From Münster to Manchester

Hans was born in June 1928. He lived with his parents Hilde and Walter and younger sister Eva in a large house in Munster, Germany. They lived a comfortable, traditional Jewish life and Hans had a very happy early childhood.

Hans recalls the rise of antisemitism – remembering people spitting and shouting at him and his friends on their walk to school.

He says that Kristallnacht – the anti-Jewish Pogrom on 9-10 November 1939 – was a pivotal time in his life. Walter was arrested in the days that followed and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. Fortunately, he had connections in the Gestapo and was released after ten days. Hans’ parents then began actively preparing to emigrate.

Walter sold their house for a severely deflated price, before leaving for England via Holland in July 1939. The family settled in Glossop, though Walter was interned in the Isle of Man for a year, as the British Government suspected that German immigrants could be a threat to national security.

When he finished school at 17, Hans became an apprentice for yarn merchants in Manchester. He later studied German and French at The University of Manchester. In 1950, he began a trainee management scheme with a spinning mill company, taking a cotton spinning course at night. Hans worked in the textile industry throughout his career.

Hans married Adele in 1956 and they settled in South Manchester. They had three daughters and now have five grandchildren.

“Local children used to sing songs and shout at us and I remember the words in German. They’re horrible and it makes me sad.”

Hans Rose

“It was exactly ten days after his arrest when he came home. I remember my mother saying that he looked as if he had aged ten years rather than ten days. She said he was never the same man again.”

Hans Rose

“I would like to end my story by thinking about my parents and what they went through…through their efforts, we left Germany in August 1939 and on 3 September 1939 war was declared, so had we not left Germany when we did, I wouldn’t be here now.”

Hans Rose

From Münster to Manchester

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