In this Discussion Group meeting we will explore what the notion of ‘home’ means to us. Whether or not we feel a connection to any particular country, given the history of so many of our ancestors having been forced out of their homes and countries. Are we living with a different sense of our ‘roots’, having such a long history of being up uprooted? How is experiencing ourselves so often as being the ‘outsider’ connected to this? This issue is of course also relevant for many people in the world that are being displaced or are having to leave their homes because of climate change.
Network committee members Ido van der Heijden and Brian Fine will provide an introduction to this topic.
*The Network’s Discussion Groups are for Network Members only.*
Email to register: idovanderheijden@secondgeneration.org.uk
Archives for 2026
Tuesday, 14 April. Visiting Poland – Filling in the Gaps
Network member Jackie Kohnstamm will give an illustrated talk about her recent trip to Miedzyrzecz in western Poland where she took part in the inauguration of a new Jewish museum. She will talk about her family connection to the locality, her grandfather having grown up in nearby Trzciel, and also share what she learnt about life in this German-Polish border area with numerous Jewish communities. After the presentation there will be a chance for you to share your experiences of visiting places in Poland where relatives once lived and of other local initiatives being taken. The event will take place via Zoom, starting at 6.30pm BST.
Please register here: https://heritage_poland.eventbrite.co.uk
Tuesday, 3rd March – ‘The Unspeakable’,
Book talk with Network member Nicola Hanefeld and her cousin Julia Waring. In-person event in London in conjunction with the Wiener Holocaust Library also via Zoom. Details here.
Tuesday 24 February 2026, 6:30 – 8:00pm GMT: ‘ What Came After …’
What do we know about the lives of our relatives in those first years at the end of the War, after they had somehow survived the Shoah? Did they share or leave traces of their experiences or have we had to uncover what we can for ourselves? What provision was made for the survivors, where? What difficulties did they face? We will hear from three members of the Second Generation who will share what they were told and have found out:
– Jordan Rapaport will speak about his father’s experiences in Blankensee (hospital Kinderhaus) in Germany and in Atlit ‘detention’ camp in Mandatory Palestine.
– Naomi Levy will speak about her research into her mother and grandmother’s experiences in post war Slovakia, Czechoslovakia and a child Holocaust survivors’ home in France.
– Elaine Sinclair will read extracts from her uncle Romek Marber’s diary about life in a DP camp in Italy and his difficulties obtaining a visa for the UK.
There will, of course, be time for your questions and to share your relatives’ post war experiences. The event will take place via Zoom. Book here: https://after_H.eventbrite.co.uk
Tuesday, 20 January, 6-30-8pm How are we managing?
n this Zoom event, facilitated by JAMI (Jewish Association for Mental Illness), we will be sharing our reactions to the 7th October attacks and what has happened since then. Philippa Carr and Dr Stuart Linke from JAMI will be offering advice and tips on how best to manage our feelings following the events of 7th October, rising antisemitism, and the recent terrorist attacks on Jews in Manchester and Sydney. This event is for Network members only and numbers will be limited. If you would like to join, please contact: davidwirth@secondgeneration.org.uk