Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, Front cover
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, Front cover

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 1
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 1

Walter Marmorek – born Hans Marmorek in Vienna in 1908 – was a Kitchener Camp architect; he drew up a long blue map of the camp, now housed in the Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust – extracts of which may be found throughout this website. In late April 1940, Marmorek joined the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps of the British Army.


Kitchener camp, Lothar Nelken, 1939
Kitchener camp 1939, Lothar Nelken, Friends and colleagues, Working on the reconstruction of the camp

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 2, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 2, top
Kitchener camp, Empire cinema, Sandwich 2017
Kitchener camp, Empire cinema, Sandwich 2017

“Mr Goodman of the Empire Cinema” was Sydney Goodman, b. 1892.


Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 2, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 2, base

“Mr D. S. Woolf” refers to Donald Woolf, who was a member of the Central British Fund Executive Committee. According to Ungerson (2014, p.43), he was also “very involved with the Jewish Lads Brigade.


Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 3, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 3, top
Published: Thursday 18 May 1939, Newspaper: The Era, County: London, England, Type: Article | Words: 347 | Page: 10 | From the BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk
Published: Thursday 18 May 1939, Newspaper: The Era, County: London, England, Type: Article | Words: 347 | Page: 10 | From the BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 3, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 3, base

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 4, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 4, top

According to the 1939 Register, the Camp Quartermaster was Jack Coopersmith, born March 19303.

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 4, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 4, base
Kitchener camp, Wolfgang Priester, German Jewish Aid Committee, Bloomsbury House, Jewish Board of Deputies, Woburn House, Guidance to all Refugees, pages 10 and 11
Kitchener camp, Wolfgang Priester, German Jewish Aid Committee, Bloomsbury House, Jewish Board of Deputies, Woburn House, Guidance to all Refugees, pages 10 and 11

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 5, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 5, top

The men listed as ‘Nurse’ in the 1939 Register are as follows:

Leopold Schaffer, b. 1913 in Münich: usual occupation ‘Labourer’. He was interviewed in Tribunal no. 6, on 11th October, by Trevor Hunter. The records do not show that Schaffer was interned; he may have joined the AMPC.

Max Bartfeld, b. 1912 in Stanislau: usual occupation ‘Chiropodist and Masseur’. Bartfeld was deported to Canada for internment on SS Ettrick on 3rd July 1940. He was released and joined the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps at the start of January 1941.

Kurt Flink, b. 1901 in Vienna: usual occupation ‘Clerk’. Flink was deported to Canada for internment on SS Sobiecki on 4th July 1940. He was released and joined the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps in July 1941.

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 5, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 5, base
Kitchener camp, Article, Real Gratitude: German Refugees' Busy Life, Thanet Advertiser, 21 March 1939. Source: www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Kitchener camp, Article, Real Gratitude: German Refugees’ Busy Life, Thanet Advertiser, 21 March 1939. Source: www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Kitchener camp entertainment, J Grant Anderson, The Herald, 21 April 1939, Source: www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Kitchener camp entertainment, J Grant Anderson, The Herald, 21 April 1939, Source: www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 6, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 6, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 6, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 6, base

The ‘Agriculture Expert’ is shown in a sketch on page 5 of the August edition of the Kitchener Camp review.

The 1939 Register lists 78 men as being involved in ‘Agriculture’.


Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 7, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 7, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 7, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 7, base

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 8, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 8, top
Richborough transit camp, Some Victims, 1939
Kitchener camp magazine, Some Victims of the Nazi Terror – Relaxing in a hut
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 8, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 8, base

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 9, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 9, top

As far as we know, the Chief Accountant was Edgar Sonneberg

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 9, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 9, base

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 10, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 10, top

We know from Ungerson (2014, p. 53) that Refugee Number One was called Adolf. There are (to date) three Adolfs listed in the 1939 Register who were electricians, as follows:

Adolf Ansbacher, b. 18 June 1910 in Frankfurt am Main. 

Originally a 'Fitter (electricity)', he was later working as 'Clerk in Camp Office (Educational Department)'. 

He was later interned by the British government in Hutchinson Camp on the Isle of Man - released as a 'Special Case M/L' in June 1941. 

After release, Ansbacher lived in Manchester.

Adolf Salzmann, b. 15 June 1898; Master of Engineering. He is later listed as an electrician.

Adolf Wiessner, born 20 May 1920, is also listed as an electrician. He was also later interned and deported to Canada.
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 10, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 10, base

Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 11, top
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 11, top
Richborough transit camp, Josef Frank, Hut leader Committee, Bicycle no. 596, Camp no. 2959,
Kitchener camp, Josef Frank, Hut Leader Committee, Bicycle no. 596, Camp no. 2959,
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 11, base
Kitchener Camp Review, April 1939, page 11, base

Kurt Bondy was born in Germany in 1894. He sailed from Southampton to New York in June 1939 on the SS Bremen. He is described in National Archives records as a university professor.

B. Non-transmigrants
Name of ship: SS Bremen
Steamship Line: Norddeutscher Lloyd
Names and descriptions of ALIEN passengers embarked at the port of Southampton
Date of Departure: 24th June 1939
Where bound: New York
Contract ticket number: 22804
Port at which passengers have contracted to land: New York
Names of passengers: Body, Kurt W.
Class: Tourist
Ages of passengers - Adults of 12 years and upwards Accompanied by husband or wife - Males / Females 
Ages of passengers - Adults of 12 years and upwards - Not accompanied by husband or wife - Males 45 / Females -
Children between 1 and 12: 
Infants: -
Last address in the United Kingdom: Kitchener Camp, Richborough, Kent
Profession, Occupation, or Calling of passengers: University professor
Country of last permanent residence: Foreign Countries
Country of Intended Future Residence: USA
Country of which Citizen or Subject: Germany

Source: National Archives: Passenger Lists leaving UK 1890-1960.

Editor’s note: We are not allowed to reproduce National Archives (UK) images, but we are permitted to reproduce the material from them, as shown above.