Kestenberg Archive

MB was born in Gleiwitz in 1904 and shortly after her birth the family moved to Katowice which came under Polish control after WWI. Since the family identified very clearly with Germany and did not want to live under Polish rule, MB, her mother and brother relocated to Breslau where MB began to work in a bank. Her mother remarried and moved to Munich, MB joining her there in 1922. MB married in 1925 and had two sons in 1926 and 1927. MB's family was not religious but they did keep the major holidays and MB always lit candles on Friday nights. After her marriage MB lived in the same building as Julius Streicher's brother but he was always very kind to her and promised that nothing bad would happen to her or her children. She does not remember problems from the racial laws before 1938, even managing to keep a maid servant. However, the morning after Kristallnacht her husband was arrested. MB sought help from the British consul and eventually convinced him to write a letter that she delivered to the Gestapo requesting her husband's release. Two days later, her husband returned home. While her husband had been in the camp MB was forced out of her apartment. ; At this point MB and her family decided to leave, wanting to join her brother in Palestine. The antisemitic experiences became increasingly frightening. On May 31 1939, they received permits to travel to England. By the time they left Germany they had very little money left and what remained paid for the travel costs. Once in England, MB's mother soon received permission to travel to Palestine and set sail with MB's two sons. MB and her husband followed three months later. The family settled in Tel Aviv but life was difficult: they had little money and both MB and her husband had difficulty learning Hebrew. During the war they felt the need to take action against Hitler and joined the Home Guard. Later they relocated to Tivon where the family was very happy. MB's older son became an engineer and her younger son at first studied economics but later retrained as a Rabbi. MB has 18 grandchildren and a number of great-grandchildren. After her husband's death MB returned to live in Munich as life in Israel continued to be difficult and nerve-wracking. MB has a tendency to depression. She did not talk about her experiences with her children but has begun to do so with some of her grandchildren.