My Voice: Danny Herman

Run Danny Run

Danny Herman

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9781526186287
• eBook ISBN:
  9781526186270
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

Danny Herman was born in 1935 in Königsberg in East Prussia. As the Nazis were rounding up Jews, Danny's father managed to escape to England in July 1939. He travelled to the Kitchener Camp in Kent, which helped refugees secure visas for safer places. Danny and his mother arrived in England just three days before war was declared in 1939, and his father was later sent to an internment camp on the Isle of Man.

Danny went on to become a successful runner, competing in many international athletics events and volunteering in many roles, including at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Danny's detailed memories of arriving in England, initially at the seaside in Kent and then moving to Manchester, create a vivid picture of life-changing events as experienced by a young child.

Danny's book is part of the My Voice book collection, a stand-alone project of The Fed, the leading Jewish social care charity in Manchester, dedicated to preserving the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.

Table of contents

• Front matter
• My Voice Project
• Dedication
• Contents
• Family tree: Herrmann branch
• 1 – My early years in Königsberg
• 2 – How my parents met and married
• 3 – My father’s escape to the Kitchener Camp
• 4 – My father’s letters to Walter
• 5 – My arrival in England
• 6 – My foster family
• 7 – Moving to Mabfield Road
• 8 – My father’s internment
• 9 – Life in Liverpool during the war
• 10 – Moving to Manchester
• 11 – The fate of those left behind
• 12 – School and my Bar Mitzvahs
• 13 – Changing names and naturalisation
• 14 – Meeting Pat
• 15 – University and a passion for athletics
• 16 – The 1957 Maccabiah Games
• 17 – A traditional proposal
• 18 – Married life
• 19 – My business ventures
• 20 – Winning a gold medal at the 1961 Maccabiah Games
• 21 – Our children
• 22 – Finding time for my athletic activities
• 23 – The European Maccabi Games
• 24 – My involvement with Manchester City
• 25 – Memories of the children growing up with my parents
• 26 – My veteran athletic career and The Foxtrotters
• 27 – Our children’s career paths, grandchildren and great grandchildren
• 28 – Our holidays
• 29 – My volunteering roles
• 30 – Returning to Vienna and Holland
• 31 – Our famous seder plate
• 32 – My sporting life reflections
• 33 – My thoughts on antisemitism and my involvement in Holocaust education
• 34 – Ellen Rawson
• 35 – We have to remember
• 36 – My sporting achievements timeline
• Glossary
• My Voice volunteers
• About The Fed