Herman was born in a village south of Stavanger on the south-west coast of Norway. His parents were Russian Jews, fleeing from Russia at the start of the First Word War. His father, Hille, crossed the Baltic Sea at the age of 29, travelling via Sweden to Oslo in August 1914. In Russia, his 26 years old fiancé Judith Davidova Zemechmann had to wait for five months in order to join him. She had visited several European cities as a piano teacher, accompanying well off families from St. Petersburg on their educational journeys. She arrived at Oslo directly from St. Petersburg in January 1915.They married and rented a small flat down town. Hille worked in a watchmaker shop, while Judith stayed at home, as most women in immigrant families did. In May, Judith gave birth to her first-born son Israel Josef. The family did not settle in Oslo, as conditions were bleak. In August 1916, the family moved to the industrial town of Stavanger, hoping for better opportunities in a town where the canning industry was booming due to wartime conditions.

 

            The Becker family was part of a major emigration from the Pale of Settlement in the years between 1880 and 1920. Nearly 3 million Jews emigrated from Eastern Europe due to restriction of opportunities, increasing poverty, systematic discrimination and brutal harassment. The Becker’s escaped as Russia launched punitive measures against the Jewish population in the western parts of the empire after the attack by Imperial Germany. Tsarist Russia considered Jews in these areas to be pro-German. However, unlike the majority emigrating to North America, Europe and Palestine, a small minority settled in the peaceful corner of Scandinavia, a region with a historically low part of Jews in the population. By 1920, approximately 1.200 Jewish immigrants had come to Norway, primarily from Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Russia.[1] They mainly settled in the two towns with Jewish communities, Oslo and Trondheim, but gradually some moved to other towns and rural regions as well.   

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The family of three moved to the village of Bryne on the regional railway line in 1918. In four years, the family counted five. Herman Hirsch Becker was born on July 30, 1920. Their only daughter Ada Abigael Becker was born in Stavanger on January 20, 1922. At Bryne, Herman enjoyed a good and safe upbringing. Hille ran a small watchmaker shop on the main street, struggling to make ends meet. Judith sold candy in the shop in order to add to the income. She took on pupils learning to play the piano. She also played the piano at the local cinema screening silent movies of the day and provided live music at gatherings and celebrations at the regional college.  

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            The Becker’s may have had limited social intercourse and a modest income, nevertheless, they were accepted and respected in the small community. Herman was a lively, talkative boy, making a lot of fun. He was allowed the keep his full, dark hair rather uncut, in a bohemian way, until he entered primary school in 1929. Considered an ordinary and proper schoolboy, he did not distinguish himself in any way. His musical talent, however, flourished as his father taught him to play the violin.

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Read Part I of article here

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Read Part II of article here