All language subtitles for Who.Do.You.Think.You.Are.Au.S16E06.720p.WEB-DL-[Feranki1980]

Hi, darling.

If I was to write a book and document
everything that I've experienced in

the good, the bad, the ugly, it would
read like an amazing thriller, drama,

war, crime, the full gamut.

Known as the Capstan Queen, fashion
designer Camilla Franks has led an

life, including building an
international clothing empire.

The business has been my longest ever
relationship. We've grown up together.

I threw myself into a world I knew
nothing about, and that was the fashion

industry. So it was terrifying and
lonely, but I had a screw it, let's do

attitude. So I love all these tonal
elements with the terracotta and the

orange. My design process is to travel
and get off the beaten path and immerse

myself into these wonderful cultures.

Incorporating elements from her travels
into bold design.

has won Camilla celebrity fans,
including Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer

Having the brand where it is today, you
know, it brings me so much joy.

But in 2018, Camilla suffered a life
-threatening illness.

I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast
cancer.

Although now recovered, the diagnosis
raised the possibility of Jewish

I was told that I had this gene mutation
that usually happens in Jewish people.

I had no idea about this potential
bloodline.

We all want that sense of belonging and
it's something I crave.

I think that finding out a little bit
about my bloodline will help me fill

some of those holes that are in my
heart.

Yearning for ancestral connection.

I've missed out on so many years of not
knowing my family.

Camilla encounters a feisty matriarch.
Please tell me she kicked their butt.

That makes her a bigamist. Oh my God, I
love this woman.

Confronts heart -rending trauma.

Chronic mental disease and exhaustion.

I really resonate with that.

And on the other side of the world.

Schmutter. Embrace the long -hidden
cultural heritage.

It's literally in your blood. It's in my
blood.

You want to do olive oil first?

You can do anything first. Yeah, you can
do anything first.

It's all about gut instinct, baby.

Camilla Franks lives in Sydney with her
young daughter, Luna.

I had Luna at the tender age of 41, I
think. I was put a geriatric.

Mother.

I wasn't happy about that.

You feel you don't want to stuff the
fish?

What do you mean?

She's just a beautiful ray of light and
love in my life.

Maybe there's enough tomatoes.

I'll do all of them. You want to do all
of them? You know, becoming a mother,

I've got a whole new respect for
heritage that I never had before.

Born in Sydney in 1976,

Camilla is the eldest of two children to
Bill Franks and Narelle Roberts.

We definitely came from a very strong
family unit in my earlier years.

We lived a really beautiful, wholesome,
colourful life, always travelling

with mum and dad.

My beautiful brother, Benny, who was the
shining light of my family, he

passed away when I was 17.

He was 14.

My brother passing away, it made me want
to live the life for two.

I felt the responsibility that I had to
really do my parents proud because they

lost their son.

I would describe my mum as a beautiful,
blonde, generous,

manic, bohemian.

Following Camilla's maternal line, her
mother Narelle was born in Newcastle,

South Wales in 1946.

Camilla's grandparents were Hewitt
Kingsley Roberts and Hilda May Meppam.

Grandma Hilda, I was quite young when
she passed away.

When I look at photographs of Hilda, I
see this woman that's adventurous, free

-spirited, doesn't want to conform.

She's horse riding.

She's doing it her own way.

I'm so curious to find if there's more
Hildas in my mix.

Determined to track down other spirited
matriarchs in her maternal ancestry,

Camilla has come to St Ives in Sydney's
north, where she sought out family

historian and relative by marriage,
Philippa Meppam.

First of all, I'd like to show you your
family tree.

Right. This is you at the bottom, going
up through your mother to your

grandmother, Hilda May Meppam. Grandma!

Hilda comes from quite an interesting
line, which is your three -times great

-grandmother, Phoebe Martin, she was
born in 1817 in Sussex, England.

Okay. Phoebe, when she was 18, married
Benjamin Meppam.

