Hans Joseph Meyer
Encyclopedia
Hans Meyer was a German-born teacher at Bunce Court School
in the County of Kent, England. He taught at the school from 1934 until it closed in 1948. In 1940, Meyer and several others from the school were forced to go to a British internment camp. Learning that several of his pupils were being deported to a camp in Australia, Meyer volunteered to accompany them, ending up on the HMT Dunera
.
, Germany, the son of Jewish parents. His father ran a hardware store. He died in 1932; his mother was sent to Theresienstadt concentration camp
, where she perished.
After attending gymnasium, he began studying medicine until he was prohibited from attending university by the Nazis. In 1934, at the age of 21, he left Germany and moved to England, where he began working for Anna Essinger
at Bunce Court School. The school's original home was in Herrlingen, Germany, but after it came under scrutiny from Nazi authorities and her senior pupils were prohibited from taking the exams for the abitur
, Essinger evacuated the entire school to England.
Bunce Court's enrollment was primarily made up of refugees from Nazi Germany
and countries under Nazi control. Alumni Leslie Baruch Brent, who arrived on the first Kindertransport
, and Eric Bourne credited Meyer with having been very empathetic with the pupils, a large number of whom ultimately lost their families. Years later, Meyer said that at that time, teaching was less important than being a "sympathetic human being". Bunce Court pupils were on a first name basis with their teachers or were called nicknames made up by the children. Meyer's nickname was "Meyerlein", an affectionate diminutive, meaning "little Meyer".
Meyer met and married another teacher at the school, Hannah Goldschmidt and had two sons, Joseph and Tyll, who died in an accident at age 21. His wife's nickname at the school was "Hago", for the first two letters of her first and maiden names.
After the British government issued Defence Regulation 18b
and then in 1940 determined that all German-born males over the age of 16 had to be interned, Meyer and others from the school, including several pupils, as enemy alien
s, were forced to leave the school for an internment camp in Huyton
, a suburb of Liverpool
. When Meyer learned that some of the boys from Bunce Court were to be deported to Australia, he volunteered to accompany them on the HMT Dunera. He was able to return to England in 1941 and rejoin his family.
In 1948, Essinger closed Bunce Court and Meyer went into business with a former student, Peter Ryan. In 1956, the partnership was dissolved and Meyer enrolled at Culham College in Abingdon, Oxfordshire
, (formerly in Berkshire
) and acquired a teaching certificate, enabling him to work as a teacher. He found employment at Shepway School in Maidstone
, Kent
, where he worked in a special unit for boys for the next 20 years, retiring in 1978.
Meyer's first wife died in 1977. He and his second wife, Susanne Hein, from Hamburg
, were married in 2001.
After a Bunce Court reunion in 2003, Meyer contacted as many former pupils as he could find and invited them to contribute reminiscences of the school, publishing them privately as a book called Reflections: Bunce Court.
Bunce Court School
The Bunce Court School was an independent, private boarding school in the village of Otterden, in Kent, England. It was founded in 1933 by Anna Essinger, who had previously founded a boarding school, Landschulheim Herrlingen in the south of Germany, but after the Nazi Party seized power in 1933,...
in the County of Kent, England. He taught at the school from 1934 until it closed in 1948. In 1940, Meyer and several others from the school were forced to go to a British internment camp. Learning that several of his pupils were being deported to a camp in Australia, Meyer volunteered to accompany them, ending up on the HMT Dunera
HMT Dunera
His Majesty's Transport Dunera was a British passenger ship built as a troop transport in the late 1930s. She also operated as a passenger liner and as an educational cruise ship. Dunera saw extensive service throughout the Second World War....
.
Biographical details
Meyer was born in MainzMainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, Germany, the son of Jewish parents. His father ran a hardware store. He died in 1932; his mother was sent to Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
, where she perished.
After attending gymnasium, he began studying medicine until he was prohibited from attending university by the Nazis. In 1934, at the age of 21, he left Germany and moved to England, where he began working for Anna Essinger
Anna Essinger
Anna Essinger was a German-Jewish educator. At the age of 20, she went to finish her education in the United States, where she encountered Quakers and was greatly influenced by their attitudes, adopting them for her own...
at Bunce Court School. The school's original home was in Herrlingen, Germany, but after it came under scrutiny from Nazi authorities and her senior pupils were prohibited from taking the exams for the abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
, Essinger evacuated the entire school to England.
Bunce Court's enrollment was primarily made up of refugees from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and countries under Nazi control. Alumni Leslie Baruch Brent, who arrived on the first Kindertransport
Kindertransport
Kindertransport is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig...
, and Eric Bourne credited Meyer with having been very empathetic with the pupils, a large number of whom ultimately lost their families. Years later, Meyer said that at that time, teaching was less important than being a "sympathetic human being". Bunce Court pupils were on a first name basis with their teachers or were called nicknames made up by the children. Meyer's nickname was "Meyerlein", an affectionate diminutive, meaning "little Meyer".
Meyer met and married another teacher at the school, Hannah Goldschmidt and had two sons, Joseph and Tyll, who died in an accident at age 21. His wife's nickname at the school was "Hago", for the first two letters of her first and maiden names.
After the British government issued Defence Regulation 18b
Defence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
and then in 1940 determined that all German-born males over the age of 16 had to be interned, Meyer and others from the school, including several pupils, as enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
s, were forced to leave the school for an internment camp in Huyton
Huyton
Huyton is a suburb of Liverpool within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, with some parts belonging to the borough of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It is part of the Liverpool Urban Area and has close associations with its neighbour, Roby, having both formerly been part of the Huyton with...
, a suburb of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. When Meyer learned that some of the boys from Bunce Court were to be deported to Australia, he volunteered to accompany them on the HMT Dunera. He was able to return to England in 1941 and rejoin his family.
In 1948, Essinger closed Bunce Court and Meyer went into business with a former student, Peter Ryan. In 1956, the partnership was dissolved and Meyer enrolled at Culham College in Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
, (formerly in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
) and acquired a teaching certificate, enabling him to work as a teacher. He found employment at Shepway School in Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, where he worked in a special unit for boys for the next 20 years, retiring in 1978.
Meyer's first wife died in 1977. He and his second wife, Susanne Hein, from Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, were married in 2001.
After a Bunce Court reunion in 2003, Meyer contacted as many former pupils as he could find and invited them to contribute reminiscences of the school, publishing them privately as a book called Reflections: Bunce Court.
External links
- Photo of Hans Meyer Otterden Online. Retrieved October 4, 2011