The Sisters meet

Already in 1945, children who had survived were invited to get together by the newly formed "Notgemeinschaft der durch die Nürnberger Gesetze Betroffenen" (Emergency action group for those affected by the Nuremberg Laws). 

This photograph is from this meeting and was taken by "Pressedienst und Illustrationen Litzmann Hamburg". 

Irene met her sister Ingrid here for the first time. Their happiness about it is evident. 

Herta's and Lilly's children are standing behind them, too. 

Ingrid was living with her grandmother, at Rellinger Str. 11. 

Once a year, on her birthday, Irene was allowed to visit Ingrid. 

On the first visit she met her grandmother and her husband (Irene always thought he was her grandfather). 

Her sister tried to explain to her, "Proskauers aren 't your real parents "' But she already knew tbis.

Her grandmother showed Irene a picture, and looking at her expectantly said, "That's your mother !" 

She feIt the expectation and knew that she was supposed to be happy and admire the picture. She saw her mother for the first time. But at that moment she was both sad and angry that it was only a photo of her mother and she said truculently: "Goodness, she's ugly !" She deeply offended her grandmother with this behaviour and lost all her sympathy, which is why neither her grandmother nor her aunts took any notice of her in future. 

It was inevitable that Irene blamed herself for everything. Because she had been born her father had to go to prison and soon after her mother was put into a concentration camp. 

It was quite obvious to her that the whole family rejected her as a punishment. The grandmother had even taken in Ingrid but left her to foster parents. 

On top of this, the foster mother prevented all contact with relatives.

 

 

The grandmother had a stroke in 1952. She died a year later.

In September 1952 Ingrid was taken in as foster child by Mr. & Mrs. St. who were sextons at the Jerusalem Church in Schäferkampsallee. She finished her apprenticeship as a shop assistant on 31st March 1954 and later qualified as a clerk.