Glossary

Listed here are the meanings to some of the words, terms and phrases that appear on the Gathering The Voices website.

A.J.R - The Association of Jewish Refugees

Anti-semitism - Prejudice against Jewish people.

Avrom Greenbaum Players - A Jewish drama company formerly based in Glasgow, previously known as the Glasgow Jewish Institute Players.

Auschwitz-Birkenau - A concentration camp in Poland, used as a death camp where thousands of Jews and others hated by the Nazis were killed.

Barlinnie - A prison in the north-east of Glasgow.

Barmitzvah - The male coming-of-age ceremony, held at age 13. After Barmitzvah, Jewish males may fully participate in the rituals and obligations of Judaism.

Benito Mussolini - The Fascist dictator of Italy, in power before and during the Second World War.

Bernard Leach - The leader of the British craftman potter movement and a major influence on Gretl Shapiro

Cheder - Classes for children and young adults, focusing especially on Torah study.

Dachau - A concentration camp in Germany, near Munich.

Freie Deutsche Jugend - A socialist youth group set up to oppose Nazism in Germany. Suppressed by the Nazis.

Glasgow Caledonian University - A university based in Glasgow, Scotland.

Hauptshule - German secondary school

Holocaust - The mass murder of Jews under Nazi Germany, during 1941-1945. In all, over six million Jews were killed, along with many other persecuted groups.

Internment - The precautionary imprisonment of foreign refugees at the start of World War II.

Isle of Man - An island in the Irish Sea, where many Jews were interned.

Jewish Brigade - Brigade of Jewish Soldiers in the British army which served in Europe from 1944.

Jewish Institute - Glasgow Jewish Institute, based in the community centre of South Portland Street, Glasgow

Kindertransport - A rescue mission carried out in the year before the Second World War, through which over 10,000 children, mostly Jewish, were transported to the United Kingdom.

Kosher - (of food) that is permitted to eat, having passed certain conditions designated in Jewish law, known as kashrut.

Kristallnacht - 'The Night of Broken Glass', 9-10 November 1938, in which a series of violent attacks were made against Jews and their property, across Nazi Germany and parts of Austria.

Maccabi - A Jewish youth organization directed towards sports and other social activities.

Neville Chamberlain - British prime minister before the Second World War, who advocated a policy of appeasement with Nazi Germany. Succeeded by Winston Churchill.

Naturalization - Becoming a full national of one's country of residence, usually after a specified period, and under certain conditions. In the UK, naturalization is currently possible after 5 years of continuous residence.

Palestine - Before the war Palestine consisted of the current territories of Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan. It was ruled by Britain under a League of Nations Mandate.

Pesach - Passover, the Jewish spring festival celebrating the exodus from Egypt.

Potke (Potchky) - Yiddish for a gentle slap or to work for little gain.

Pogrom - An organized attack on Jews, particularly as carried out in Russia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Quakers - The Religious Society of Friends is an international Christian movement, members of which are known as Friends or less formally as Quakers. Quakers played a major role in pressuring the British government to supply Visas for Jewish children to come to the UK. The Quakers chaperoned the Jewish children on the trains, and cared for many of them once they arrived in Britain.

Rabbi - The leader of Jewish religious ceremonies.

Rosh Hashana - The Jewish new year festival.

SAROK - Scottish Association of Reunion of Kinder - an independent group whose members largely came as part of the Kindertransport. Initiated in 1990 by Doritt Sim and managed from 1995 by Rosa Sacharin.

Shul - The synagogue, the Jewish place of prayer.

Slagging - A series of insulting, mocking, or critical comments. (Scots slang)

South Portland Street Synagogue - a synagogue in Glasgow ( now closed).

Tallis / Tallit - A prayer shawl worn by Jewish men, post Barmitzvah

Talmud - A major Jewish body of law, comprising the Mishna (the oral law) and the Gemora (the rabbinical discussion of this). Separate from the Torah.

Talmud Torah - The Glasgow Hebrew Talmud Torah was a Hebrew school which provided religious education to Jewish children in Glasgow.

Tefillin - A set of two black leather boxes, worn in prayer. One is worn on the head, the other on the upper left arm.

Territorial Army - The British volunteer force.

Theresienstadt - A concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic.

Weimar - A German city, at which the Weimar Republic was convened.

Weimar Republic - The government of Germany between the wars, disbanded by the Nazis.

Weizmann Institute - An Israeli university and scientific research centre

Yiddish - A language spoken by many Jews at the time of the Second World War, originating as a German dialect with some Hebrew vocabulary.

Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement, the most important Jewish festival, at which Jews atone for the sins of the past year.

Yomtov - A festival or holy day. Examples of this include Passover and New Year.

Zionism - The belief that the Jewish people have the right to a self-determined state, specifically Israel.