Hertha Nathorff

Day of birth: 1895           

Year of emigration:

Date Of Death:

I grew up in a little village, had many siblings and a very nice childhood, until first world war started. I watched so much affliction that I decided to become a doctor to be able to work against all the things that make people suffer. 

While studying I got to know my later husband Eric Nathorff. When I gave birth to our son Heinz I quite working. Then second world war started and times got worse and worse for us. You have to know that we were a jewish family. Very soon my husband was not able to work any longer because no one came seeking out a jewish doctor. Nevertheless we did not decide to leave the country yet. We wanted to stay as long as possible in our home country and hoped that german population will finally come back to refelction. But as Eric got into a concentration camp for a little time we applyed a US-visa which was not granted. To safe our son and to give him a better future we decided to send him to London, where jewish people still where able to live quite normally.

However life did not improve for my husband and me. So we deteminded on emigrating to england, too. When I stood in Bremerhaven at the quay waiting for the ship to Great Britain I had the strange feelinmg that now something is going to be changed completely and irrevocable. But I thought that it could not become worse anymore. How worng I was at that time...

We arrived in the UK and collected our son from London. We had applied a US-visa for a second time and were told to wait until april 1939, but april came and went and there was no visa offered to us. Our baggage had gone lost in the netherlands and so we had nothing: no money, no clothes and worse of all: no reminders. 

In 1940 we finaly got the permission to enter the USA. I acquired new hope again. When we arrived in that state that now was meant to become our home country we first found accomodation at some relatives that already lived in the USA. As we could not stay for a long time with them, we had to live at the refugee houses. My husband tried to take up his job as a doctor again to bring us as fast as possible back to a normal life in a normal house. However he was told that his licence to work as a doctor is not acknowledged in the USA. Though there already were many doctors and Eric normally would not have got the chance to start making the American licence for doctors he got and after some years was able to work again. During he was been making his licence I worked as some kind of butler at a nice families house to earn some money for my family. Everything changed to good, when Eric got back his permission to work as a doctor.

After those bad times I finally started to feel home in the USA and became member of many associations. I also spent my time with writing books and was quite successfully. Regrettably my son died early without having given me little grandchildren. Now I am 95, feel tired but can say, that I really reached a lot in my life and always have made the best out of what was offered to me.