{"id":2334,"date":"2026-06-24T11:14:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/talking-about-the-holocaust-even-though-it-hurts\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T09:31:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T07:31:15","slug":"talking-about-the-holocaust-even-though-it-hurts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/talking-about-the-holocaust-even-though-it-hurts\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking about the Holocaust, even though it hurts"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Talking about the Holocaust, even though it hurts<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The interpreter and translator Paula-Jane Martin is a descendant of Jewish Holocaust survivors.<\/h4>\n

On Tuesday morning, she shared her family history with a class at the German-speaking Orientation School in Freiburg.<\/h4>\n
No\u00ebmi Glauser<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The bell rings. The long break is over. The pupils at
the German-speaking secondary school in the city of Freiburg quickly take their seats. The pupils in class 3B1 know that this Tuesday morning\u2019s history lesson is no ordinary one. As part of the teaching unit \u2018Holocaust Survivors\u2019 Descendants Tell Their Stories\u2019, Paula-Jane Martin from Thurgau is speaking today about her family\u2019s moving history. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Touching family history<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Right at the start of the double lesson, Martin explains that both her parents were Jewish. Both her father, George Morton, and his wife from his first marriage survived the Holocaust. Martin is one of the daughters from George Morton\u2019s second marriage. Before anyone has a chance to ask, Martin says: <\/p>\n

\u201cMy father was over 60 when I was born. So it\u2019s actually my father\u2019s story, not my grandfather\u2019s.\u201d Before she continues, Martin emphasises that the pupils are free to ask her anything:<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019d like this double lesson not to be a one-way lecture. Just ask questions.\u2019 The young people are listening attentively.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Unlike other fathers<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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George Morton never slept. He would only ever rest for an hour or two at a time. He frequently checked to see if there was enough food in the fridge. The silver-coloured metal briefcase containing fireproof documents was always kept within easy reach under the bed. <\/p>\n

\u2018My father was different from other fathers. He remained a refugee for the rest of his life,\u2019 said Martin. <\/p>\n

She explains that her father never spoke about his past. For a long time, to Martin, he was simply a university professor of mathematics and statistics: \u201cMy father had a huge desk. As a child, I thought that must mean he was really important.\u201d Her father died when Martin was just 19 years old. Today, Martin is 49 years old. Her main job is as an interpreter. She lives with her family in G\u00fcmligen, near Bern. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Letters, cards and telegrams<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A few years ago, Martin\u2019s two half-brothers found a box of letters, cards and telegrams in London. Most of the letters had been written regularly by their shared father, George Morton, to the two brothers\u2019 mother. When conditions for Jews in what was then Czechoslovakia became difficult, his future first wife, Ren\u00e9e Stransky, had emigrated to the UK at the age of 17. Her childhood sweetheart, Ji\u0159\u00ed Morgenstern, stayed behind. After the war, he would change his birth name so as not to be recognisable as Jewish. \u2018I must finally write to you to tell you how much I love you,\u2019 says George Morton\u2019s fictional voice from a small loudspeaker. To present the letters to the young people as authentically as possible, the translator had them read aloud by colleagues. <\/p>\n

The letters move the 49-year-old: \u201cI didn\u2019t know my father to be so eloquent.\u201d Martin shows the pupils several excerpts from the letters. The texts also serve as records of that era. As well as describing everyday life, they recount the various forms of repression against Jewish people. In one letter, George Morton writes that his father could no longer practise his profession in his native Czech homeland. Another states that many Jewish students were killed at Prague University. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Odyssey across the sea <\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Paula-Jane Martin also found answers in the Prague City Archives. Various applications and lists of family members who wanted to flee abroad are kept there. She knows: \u201cOn the evening of 14 December 1940, my father left Prague.\u201d The destination was the British Mandate of Palestine. According to the interpreter, correspondence between her father and Ren\u00e9e Stransky ceased during this period due to the war. George Morton was not the only one who decided to flee. <\/p>\n

A friend and close confidante of the family, Annina, took the same route. She recorded the harrowing journey in her diary. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnnina was the angel of my childhood. Unlike my father, she could speak,\u201d Martin explains to the pupils of class 3B1. Together with around 2,500 other Jews, his father and Annina had initially been stranded in Bratislava. Eventually, they set sail on the ship Atlantic across the Black Sea towards Palestine. An odyssey. No one had been willing to take the refugees in. What\u2019s more, an outbreak of typhus had occurred on the ship. This is a bacterial infectious disease which, if left untreated, can have serious consequences. \u2018Annina told me that the dead had to be thrown overboard,\u2019 says Martin. She shows a few of the few photographs that exist of the Atlantic. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Via Mauritius to London<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It\u2019s time for a five-minute break. Two girls from Class 3B1 are discussing how they think it\u2019s important that Ms Martin talks so openly about her family. A boy agrees: \u201cI\u2019ve already heard a lot about the Second World War and the Holocaust, but hearing such a personal story makes the subject feel more real.\u201d Then Paula-Jane Martin resumes her story: <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jewish people from the Atlantic were eventually taken to Mauritius.\u201d In the British colony, her father, along with around 90 other Jews from the Czech Republic, decided in 1943 to return to Europe to fight against Hitler as well. \u201cBecause my father spoke several languages, he eventually worked as a translator for the Allies,\u201d says Martin. In London, George Morton was reunited with Ren\u00e9e Stransky. They got married. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Combating discrimination<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMartin explains that around 360,000 Jews lived in what was then Czechoslovakia before the Second World War. 264,000 Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Both George Morton\u2019s and Ren\u00e9e Stransky\u2019s parents were killed in Auschwitz. The couple were informed by telegram. \u201cIt is important to understand that the victims were real people,\u201d Martin concludes. She then opens the floor for questions. A girl asks whether Martin can imagine what her father went through. The interpreter replies: \u201cI am aware of their history. There are many emotions involved.\u201d \n\n\u2018But I can\u2019t really put myself in her shoes.\u2019 A boy wants to know when she realised that her family had been directly affected by the Holocaust. \u201cAt the very latest when I saw the film *Schindler\u2019s List*, something just clicked inside me,\u201d Martin explains. At the end of the double lesson, she urges the young people to stand up against discrimination of any kind: \u201cPay attention to what\u2019s happening around you. Stay alert.\u201d\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLink to the article (in German)<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The interpreter and translator Paula-Jane Martin is a descendant of Jewish Holocaust survivors.
\nShe shared her family history with a class at the German-speaking Orientation School in Freiburg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2334"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2337,"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2334\/revisions\/2337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pjmartin.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}