My brother who passed away, his name was
Benny.

Isn't that crazy?

That's interesting.

They got married.

in 1835 in October, and Benjamin Jr.,
your two -times great -grandfather,

was born in December 1835.

Shotgun winning.

Fabulous. So Benjamin was also a farm
labourer and Phoebe was the farm

so they would have been paid very
little. They didn't own land, so their

prospects would have been bleak.

In the 1830s, agricultural workers in
England were suffering from the impact

industrialisation.

Their plight was intensified by poor
harvests in 1837.

For many, including Camilla's ancestors,

emigration offered the only means to
improve their lives.

Benjamin and Phoebe, your three -time
great -grandparents, with Benjamin Jr.

They arrived in Sydney in 1839 on a ship
called the

Strathfield Say.

And this is the passenger list. I can
see the name there.

Benjamin and Phoebe are right there. And
little Benjamin is three when they

travelled.

They had to go straight into labour or
they ran the risk of being destitute.

But it was a means to an end because
farm labour is... earn in the colonies

to £20 a year compared to £3 in England.

Right, so that's a huge big jump in
salary.

That is.

Plus, they would have also had the
opportunity to buy land, which is why

came.

Oh, to meet you, Phoebe.

Where is this going to take me now?

Well, your next step is to go to the
Hunter Valley.

I love the Hunter.

Intrigued by her adventurous three
-times -great -grandmother, Phoebe

Camilla has come to the Hunter Valley,
about 200 kilometres north of Sydney.

This Hunter River region includes vast
alluvial plains which, for millennia,

were occupied by the Wannerua people.

By the time Phoebe arrived in the 1840s,
European settlers had already pushed

the traditional owners, often violently,
to the periphery.

It was here in the Belford region that
Camilla's three times great -grandmother

came to live.

Hi, Anne. Hi. Hi, I'm Camilla.

And at Belford's Historic Church,
Camilla has asked social historian Dr

Hardy for assistance.

Well, I've got a document here. It's a
baptism record from 1844.

It's five years after Phoebe has
arrived.

Okay, so we've got Jane.

Jane is Phoebe's daughter.

Wait, she had Benjamin, so she's had
another child.

She has.

This document also shows the names of
her other children.

You know, they're born at different
dates.

Jane, John, Thomas, Ellen and Amelia.

And parents' names.

John and Phoebe.

What happened to her other husband?

Well, we don't know what happened to
Benjamin, Phoebe's first husband. She

changed partners. She changed partners.

Who is this John Nation?

So we know that John was quite a
resourceful and successful businessman.

He leased over 1 ,000 acres.

Amazing. Called Belford Farm.

He was a grazier and then he purchased
land.

He sold half of it soon after he
purchased it and made quite a profit.

Go Don!

From all accounts, he was quite a good
father, partner.

Interesting that having all the children
together, but they still never married.

I love that about Phoebe.

I mean, as someone that's never lived a
conventional life, it kind of...

I think it might run in the family.

Unfortunately, the good fortune turns in
relation to John and Phoebe's son,

Thomas. It's a few years later.

Oh, the Maitland Mercury.

Thursday, March the 18th, 1858.

Coroner's Inquest.

An inquest was held at Belford Farm near
Black Creek on Monday last by Dr.

Glennie on the view of the body of
Thomas Nation.

Aged nine years and one month and five
days.

The deceased had been accidentally
killed on Saturday afternoon by being

from his pony against a tree.

His amiable disposition will long be
remembered by those who knew him.

Awful.

I hate the idea that she lost a child.

It's something no parent should ever
have to experience.

I've just got another document to share
with you. It relates to an incident that

occurred less than a year after the
death of Thomas.

So this relates to John Nation.

Death.

Northern Times and Newcastle Telegraph,
January the 19th, 1859.

At his residence, Belford, near Black
Creek, on Saturday the 15th, John

age 44, an old and much -respected
resident of the district, leaving a wife

six children to lament the loss of an
affectionate and loving father.

