An Aberystwyth University project on Second World War refugees in Wales has been awarded National Lottery funding.

The project focuses on the experiences and narratives of refugees who came to Wales after fleeing the Nazis, as well as the local communities that welcomed them.

The project forms part of the national Imperial War Museum (IWM) Second World War and Holocaust Partnership programme; a public engagement collaboration between IWM and eight regional partners across the UK.

Aberystwyth University is the only partner in Wales.

The project has received a share of a £2,079,200 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which is supporting the wider national Imperial War Museum’s programme.

Dr Andrea Hammel, who is a Reader in German in the Department of Modern Languages, is leading Aberystwyth University’s participation in the programme.

Dr Hammel specialises in researching refugees of the 1930s and 1940s and especially the Kindertransport.

One of the experiences the project looks at is that of William Dieneman who was a child refugee from Berlin. William ended up working at Aberystwyth University after the war. William was born in 1929 as Wolfgang Dienemann in Cottbus, Germany. He arrived in Southampton as a refugee in 1939. He later moved to Aberystwyth in 1970 to become a librarian at the university.

During an interview with Dr Andrea Hamell, William recollects his youth including his experience during the day of Kristallnacht. He also recollects the mass arrests that came at the same time, during which his father was detained.

Sadly, William died aged 89 this year in Aberystwyth. His daughter continues to reside here.

The programme aims to engage new audiences in projects which explore local Second World War and Holocaust collections and themes within the UK, through narratives such as William’s.

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