Garnethill

The Boys were teenage and child-Holocaust survivors, who were brought to the UK after the war for rest and rehabilitation.

The Boys had survived the Holocaust as slave labourers in the Nazi concentration camp system, in hiding and by living alone. 

After arrival in the UK, members of the Boys spent time in the reception centres before being moved to children’s homes known as hostels. Others were sent direct to boarding school or yeshivas, and those who were sick spent time in sanatoriums. Some of the members of the Boys were lucky enough to find relatives or were taken in by foster families but the majority were moved to children’s homes known as hostels. Garnethill was one of these hostels.

^{Garnethill Synagogue, Glasgow, Scotland.}

Overview

The hostel opened in 1939 to look after Jewish children arriving in the UK on the Kindertransport. Dora Wolfson and Elsie Heilbronn, who later ran the Cardross hostel, were its founders.

The House

The hostel had 15 rooms, and Kindertransportees recall the building as basic, cramped and lacking in facilities. It was located in the grounds of Garnethill Synagogue and funded by the congregation.

^{Stephen Wolkowitz just after the liberation.}

“The hostel was at 125 Hill Street, on the corner of a very steep street that led down to the main road of Glasgow, Saichihall Street. In the opposite direction was the poorer part of the city where there was a community bath house. It had a large heated pool and individual shower-rooms. We were taken there when the hostel plumbing failed. I had my bar mitzvah at the Garnethill Synagogue.

I have good memories of my time at 125 Hill Street. We received weekly pocket money of two shillings, from which came our bus fare, of a penny, to go to school. Each boy was given a bicycle, which was a huge treat. There were bike trips to Loch Lomond and I also used my bike to explore the poorer districts of Glasgow.”

Stephen Wolkowicz, Missing Childhood (2014). Wolkowicz lived in Garnethill from 1946-48, after which he went to Australia.

The Garnethill Story

The hostel was for boys between 12-16 years of age. Boys who were young enough to go to school were brought to Garnethill, where they attended a local school. Manfred Heyman recalls that the Boys would take part in the minyan at the synagogue.

While at the hostel the members of the Boys attended local schools.

The hostel register shows over 175 individuals, admitted between 1939 and 1948. Some of the refugees stayed only a few days or weeks, others longer. Of the 75% of the residents who listed their country of origin, 42% were from Germany, 14% from Austria, and the remainder from Poland, Russia, Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

The Staff

Mr and Mrs Trustee were the wardens. Mrs Marchand was the housekeeper.