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History. Nonfiction. HTML:Based on the true story of her mother, Mona Golabek describes the inspirational story of Lisa Jura's escape from Nazi-controlled Austria to England on the famed Kindertransport. Jewish musical prodigy Lisa Jura has a wonderful life in Vienna. But when the Nazis start closing in on the city, life changes irreversibly. Although he has three daughters, Lisa's father is only able to secure one berth on the Kindertransport. The family decides to send Lisa to London so that she may pursue her dreams of a career as a concert pianist. Separated from her beloved family, Lisa bravely endures the trip and a disastrous posting outside London before finding her way to the Willesden Lane Orphanage. It is in this orphanage that Lisa's story truly comes to life. Her music inspires the other orphanage children, and they, in turn, cheer her on in her efforts to make good on her promise to her family to realize her musical potential. Through hard work and sheer pluck, Lisa wins a scholarship to study piano at the Royal Academy. As she supports herself and studies, she makes a new life for herself and dreams of reconnecting with the family she was forced to leave behind. The resulting tale delivers a message of the power of music to uplift the human spirit and to grant the individual soul endurance, patience, and peace..… (more)
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Ten thousand Jewish children were transported from Europe to England in an attempt to rescue as many children as possible from the grips of the Nazi regime intent on destroyed this loving,
As she systematically observes the treatment of her family and neighbors, time ticks away as day by day more and more physical and emotional assaults occur.
Fortunate enough to land a precious seat on the Kindertransport, Lisa leaves behind all that is precious to her, except for the musical talent she holds in her heart.
This is a story of courage, of fear, of defeat and of survival. It is a unique story of children robbed from parental comfort, but given the blessing of life.
Arriving with little or no knowledge of foreign custom and language, teary, tired and worn children came to England seeking a home. Many gracious loving British people opened their homes and hearts.
While Lisa's family was promised a home for her, when she arrived her uncle told her there was no room for her. She eventually became a child of a large home on Willesden Lane near London. Through Lisa's eyes we learn of the adjustment and the emotional support given.
My review could not do justice to the beauty of the writing and the story. This book is first and foremost a tale that needs to be told again and again, and it is a wonderful homage to the brave people of England during WWII.
Highly recommended!
When she learned her teacher, Professor Isseles, could no longer teach her, she felt she could no longer play the piano because she was too upset. Her mother, also a pianist, said, “Oh, Lisa, have you forgotten all I’ve taught you? It’s at times like this that your music is most important....Your music will help you through–let it be your best friend.
That message stayed with her and helped her survive the next years of her life. Her parents were able to get her on the Kindertransport which took children living in Nazi controlled areas of Europe to safety in England. She had a cousin living there, whom she had never met, who agreed to take her in until it was safe to reunite her with her parents. But when she arrived in England, her cousin met her at the train and said they would not be able to have her stay with them.
Lisa was sent to live with a family in England in exchange for working around the home. After awhile, though, she realized she did not want to remain there. She wanted to get to a city where she could continue with her piano lessons.
She was reassigned to a hostel on Willesden Lane in London. There she saw other children with the same sadness. “It was odd, she thought, how being with others like herself made her fears easier to endure.
There was a piano in the house and she was able to play it at times, providing comfort and hope to the other children living there. There were thirty children living there. The owner had a son, Hans. When he came home, he spent time with her at the piano in a adversarial manner. She soon realized Hans was blind. “How lucky I am, she thought. She had spent so much time thinking about how terrible things were and how worried she felt about her parents and [sister] Rosie that she hadn’t had time to be grateful–grateful for [her sister] Sonia’s escape, grateful for her own freedom. She knew God had given her a gift, and she vowed to use this gift to its fullest. She would practice and practice; she would fulfill the promise she had made to her mother.
THE CHILDREN OF WILLESDEN LANE, written by Lisa’s daughter, Mona Golabek, tells the story of what life was like for children whose lives were disrupted as well as saved by being sent to England in the Kindertransport. Many of them found homes only to be treated as servants. Others were more fortunate and were able to blossom despite not being able to be in contact with their families or knowing what happened to them. Lisa was one of the luckier ones but she was well aware of what was happening to other Jewish children. One of her friends was arrested the day he turned eighteen because he wasn’t in the military.
Lisa told her story to her daughter who was also a trained pianist. In 2002, Mona Golabek wrote it down to share those memories with others. More than ten years later, Mona increased the audience for hearing her mother’s story by developing a one-woman production in which she told the story and played the music that was so vital to her mother.
After I saw the performance, which was wonderful, I read the book. It is well-written and brought the experiences of these children to life. Lisa’s story, what it says about her, her experiences, and her courage as well as what she witnessed adds a new dimension and an important layer to the story of the Holocaust.
The author, Lisa’s daughter, supplemented her mother’s memories of this time with additional research. An author’s note explains that a couple of the characters are amalgamations of several individuals. While this isn’t uncommon in memoirs, it’s a practice I dislike as it makes it difficult for researchers to separate fact from fiction. This would otherwise have been a 5-star read for me.
I appreciated that the main author’s note was at the beginning and not at the end of the book which is the most common place for it. I was glad to have the information she provided prior to reading the book. I was grateful to have information given at the end too, to learn the fates of certain people.
I wanted to and wish I had made a point to listen to the musical pieces mentioned that Lisa played. I wanted to hear the music around the time I read about it! I would have but it was too hard to put down the book long enough to search for a playable piece of music online, either in full or even short portions.
This book sat on my to read shelf for over a decade before I finally read it. I’m so glad that I finally read it.
This is a wonderful daughter-mother tribute, and for more than one generation in this family.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough. I especially recommend it for people interested in coming of age stories, the Holocaust, England during WWII, the Kindertransport, and especially pianists, and other musicians and music appreciators, and anyone looking for a great friendship story, and an inspirational true story. I loved it.