For Honour's Sake - The AJEX Podcast
For Honour's Sake is brought to you by AJEX The Jewish Military Association.
The history of the Jewish contribution to Britain's armed forces begins at the moment of Resettlement, stretches through the Restoration, Georgian and Victorian eras, into the 20th Century, and right up until the modern day. Well over a hundred thousand Jews, from a community that has never numbered more than 400,000 have fought in all conflicts, in all places, at all levels, and in all ways.
For Honour's Sake recounts these stories and speaks to those who served.
For Honour's Sake - The AJEX Podcast
Henny Franks- The 101 year old WWII veteran and Kindertransport refugee.
AJEX National Chair Dan Fox is joined by Henny Franks at Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre.
Henny was born Henriette Grünbaum in Cologne in 1927. Aged 15, she escaped to London on the Kindertransport with her 12 year old sister. Her father was to die in Sobibor but her mother went into hiding in Italy, Switzerland and Belgium.
By 1942, Henny was Pte Greenbaum of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, driving trucks and working in munitions.
They talked about her childhood, her ATS service, and her life after the war, including reuniting with her mother in Brussels. At the end of the episode, we also presented her with a reproduction of Abram Games’s famous ATS recruitment poster.
In 2023, Dan presented Henny her medals from the war, which she never claimed at the time, on the occasion of her 100th birthday: the Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939-45 - together with her HM Armed Forces Veteran Badge, which she now proudly wears.
In this 80th year of commemorating VE and VJ Day, this episode is especially poignant. Thank you Henny and Jewish Care for making this special interview happen.
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