Walter's parents arranged for his departure from Germany - later they themselves became victims. He first found refuge from Nazi persecution in the UK, where he stayed with Marx family relative Oskar Schiff (later Oscar Shipton) then departed for the USA on the "Cameronia" from Glasgow, Scotland, arriving October 28, 1940.
His initial US destination, per the ship's official manifest, was with 'Cousin Clarence Derwent', a well-known British-born actor who later became president of Actors' Equity, the American actors' union. The actual relationship between Walter's family and the actor has not yet been established. "Clarence Derwent" was a 'stage' name - his birth name was Harold Stanley David Wolff, son of the London diamond merchant Charles Wolff, b.Germany approx. 1842, and wife Alice,b. Manchester approx. 1852). See Clarence Derwent
Walter's sister, Dorothea Irene, born 2/16/23, also escaped Germany, via Kindertransport to the UK, and later became a Christian missionary in Bandung, Indonesia.
Walter served in the US Army during WWII, and attended the University of California Los Angeles on the GI Bill. He became a Certified Public Account, and retired from a career with the US Internal Revenue Service.
Walter's parents arranged for his departure from Germany - later they themselves became victims. He first found refuge from Nazi persecution in the UK, where he stayed with Marx family relative Oskar Schiff (later Oscar Shipton) then departed for the USA on the "Cameronia" from Glasgow, Scotland, arriving October 28, 1940.
His initial US destination, per the ship's official manifest, was with 'Cousin Clarence Derwent', a well-known British-born actor who later became president of Actors' Equity, the American actors' union. The actual relationship between Walter's family and the actor has not yet been established. "Clarence Derwent" was a 'stage' name - his birth name was Harold Stanley David Wolff, son of the London diamond merchant Charles Wolff, b.Germany approx. 1842, and wife Alice,b. Manchester approx. 1852). See Clarence Derwent
Walter's sister, Dorothea Irene, born 2/16/23, also escaped Germany, via Kindertransport to the UK, and later became a Christian missionary in Bandung, Indonesia.
Walter served in the US Army during WWII, and attended the University of California Los Angeles on the GI Bill. He became a Certified Public Account, and retired from a career with the US Internal Revenue Service.