Oh, Phoebe, you lost your man so soon
after Thomas.

So that was another shocking loss. The
love of her life was gone.

It's a lot, but it brings me comfort
knowing that John Nation provided

support to her that she was well looked
after.

Yeah, yeah. And then where to next?

Did she find another partner?

I hope so.

Still in the Hunter Valley in New South
Wales, Camilla has come 20 kilometres

down the road to Lockenvar.

Hi, Camilla.

Max. Welcome to Lockenvar.

Meeting with historian Max Burns
-McCruvey, Camilla wants to know if her

spirited three -times -great
-grandmother, Phoebe Meppam, prevailed

tragic loss of her son and de facto
partner.

Well, Phoebe's had quite a ride already,
huh?

Surely the universe gives her a happy
chapter in all of this.

Well, this document here, it's an
auction and it's for all sorts of

and everything else at the very farm
that she was living on. The Maitland

Mercury, Saturday, March 3rd, 1860.

Highly important extensive clearing out
sale at the residence of the late Mr

John Nation.

The following valuable stock farming
implements machinery, harness and tools.

The sole reason of their being brought
into the market is the consequence of

Nation's family having to leave Belford
Farms.

That land, it had a five -year lease.
Right. That's coming to an end.

This lists a tiny bit of what's being
sold.

Essentially, we get such a sense of how
successful John Nation and Phoebe were.

Luckily, John has taken the step to make
sure that Phoebe and the family have

somewhere to go that they own.

I'm curious.

Well, we are sitting amidst it, in fact.

This is beautiful Lock and Bar.

This was very well sought after land.
John has purchased some of it around

Stunning. He's made sure that in his
will, that whilst Phoebe and her

are going to be the inheritors, this
farm is going to be managed.

And for that, he has appointed three
executives.

And therefore, the income she's going to
receive is really at the hands of these

executives to make sure that the farm is
profitable.

So she doesn't really need to think.

They get to manage the land for her and
she takes the profits from the land.

Brilliant.

So what's going to happen with Phoebe?

I hope she finds love again.

Well, we've got a whole new fella in the
mix. Oh, my God, I love this woman.

His name is Thomas McDermott, a bloke
from Dublin. They marry in 1860, which

a year after John's passing, and he is
28 years old.

while Phoebe is 43.

I love her.

My grandma always loved the younger
boys. My mum loved the younger boys. I

the younger boys. This is all making
sense to me now. It's coming together

you.

But what's a bit odd about that, she was
married to Mr Mepham and he's still

very much alive.

He won't pass away for another 20 years.
That makes her a bigamist.

She doesn't give a damn, I don't think.

So Phoebe, she's got the farm, she's got
a new marriage, but Thomas has another

side to him.

The Maitland Mercury, November 21, 1863.

Oh, no.

A violent character.

On Thursday, a man named Thomas
McDermott was brought before the bench

Maitland on a charge of threatening his
wife with firearms.

When brought into court, he was
extremely violent and being a powerful

constables were required to hold him.

I hope it's an isolated incident.

Well, unfortunately, it's not the one
-off. Oh, no.

And we see a series of incidents.

where Thomas seems to be a bit violent.

The idea of her having to go through all
that is just shocking. It's just...

That's upsetting.

We also see a bit of a pattern where
Thomas is in and out of courthouses for

drunkenness, and that could be a key
feature in all of this.

He's not a John.

He's no John Nation.

Yeah.

Oh, she shows wrong.

While she's got these battles on the
home front with Thomas, she's got other

battles that are looming that are going
to really show her strength, and you're

going to find out more about that by
visiting the Supreme Court of New South

Wales. Oh, this should be a film.

It should be, yeah.

I thought my life had a lot of bumps and
bruises, but Phoebe's taking me for a

run.

It does upset me a lot to know that she
went through domestic violence, but I

definitely don't see Phoebe as a victim.

