At the outbreak of the Second World War, Sir David Attenborough and his two brothers were asked by their parents if they would welcome two Jewish sisters into their family who had fled Nazi Germany with the Kindertransport rescue programme. The brothers were summoned into the study and their mother, Mary, said: “We absolutely love you boys, but we will have to show even more love to these girls because they are here on their own and without their parents. It is entirely up to you, darlings, if they stay.”The girls, Irene, 13, a few months older than Attenborough, and her sister Helga, 12, spent the next seven years in the household. They left in October 1946, more than a year after the end

Source: The Times September 12, 2020 23:03 UTC