Hella was living with her mother in Vienna, Austria, when it was annexed by Germany in 1938. Nazi persecution made life difficult for Jewish families like Hella’s, and her mother put her on a Kindertransport to Britain in March 1939. Hella now holds both British and Austrian citizenship.
Hella was born in Vienna in 1929 into a middle class Jewish family. Hella was three years old when her parents divorced, and she was raised by her mother.
Following Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938, life became increasingly difficult for Jews. After a visit from the Gestapo, Hella’s mother was determined to leave Austria. Hella was put on a Kindertransport and arrived in Britain in March 1939. Her mother managed to get a visa and joined her three months later.
Hella went to school in the Lake District and quickly learned English. But she felt awkward about her identity. For a while she refused to speak German at all, even with her mother.
‘I would always reply in English and I would get absolutely furious but really furious if she spoke German anywhere outside where there were other people present or even just passers-by in the street…it really infuriated me.’
She was also reluctant for others to know that she was Jewish. Today, she is not particularly religious. She visits church occasionally but rarely visits synagogues.
‘I don’t have a belief but you know, I still get some kind of feeling of well being…[when] visiting churches.’
In 1948, Hella became a British citizen. This meant a lot to her because she no longer felt herself to be a refugee. Her successful career as a journalist and writer led to her becoming a CBE in 2000. But she still does not feel entirely British.
‘Getting…British nationality…at the time was some confirmation…I have ceased to be refugee, I have somewhere again where I belong.’
‘If any proof were needed that one is accepted, a CBE certainly should be good proof, and yet I still have this feeling there, still something, somewhere that doesn’t quite make me accepted in Britain as “one of us”.’
Hella now has dual British and Austrian citizenship, and visits Austria regularly, her ‘home away from home.’
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