She's really ballsy, she shows grit,
determination, and I'm looking forward

unravelling the next part of the
chapter.

Returning to Sydney...

Camilla will discover an epic legal
battle with devastating consequences.

Caftan Queen Camilla Franks has returned
to Sydney to discover what fresh battle

her colourful three -times -great
-grandmother, Phoebe McDermott, formerly

Mepham, must now confront.

What a beautiful room.

At the Supreme Court of New South
Wales... She's meeting with legal

Julie Coulton.

If we just place ourselves in 1863, that
is where this part of the story starts.

Not in the Supreme Court, that will
come, but in the West Maitland

It does involve both Phoebe and Thomas.

The Maitland Mercury, Thursday, March
12, 1863, alleged housebreaking.

William Bellinger was brought before the
West Maitland bench on Monday in

custody to answer to this charge.

The charge being that he has forced
entry into the home of the McDermott's.

wielding a gun and he's threatening to
kill Thomas. Terrifying.

Upon the officer calling the next
witness, Mr McDermott, Mrs McDermott

forward.

and said it was not her husband's wish
to press the charge as the prisoner was

intoxicated at the time and had a wife
and small family.

That's Phoebe.

So she spoke on behalf of her husband.
She did. You can almost see her standing

up. Pushing him to the side. She's a
woman with agency, that is for sure. And

love this. The prisoner was intoxicated
at the time and had a wife and small

family. So she's got compassion. And she
obviously is also married to an abusive

alcoholic and so she sees the
similarities there. Yeah.

Now, you recall that John Nation left
Will in 1859 and it was to take care of

Phoebe and the children.

Yeah. At that time, the estate was worth
£4 ,000, which was around half a

million dollars in today's money. Wow.

Yeah.

So this was to be income for the family,
and he left three executors in charge

of this estate.

They're all eminent men around town, and
what happens, in fact, is that that

does not go to plan.

Oh, no.

Oh, no is right.

By 1865, we see that Phoebe and the
children,

have lodged an application here in the
Supreme Court, where we are today, and

their complaint, very loudly, is that
the executors are squandering the

they are selling off the assets, and
they are investing the money for

themselves. Oh, my God.

She is seeking restitution. She wants
the money back, and she wants the world

hear. what these men are doing. She's
very Erin Brockovich.

She's so brave isn't she? Taking on
these men.

This goes on for 10 years.

This goes on. This becomes their life.

I've been through that myself but it
lasted a year or two and it is so

and gruelling.

I admire her. Yes.

And legal fees are so expensive.

Very expensive.

It's a war.

of attrition, really, and the executors.
Their pockets were deeper.

Ultimately, in 1875, the case that she's
brought against these executors...

Please tell me she kicked their butt.

What I can tell you is that the case is
actually dismissed.

Phoebe and Thomas have run out of money,
and so they simply cannot prove what

they need to prove.

What happens then is that the sheriff is
ordered to go around and sell her home

to pay the legal fees. It's a fire sale.

It's so unfair.

It's an undeserving end, actually, to
this chapter of her life.

But there's another chapter.

But there is another chapter. Please
give me a good chapter.

So this is where we next find Phoebe and
Thomas. That is High Street Penrith.

Penrith? Yes.

Obviously, they've lost Lock and Bar, so
they move to Penrith.

They rent in that area.

It's a pleasant little settlement, but
it's not on the land. But it's not Lock

and Bar. It's not Lock and Bar, no.

This would be a very big change for
them. Yeah, very much so.

The very next thing that we learn about
Phoebe is here.

Tess.

McDermott, November 30, 1903, at her
residence.

Phoebe, the beloved wife of Thomas
McDermott, late of Lochenvar, aged 86

He really loved her. And they were
together for quite some time. It's

years, remembering it began in violence.

It wasn't good.

Despite Thomas's affliction, the
alcohol, somehow along the way, they've

work. That makes me happy.

Yeah.

Oh, Phoebe.

