Dorothy Fleming standing in Rathauspark, Vienna, Austria, 1932

Disgrifiad

Photograph of Dorothy Fleming, aged four, standing in Rathauspark in Vienna in 1932. This photograph forms part of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum Dorothy Fleming Collection.

Dorothy Fleming - a short biography.

Dorothy Fleming was born Dora Oppenheimer in Vienna, Austria, in 1928. She lived in a large flat in the fifth district of Vienna with her father who was an optician, her mother and younger sister. Their life was full and happy. They enjoyed opera, ice-skating and music. Dorothy attended the local Kindergarten and then primary school in Vienna.

When Dorothy was ten years old, Nazi-Germany took control of Austria in what was known as the Anschluss. After the Anschluss life changed dramatically for Dorothy and her family. Soon she was unable to go to her normal school. And after the Kristallnacht, her father lost his two optician shops. Left with no other choice, her parents arranged for Dorothy and her sister to travel to Britain on a Kindertransport promising that they would follow later.

After travelling to Britain, Dorothy lived in Leeds with her foster parents. Eventually, her parents were able to join Dorothy and her sister, and they lived in London in a small flat with other refugees. Dorothy had an uncle in South Wales who had set up a factory on the Treforest Trading Estate and she spent some time living with him. After a period when her father was interned on the Isle of Man, eventually her whole family were able to settle in Cardiff. Her father also worked on the Treforest Trading Estate making optical goods for the war. In Cardiff, Dorothy attended Howell's School. Later she went to university in Bath and became a teacher.

Source.

The National Holocaust Centre and Museum, Dorothy Fleming in 1932 [accessed 15 December 2021]

Depository: National Holocaust Centre and Museum, UK. Accession number: NEKHC 2015.78.9.