Audio clip from an oral history interview with Des Golten: Recalling the death of his grandmother and other family members at Auschwitz, Cardiff, 17 March 2019

Description

This is an audio clip from an interview with Des Golten in which he recalling the death of his 80 year old grandmother and other family members at Auschwitz.

In his interview, Des explains he was born in Kostolla, a small village in Slovakia in 1922. One of two boys, he spent the first 10 years of his life in Žilìna, living above his father's and paternal grandfather's engineering workshop. In 1932, his family moved to Prague, where his father established a manufacturing business. In 1939, Des and his family were sponsored by the British Board of Trade to emigrate to Wales, to set up an engineering works on the new Treforest Industrial Estate. The Germans had already invaded Prague, so Des recalls how the family had to hide their intention to leave the country, and how stressful their escape through Germany to Holland was. Once in Wales, Des spent a year at Whitchurch Grammar School, then did an engineering degree at Cardiff University. He was called-up in 1943-44 and spent the rest of the war making anti-aircraft guns in Newcastle. After the war, he worked at his father's factory, Metal Product (Treforest) Ltd. A talented but "lazy" violinist, he played in the Pontypridd orchestra, and it was here that he met his future wife, Ina. They were married 63 years, and have one son, Danny. Des's father was a founder of the Cardiff Reform synagogue. Des used to attend synagogue regularly, though these days only goes on Holy days and special occasions. He says of himself "I'm not a religious Jew", instead he describes himself at a political Jew.

Depository: The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales.