphanage in Munich was the first home for Rosa's children. She visited Susi and Lotte regularly on her days off as a housemaid.

This photograph of Susi and Lottes first birthday at the Antonienheim was discovered in Israel over fifty years later among the personal possessions of a former staff member.

The bewildered twins, too young to understand their fate, were taken from Liverpool Street Station to their new home in Wales by their foster parents, Reverend Edward Mann and his wife Irene.

The records of the Antonienheim show Susi and Lotte Bechhófer leaving the orphanage for England on 16 May 1939, three and a half months before the outbreak of the Second World War.

Susi's entry permit to the UK was secured by the Central British Fund, a charitable organization attempting to secure the safe passage of Jewish children out of Nazi Germany.

The twins, now with new identities, adapted to their new British life protected by the care and concern of their new foster parents.

Irene Mann divided her time between bringing up the twins and carrying out duties within the Baptist Church. From the outset she bonded more closely with Lotte.

Their early life with the Reverend Mann and his wife was happy. It was only after the diagnosis of Lotte's tragic illness that Susi's life at home took a sinister turn.

Susi (centre with glasses) at the Park School in Yeovil brooded over her relationships at home and resented the attention lavished on her sickly sister by Mrs Mann which left Susi at the mercy of the Reverend.

Lotte (seated centre), aged 22, received the Award for Fortitude in the face of her illness.