Family remembering
Covid-19 has so far prevented us holding a memorial for Ernst/Dad/GrandE. We hope to do so when it is safe for people to travel and gather together.
On 10th April 2020 we had a close family Zoom meeting to be together and to share some memories.
Words spoken by Ernst's son, Jonathan (J) Michaelis:
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I want to talk about my experiences of my dad when I was a child.
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When I was about 8 or 9 as a school project on Christmas he encouraged me to write to maybe 20 foreign embassies in London to ask them for information about the mid-winter celebrations in their countries. Most replied.
This shows just one aspect of Dad’s international perspective and understanding nature.
Perhaps surprising for someone of his generation were his liberal attitudes. Despite coming across as quite formal he could be very open-minded and non-judgmental. I was surprised when I went through a minor relationship glitch in the late 1990s how easy he was to talk to.
Dad’s usual open-mindedness did not stop him being a bit of a snob at times – he was SO proud of his children and grandchildren that I am sure he must have bored all his friends with his glowing reports of us. I think we can forgive that.
Dad wasn’t my most touchy feely parent but I did feel loved by him. I loved it when he tucked me into bed at night (this was before Duvets); he tucked the sheets in so tight I could barely breath, let alone wriggle about. He did used to complain about my fiddling with (and often breaking) everything.
I don’t remember him ever shouting at us. He ONCE said “bloody hell” when another car nearly crashed into us on a roundabout. I do remember him telling me off just by asking why I had done something (graffiti on a doorway); I felt terrible for having upset him. Effective.
Before Dad reached his 90s he did like food. He passed this on to his children. I remember glorious trips to the Spaghetti house in London and being introduced to various foreign cuisines at an early age. GrandE was legendary for his ability to smell Italian ice-cream from 10 km away.
I guess Dad did have high expectations for us but I did feel he trusted as to get on with whatever path we chose. As I remember it, whenever I left the house as a teenager he’d say: “Have fun!”
I feel extremely lucky and privileged to have had Ernst Michaelis as my father.
I haven’t really touched so far on his remarkable sense of humour. I will end with just one example:
When Ben and I were in Macclesfield A&E in 2018 and they were carting GrandE off for an X-Ray he chose what perhaps he thought might be his last words: “Have fun in my absence!”
Here's a lorry and crane he made me for my fourth birthday; both with simple but effective steering mechanisms which I found fascinating. I spent hours playing with these. I found them particularly precious because my daddy had made them.
Dad worked very long hours. He was providing for his family but it was a shame he wasn’t around more when we were young. The time he did spend with us was special. Political talks at the breakfast table, trips to the science museum and holidays visiting factories in Germany were highlights for me. They come under the category of showing us how things and the world worked.
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As a kid, I really enjoyed helping Dad with DIY, whether it was building bedroom storage units or being sent under the floorboards on a wiring adventure!
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But not everything was engineering.
Thoughts from Ernst’s daughter, Vicky Pope:
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My strongest memories of dad is that he worked very hard. Whether it was as an engineer, or making things in his workshop - he was always busy. However, he also found time to explore with us some of his favourite places. Everywhere we went to seemed to involve going “past the office“. Unfortunately this meant going into the office, to sort out the mail and any last-minute jobs that he hadn’t finished off.
I have strong memories of visits to the Science Museum on Sunday afternoons, turning every handle in the agriculture section and visiting the space exhibit. Consequently, it had a very special place in my childhood, and it was therefore a big deal for me when they asked me to be on their advisory panel for their climate change gallery. Dad was always very interested in my work on climate change and want to know how many ministers and important people I had met. Of course he also thought that I could personally change the world - as J said he was very proud of his children and grandchildren. I hope he didn’t bore everybody too much!
He could also be very patient. I remember only wanting the same story every night before I went to sleep. It was from a big book of stories and was called the little tug boat. He would oblige. He did object to us watching Thunderbirds every Sunday lunchtime though - I think we still won.
Generally a quiet man, he enjoyed being with friends and liked a good party. Mum was the life and soul of any event, but he enjoyed the fact that she organised a hectic social life for him. He also loved her cooking, and until his final years always enjoyed good food.
Ernst, Vicky and Bella in the garden at Garthland Drive
When we were children he did not talk about what happened to his family. I would imagine it was still too painful for him, and maybe he wasn’t sure how to talk to young children about it. Also, many people did not talk about what happened to them during the Second World War. The birth of his grandchildren prompted him to record his history, and I have used much of this material to put together this website. Reading all this material again (I have only made minor editorial changes, and restructured material to make it more suited to a website), it struck me how well he writes about it and how sensitively he has translated his family’s letters. I feel that I know something of the character of his family from their words. Reading the flight of fancy from his mother about a road trip with a luxury caravan, I can empathise with her as a mother missing her youngest child, knowing that she will almost certainly never see him again.
It also struck me that he wanted to ensure that his parents were remembered for what they achieved – even at the darkest of times they were strongly motivated to help other people. I hope that I can replicate a little of their commitment to helping the community in some of the things that I do.
He felt it was important to remember what happened, and was strongly committed to tolerance of everybody and reducing persecution. I hope that by sharing the material that he produced more widely through this website, that more people can come to understand his viewpoint.
Remembering Dad on the day of his cremation - in our absence 20th April 2020