Oral history interview with Dr. Dennis Coppel

Oral History | Digitized | Accession Number: 2019.153.1 | RG Number: RG-90.062.0001

Overview

Interview Summary: Dr. Dennis Coppel, born in October 1935 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, discusses his traditional and observant Jewish family; his mother who was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England in 1910; his father who was born in Belfast; his paternal grandfather (Abraham Coppel) who was born in Telsiai, Lithuania; his paternal grandmother (Leah) who was born in Poland; his paternal grandparents going to Belfast in 1895; his maternal grandparents who were both born in Suwalki, Poland and settled in Yorkshire; his father owning a furniture shop on York Street in Belfast which was bombed by the Germans in 1940; living near the Lough Shipyards which were a target for many bombings; evacuating to Newcastle, Northern Ireland for a few years with several other Jewish families; being too young to understand what was happening to the Jews in other parts of Europe; having memories of the war through visits with his father to the Millisle Farm which housed refugees from 1938-1948; 300 people living on the farm, including many children that came on the Kindertransport from Europe; his Grandfather Abraham Coppel who was part of setting up the farm along with Barney Hurwitz and the Kohner family; Rabbi Schachter from Belfast who was the farm’s Rabbi although he clashed with the Kohner family; the farm closing after the war; studying medicine at the university in Belfast; becoming the only Jewish consultant in the hospital; the unrest in the 1970s when his uncle’s factory (Emco) was burned down; the Northern Ireland Protestant community associating itself with Israel; and his thoughts on a united Ireland.
Interviewee: Dr. Dennis Coppel
Interviewer: Borbála Kriza
Date: interview: 2018 August 23
Geography: creation: Belfast (Northern Ireland)
Credit Line: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection

Physical Details

Language: English
Extent: 1 digital file : MP4.

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access: There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
Conditions on Use: No restrictions on use
Copyright Holder: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term: Bombing, Aerial--Northern Ireland--Belfast. Farms--Northern Ireland--Millisle. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Jewish children in the Holocaust. Jewish refugees--Northern Ireland--Millisle. Jews--Northern Ireland--Belfast. Jews--Northern Ireland--Millisle. Jews, Lithuanian--Northern Ireland. Jews, Polish--Northern Ireland. Kindertransports (Rescue operations) Men--Personal narratives. Refugee camps--Northern Ireland--Millisle. Refugee children--Northern Ireland--Millisle. World War, 1939-1945--Children--Northern Ireland. World War, 1939-1945--Evacuation of civilians. World War, 1939-1945--Northern Ireland--Belfast. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Irish.
Geographic Name: Belfast (Northern Ireland) Millisle (Northern Ireland) Newcastle (Northern Ireland)
Personal Name: Coppel, Dennis.

Administrative Notes

Holder of Originals: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Legal Status: Permanent Collection
Provenance: This is a witness interview of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Perpetrators, Collaborators, and Witnesses: The Jeff and Toby Herr Testimony Initiative, a multi-year project to record the testimonies of non-Jewish witnesses to the Holocaust.
Funding Note: The production of this interview was made possible by Jeff and Toby Herr.
The cataloging of this oral history interview has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Special Collection: The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive