Sep 7

Sep 7 A really good listen - The National Trust podcast (especially the one presented by me!)

You’d certainly have every right to think I’m only recommending the National Trust Podcast because I happen to be the presenter of the latest episode (released today at the time of writing and more - much more - of which in a moment).

But I promise I’ve been a fan of this immersively fascinating, informative and entertaining podcast for a long while. Through words, sounds and interviews, each episode brings to life a story about or behind a property, artefact, landscape or creature under the guardianship and care of the National Trust.

Those stories are as varied as the vast National Trust portfolio and each one is told in an enveloping and detailed documentary style, with music and background noise playing as much of a part as the words spoken by the presenters (there are different ones across the episodes - more about that too) and their different interviewees.

Enough of the enthusiastic generalities, let’s get on to the specifics of the newest episode (which is number nine of series seven. There have been 125 so far, so there are plenty of others to choose from. When you’ve finished listening to this one obviously).

It’s called The Cedar Children and whilst I don’t want to reveal too much of what it’s about (I need to give you some incentive to listen to it), I will tell you it’s a powerful and moving story centred around a group of young Jewish children who, along with their two adult guardians, escape from Nazi Germany just before World War 2 breaks out.

Jewish children at the children’s home in Frankfurt where the Ceder Children’s families had sent them for safety as anti-semitism escalated through pre-war Germany. Taken around 1938. ***© Courtesy of Jeremy Godden***

In the episode you discover how they manage to make their way to the village of Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire, and why they owe so much to James and Dorothy de Rothschild, the owners of Waddesdon Manor.

Descendants of three of that brave and determined little group talk movingly of what their parents experienced: the insidious escalation of anti-semitism in pre-war Germany; the terror of the attacks against Jews; the fear and uncertainty of embarking on a perilous journey away from their families without knowing if they would ever see them again and what life was like for the children when they arrived in their strange new home, surrounded by cedar trees, hence the name they became known by, in a strange new country.

You’ll hear about how Waddesdon and the magnificent, chateau-style Manor - which was built between 1847 and 1885 by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to display his extraordinary collection of arts and as a place to entertain the fashionable world, and donated to the National Trust in 1957 under an agreement that it remains managed by the Rothschild Foundation - became a place of sanctuary, not just for the Ceder Children, but groups of other children seeking safety from the bomb-targeted cities of the UK.

And you’ll learn what happened to the children as they grew up through the war and then made their way in the world, building lives, careers and families from such difficult and painful beginnings.

Some of the Ceder Children, along with one of their guardians. Taken in 1944, five years after they arrived at Waddesdon

I mentioned that episodes of the podcast are hosted by a variety of presenters and that’s because the producers like to have someone at the helm of each one who either has some specialist knowledge of the subject or story, or some kind of personal connection with it. I feel both hugely lucky and proud to have both, and to be able to be a part of telling this important and moving tale.

The most obvious connection I have is that I’m Jewish myself, so the story of the Cedar Children is literally part of my history and heritage. You’ll hear about another, more specific, connection in the podcast - which has to do with my parents-in-law and their childhood wartime experiences. The other isn’t revealed in the episode, but it is that my grandfather, who was one of the leaders of the Jewish community during the war, not only worked with James de Rothschild, but was amongst the prominent members of the community who petitioned the British government and persuaded it to do something that saved the lives of nearly 10,000 children (you find out what was is in the episode).

I said I wouldn’t tell you too much about the episode, so I’m not going to reveal any more. I hope that’s been enough to tempt/persuade/urge (delete as appropriate, but ideally the last one) you to listen to The Cedar Children. And then to have a satisfying rummage through some of the other episodes of this, as I think I may have mentioned, terrific podcast.

You can listen to The Cedar Children wherever you get your podcasts, and on the NATIONAL TRUST website. Which is also where you’ll find the rest of the 125 episodes.

PS - If you subscribe to the These Are The Heydays newsletter on Substack, you can also see some exclusive behind-the-scenes pics from the recording of the episode. You can find that HERE