Hitler's Jewish Refugees by Marion Kaplan;

Author:Marion Kaplan; [Неизв.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780300249507
Publisher: Yale University Press

A Tale of Fixed Residences: Trixie and Ferris, Feats and Frustrations

The situation of one couple illustrates the hopes and fears of two people forced to remain at these beautiful sites of frustration and poverty. Trixie and Ferris Ferrigo, young entertainers when they arrived in Portugal, had an extra reserve of optimism that kept their spirits higher than most. Yet even then, these attractive, energetic newlyweds experienced hunger, endured prison, and, at times, descended into despair.

Ferris Ferrigo, or Fridrih Goldstăjn, born in Istanbul in 1903, had two Jewish parents. His family’s brief stay in Yugoslavia granted him Yugoslav citizenship, but he grew up in Berlin. With the Nazi takeover, his “race” and political affiliations with a Weimar-era peace movement forced him to flee. A tenor, he launched himself as an entertainer, finding employment in Holland, Belgium, and England by singing in variety shows. His repertoire included songs in English, German, Russian, French, Danish, Dutch, and more. While looking to establish himself in London and to hire a dancer and musician, he met Beatrice Jennet Gardner, or “Trixie,” a young English Protestant ten years his junior. She played the accordion and danced, and he hoped to hire her for his “Orchestra of Nations.” But Britain refused to extend his Yugoslav visa as war loomed, and he had to return to Europe. Trixie joined him in Antwerp in April 1939, and they performed together, along with an orchestra of Belgian women. They planned to marry on May 10, 1940, but the Germans invaded Belgium on that day. Instead, they managed hurried nuptials some weeks later, with Ferrigo asserting that he was Protestant and the Yugoslav Embassy affixing Trixie’s photo to Ferris’s passport. Despite that identification, Ferris warned his new wife, “You have a man without a country.”58

Desperate to find a way out of Antwerp, they approached the consulate of El Salvador as a last resort. There they sought a Señor Lopes, who had spent many evenings at their show in Antwerp. He recognized them and happily gave them visas that would get them to Portugal, but not allow them to enter El Salvador. On September 28, 1940, they left Antwerp by train with Señor Lopes, traversing Belgium and France without incident. Still, they agonized: “What country would take us in?” Arriving at Vilar Formoso, the Salvadoran left them as he continued his trip, and they approached the Portuguese police. The police asked them to play their guitar and accordion. They performed the British and Portuguese national anthems, befriending the police. The chief then explained that they would have to find visas once they were in Lisbon. He offered them a two-week stay in his own apartment in Lisbon and then another two-week stay with a Church of England pastor. After that, they would have to join hundreds of refugees in a camp outside of Lisbon until they had a visa to go elsewhere.

Early on their first morning in Lisbon, they headed to the British consulate, where Trixie handed her passport to the consul general, hoping to get permission to return home with Ferris.

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