George Summerfield, a German-born Jewish refugee who escaped the Holocaust on one of the last trains from Berlin to the UK in 1939, passed away at the age of 91 on Monday.
Born Heinz Günther Sommerfeld in June 1933 alongside his twin brother Peter, George was the son of Franz and Margot, his father a civil servant who lost his job shortly after Hitler came to power and his mother a couture dressmaker who became the family breadwinner. She would also take George and Peter to their Jewish kindergarten by tram every morning.
George with his twin Peter (right). (Photo: AJR)[Missing Credit]
During this commute on 10 November 1938, George and his brother saw the Fasanenstrasse synagogue burn from the window of the tram, a moment which George recalled with a sense of dread; they had recently been to the synagogue for a children’s Simchat Torah event.
Later that year the family registered for a visa to emigrate to the US, sponsored by a distant relative. They bought boat tickets to travel to the states via the UK in August 1939 but, four days before their departure date, the twins’ grandmother came to their flat and urged them to leave sooner, as she had listened illegally to BBC radio and gathered that war was imminent.
With the help of their non-Jewish caretaker Rolf Schädler, Margot and Franz were able to afford train tickets to the UK, and the family departed that very Saturday evening.
They were picked up at Liverpool Street station by the Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief, who put the family in a hotel for two weeks before they relocated to a room in Chiswick.
After a short time the family moved to Eastbourne, where Franz was arrested and temporarily interned on the Isle of Man by the British government, likely due to fears that he was a spy for the Germans.
George, Peter and his mother moved back to London, forbidden from staying on the coast because they had been designated ‘enemy aliens’. There, they spent every night in Tottenham Court Road Underground Station as bombs fell over London during the Blitz.
George and Peter performing in 1941. (Photo: AJR)[Missing Credit]
They twins began attending the Hall School in Swiss Cottage, where they were offered two places for one the price of one school fee. The Summerfield family joined Belsize Square Synagogue, where George and Peter were the only two children of that age in the community. The gregarious duo would perform for members of the synagogue, the Blue Danube Club and for American troops by singing and tap dancing.
After attending William Ellis Grammar School, both twins received scholarships to study at Oxford University before they completed their National Service and were sent on active duty to Egypt and Malta.
George, who initially planned to pursue a career in law, decided instead to put his language skills to use in the tourism industry, and later worked as a career consultant. With his first wife Giselle, who passed away in 1991, he had two children. He later married his second wife, Marion.
George and Peter at Oxford University. (Photo: AJR)[Missing Credit]
In 2021, George was put in touch with the son of Mr Schädler, the man who saved his family’s lives by loaning them the money for train tickets to the UK.
Margot and Franz had kept in touch with Mr. Schädler after the war, repaying the loan and even sending him and his family some care packages, but eventually fell out of touch. Thanks to George’s participation in the BBC film series called Saved by a Stranger, he was able to meet Rolf’s son via Zoom, extending gratitude to the man whose father played a crucial role in the Summerfield family’s survival.
The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) immortalised George and Peter’s stories through their project Refugee Voices Archive, a collection of Holocaust survivors’ and refugees’ testimonies, and the organisation announced George’s passing on Monday “with deep sorrow,” adding that he will be “dearly missed by the whole community.”
George (left) and Peter on their 90th birthday. (Photo: AJR)[Missing Credit]
“George's life was rich with experiences, from performing for American troops to serving in Egypt and Malta during his National Service. He pursued a career in the tourism industry and later as a career consultant, using his language skills to connect with people from all walks of life.”
AJR said George was a “devoted father his two children Jacky and Michael, with his wife, Giselle” and later with his second wife Marion he “enjoyed spending time with family, including his brother Peter and wife Marianne.”
George also dedicated much of his later life to Holocaust education, sharing experiences with school pupils in the UK and in Germany.
