David Baddiel shares story of Ernst Fabian who was held in Douglas
David Baddiel has shared what he's described as a 'heart-breaking letter' written by his grandmother to the internment camp on the Isle of Man where his grandfather was held in 1940.
The comedian's relative, Ernst Fabian, was detained in the Central Promenade camp in Douglas as an 'enemy alien'.
The letter explains how, as a Jewish couple, his grandparents were expelled from Nazi Germany - his grandfather, having once been held in a concentration camp, found himself in internment once again but this time on Manx shores.
Internment
The camps on the Isle of Man - and in England and the Isle of Wight - were set up by the British Government to keep those deemed as 'posing a threat' captive, many of whom were refugees.
The Central Promenade camp, which was male only, opened in June 1940 and held around 2,000 internees.
View from Central Camp by Erich A.Bischof - Credit: iMuseum
Letter
In the letter, to the UK Home Office, Baddiel's grandmother Otti Fabian begged for her husband to be medically examined with a view to him being released, stating that he suffered from 'grave, periodic attacks of nervous paralysis of the vocal cords'.
She explained how, during their previous life in Germany, Ernst was under constant medical attention and the doctor warned that the condition might develop intro chronic paralysis.
Pleading with the Undersecretary of State, Otti said they arrived in the UK in August 1939 with an affidavit for the USA where they hoped to emigrate as soon as possible.
Her husband's internment, however, left her alone with a one-year-old baby.
Isle of Man
Having been moved to the Island in May 1940 Ernst would already have been interned for five months by the time the letter was written.
It would be more than a year later before he was released with Baddiel confirming his grandfather was interned for a total of 18 months.
He adds his grandparents never made it to the US and there has never been 'any sign or even talk from the British government of compensation for these 100k or so utterly unjustified lengthy internments'.
Heartbreaking letter I’ve just found written by my grandma to the internment camp on the Isle of Man where my grandfather was being held as an “enemy alien” in 1940. pic.twitter.com/Mjzjw85j28
— David Baddiel (@Baddiel) November 23, 2023
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