Valerie Forman collection

Valerie Forman (née Wally Türkl), grandmother of the donor, was born into a prominent Jewish family in the city of Brno in 1893. Her grandfather, Baruch Placzek, was Landesrabbiner (chief rabbi) of Moravia, as was Baruch's father before him, Abraham Placzek. Valerie escaped from Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939, the day Nazi troops marched into Prague, and made her way to London with the help of Aline Mackinnon, who worked to assist Czechoslovakian Jewish refugees in the U.K. Valerie's married name was Fuhrmann, which she changed to Forman in Britain. Valerie's daughter, Dorrit, preceded her to London by about a year and was supported there by a Czechoslovakian refugee assistance organization. (Dorrit would go on to join the Wrens during the war and later have a successful career as a London-based designer under the name Dorrit Dekk.) Many other members of Valerie's family were trapped in Czechoslovakia and perished in the Holocaust. During the war, as outlined in the letters, Valerie worked for the Political Intelligence Department of the Foreign Office, and the Prisoners of War Division. The letters were passed down to the donor many years ago. Valerie died in London in 1993, aged 99.

Donated 11.7.2023

Donor: Michael Fuhrmann