The Harris House Diary, 1939-1940 On display at Manchester Jewish Museum, this book was written by 15 refugee teenage girls from Germany and Austria, who were housed in a hostel in Southport from 1939-1940. The girls wrote it as a book of thanks to the people who had looked after them. A page from the Harris House Diary • Manchester Jewish Museum The diary is different from most refugee testimonies, which are often a hindsight of the time. In this, the girls write about their parents in the present tense; about the Purim play they put on; about going to the cinema and boys calling at the hostel. The book is written in English, and includes photographs of them and some drawings. It was found in a jumble sale in the 1980s and was gifted to the Museum for its opening in 1984. The discovery made news at time and Yorkshire Television reunited ten of the girls in the museum then took them back to Harris House. Extracts from the documentary are on display in the museum next to the book. Manchester Jewish Museum Cultural | Immigration | Jewish Life | Local History | SocialPartially online Manchester Jewish Museum is an independent museum open to the public whose archive holds a broad collection of artefacts and documents relating […] 3 Jun 2024 Collection Encounter: Manchester Jewish Museum Collection Encounter: Manchester Jewish Museum