She had a really full life. She did.

In all its colours.

Yeah.

It's interesting to see some of these
parallels that Phoebe and I have gone

through, hers being a hell of a lot more
intense.

And I really saw some similarities with
my grandma Hilda, her strength, her

resilience, walking her own unique path.

As someone that loves to meditate, I'm
going to have Phoebe at the forefront of

that now, guiding me.

Good girl. Oh, are you going to eat it?

Delighted to have found another
inspirational woman in her maternal

Camilla's now shifting her focus to her
paternal line.

I remember always being daddy's girl and
being on his shoulders and fishing and

all of that. But something changed.

We've lost that connection.

He's an amazing architect and creative,
but we don't understand each other.

And there's a deep sense of sadness and
pain and longing to want to know him

better.

22, my auntie Marcia let me know that my
dad's father had committed suicide.

It was sort of a hidden secret.

Camilla uncovered another mystery in
2018 when she was diagnosed with cancer.

She learned that she carries the BRCA
gene mutation, which has a higher

prevalence in the Jewish population.

In regards to my potential Jewish
bloodline, I know a big fat zero, but

I'm so eager now to find out more.

To resolve the question of her Jewish
ancestry, Camilla has recently taken a

test.

Hi. Hi, Camilla. Nice to meet you. Nice
to meet you too. Come on in.

At the Sydney Jewish Museum in the inner
city suburb of Darlinghurst,

genealogist Danny Haskey has Camilla's
results.

My curiosity is bursting from every
theme, just that missing link.

You know, I want to know about my own
human design.

Absolutely. Well, we have your DNA
results.

So, as you can see, you're 33 % English.

Well, that makes sense because of my
mum's side being from Suffolk.

Yep. And then you're...

26 % Jewish.

Yay, I'm part of the club.

Can I give you a hug? So there are a few
different flavours of Jewish DNA

and you are specifically Ashkenazi
Jewish.

For the past 1 ,000 years, the Jewish
people have been grouped into two

subcultures, Sephardic and Ashkenazi.

The Ashkenazi's ancestors lived in
France and Central and Eastern Europe,

Sephardic Jews originate from the
Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and the

East.

Geography aside, the two groups follow
the same tenets of Judaism, but have

differences in religious custom and
practice.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer
and they told me about this hereditary

bracketing mutation, they told me it was
related to Ashkenazi Jew.

There is a higher prevalence of it in
Ashkenazi Jewish DNA.

Because this was such a life -changing
diagnosis for me. Like, it's like this

hunger and this passion and this urge
that wants me to meet who this has come

from. Well, with the DNA that you
submitted, it allowed us to trace.

Some of your family.

Oh, my God. My heart's going 100 miles
an hour.

So this is part of your Jewish family
heritage.

Wow. So here you are down the bottom.

Following her paternal line, Camilla's
father is William Leslie Franks, known

Bill. Her grandfather was also William
Leslie.

It's through him that Camilla's Jewish
heritage originates.

So your grandfather, when he was born,
he was actually given the name Wolf

Lazarus. I love that name. Why did he
change it?

A lot of people anglicise their names.

It's sad for me.

Ethnicity is something to be celebrated
and it's just such a shame that I wasn't

taught that as a young girl. I'm a
tender age of 48 now and I'm only just

discovering this.

Yeah.

It's actually through your grandfather,
William Leslie.

also known as Wolf Lazarus, we were able
to trace one branch of your paternal

line and most of the people that you see
in this tree lived in one very small

village. Where?

Okay.

So, Izbica Kozelska. Izbica Kozelska.
Izbica Kozelska. Do you know

what country that is?

Poland.

Like right in the middle of Poland.

Abica Kuszawska. Kuszawska.

I'll get it. Since I'm from there, I've
got to get it.

Travelling to the other side of the
world, Camilla will make a startling

discovery about the family she has long
yearned for.

Fashion entrepreneur Camilla Franks has
come to central Poland to learn more

about her paternal family history.

