Retracing History: Peter and Moira Hart’s Journey Through Wartime Germany

In the autumn of 2025, Peter and Moira Hart undertook a powerful journey of remembrance and discovery, retracing the route taken during the final months of the Second World War by Peter’s mother, Kitty Hart-Moxon.

Kitty’s story is well documented in her book Return to Auschwitz. In the final few months of the war, as a consequence of the evacuation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, she was forced onto a death march and subsequently transferred between several camps inside Germany, where prisoners were used as forced labour. Two of these locations were Porta Westfalica and Fallersleben. This visit gave Peter and Moira the opportunity to deepen their understanding of what Kitty endured in these places and to reflect on the lasting impact of her experiences.

In both locations, a strong culture of remembrance has developed. Local charities, supported by municipal authorities, are committed to bringing this history to light through permanent exhibitions, museums, and educational programmes. Peter and Moira were invited to take part in special commemoration events and to speak publicly about Kitty’s testimony.

The journey began in Porta Westfalica, a town known for its striking landscape and, less visibly, for its vast network of underground factories built by the Nazis. Here, Peter and Moira explored the tunnels where forced labourers, including Kitty, were made to work in appalling and dangerous conditions, producing armaments and electronic components hidden from Allied bombing raids.

Kitty spent approximately three weeks here in February 1945, forced to work underground in the Philips factory assembling radio valves. Peter and Moira were joined by relatives of other forced labourers from across Europe, many of whom had been political prisoners or members of resistance movements. Each family shared their relative’s story and reflected on how this legacy continues to shape their lives.

During the weekend, a memorial service was held to honour the many forced labourers who died or were killed under these brutal conditions. Peter was invited to plant a tree alongside the grandson of a Polish slave worker — a poignant symbol of remembrance and continuity.

A guided tour of the tunnel complex (with hard hats) and the accompanying museum and exhibition brought home the harsh realities faced by the inmates. Peter and Moira also reflected on Kitty’s extraordinary resilience and her determination to bear witness in later life. They will soon be collaborating with the local remembrance group, which plans to incorporate Kitty’s testimony into an expanded permanent exhibition.

Then it was on to Fallersleben, now part of the city of Wolfsburg, to learn more about the wartime history of the DKF car factory that later became the Volkswagen plant, now the largest car factory in the world. During the war, the site was repurposed for military production.

In April 1945, during a heavy Allied bombing raid, Kitty was briefly transported there with other prisoners. She spent only a few days at the site but refused to enter the air-raid shelters deep within the factory, as they reminded her of the gas chambers she had witnessed at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Though brief, this episode captures the chaos of the war’s final days and the profound trauma carried by survivors.

As in Porta Westfalica, a locally supported remembrance initiative — involving the city authorities and the Volkswagen company — is working to preserve and teach this history.

After leaving Fallersleben, Kitty and her fellow prisoners were transported to Salzwedel. The group was abandoned by the Nazis in a sealed cattle truck on a railway siding and left to suffocate. Eventually, they were moved into a local concentration camp. Two days later, they were liberated by the advancing US Army.

Standing on the same ground, Peter and Moira reflected on the relief and hope that must have accompanied liberation, as well as the enduring significance of these stories for future generations.

They later met with the town’s mayor, participated in a short commemoration ceremony at the camp memorial, and took part in a question-and-answer session with local history students.

Peter and Moira’s autumn visits were acts of remembrance, linking personal family history with the wider narrative of the Holocaust and the Second World War. By visiting these sites, they honoured not only Kitty’s courage but also the countless others who suffered and perished.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2026 - Buckingham Palace reception hosted by King Charles

Kitty, together with Peter and Moira, was honoured to attend a reception hosted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace for Holocaust Survivors and their families on Holocaust Memorial Day, on 27th January 2026. The King personally spoke to the survivors and families, including Kitty, Moira and Peter. The reception took place in the gallery where the recently commissioned portraits of survivors hang on the walls. It is very much appreciated that the King and members of the Royal Family support survivors of the Holocaust and the continuing need for remembrance.