Located 200 kilometres west of Warsaw,
Izbica Kujawska is the heartland of her

Jewish ancestry.

It was only two days ago that I found
out that this is where my family was

It's like this.

hidden secret.

I feel quite emotional being here and I
feel this sense of longing to want to

know more about their stories.

The first mention of Jewish residents
here dates back to 1662.

Over the centuries, the Jewish
population in the town grew, reaching a

around 1600, about half the town's
inhabitants, in 1939.

At the local library, Camilla has
arranged to meet ancestry genealogist

Heska, who's been digging into the
Polish archive.

The Jewish community that your ancestors
were part of made a significant

contribution to the area's economic
life.

Back then, Jews were not permitted to
own land, so they had to find a way of

making a living. So many of them became
merchants and traders, but many of them

became artisans.

Artisans? Yes.

Some of your ancestors were actually
sailors.

Wow!

Wow! I always wondered where I got it
all from. It was written in the stars,

wasn't it?

We have traced your ancestors in Izbitza
back to your sixth generation.

Here's the family tree.

Wow.

Wow.

So you, your father, your grandfather,
to the sixth

generation.

to Mojzesz Topiński and Esther Abbas.
They were your four times great

-grandparents. Wow.

Mojzesz was born in about 1790.

Their son was Nohim Topiński, your three
times great -grandfather.

Nohim was a tailor.

And he married Waja Sochaczewska.

Nohim and Waja had 10 children.

Wow. All born here in Izbica.

And I have the first document here for
you.

It's their eldest son's birth record. He
was your two -time great -grandfather.

Written in Polish.

Really? Amazing.

I have a translation here for you.

This happened in Izbitza on 30th of
January, 1863, at one o 'clock in the

afternoon. Nokhan Topinski appeared, a
tailor, residing in Izbitza, 19 years

old, and he presented to us a male
child, declaring he was born in Izbitza

23rd day of this month, seven o 'clock
in the morning, to his wife.

Waja Sohacheska. Waja Sohacheska.

20 years old. At the circumcision, this
child was given the name Wolf.

My grandfather was Wolf Lazarus, and
we've got Wolf here.

According to Ashkenazi Jewish naming
tradition, children were named after

deceased ancestors and relatives.

So Wolf, your two -times great
-grandfather, he became a tailor as

joined his father in his business.

And then when Wolf was in his upper
teens, something exciting was happening

his life.

Here's the record. And I have another
translation for you here.

This happened in Izbitza on 16th
December 1881 at three o 'clock in the

afternoon. The local rabbi appeared
together with Wolf Topinski, a bachelor,

years and 11 months old.

and with Baila Bas, a maiden, 26 years
old. He, the rabbi, stated that today a

religious marriage was contracted
between Wolf Topinski and Baila Bas.

I was never told anything about my
lineage, and I just feel like I've

on so many years of not knowing my
family.

I'm estranged from my father, so it just
makes me feel like there's...

A community of male ancestors that are
going to be holding me up.

And that means a lot to me.

This is

December

1881.

A few months later.

In 1882, Wolf and Baila left their home
and their country.

And where did they go?

Oh, my God. They traveled some 1 ,500
kilometers to London.

Oh, wow.

We don't know exactly what motivated
your ancestors to leave.

There might have been some knowledge of
persecution by the authorities.

The laws were being more and more
oppressive. But a lot of people left for

economical reasons too. The poverty, the
situation in Poland wasn't really very

bright.

So as your two times great -grandparents
left their home, So did many other

Jewish families, but a lot of them
stayed. And two generations afterward,

events happened. World War II.

So there were about 1 ,000 Jewish
residents here in Izbitza at the time of

They were rounded up and sent to death
camps.

None of them survived.

The Jewish community never returned to
Izbica because they were all deceased.

If Wolf and Baila hadn't made the
decision to go to London all those years

my family now wouldn't exist.

That's right.

So you may want to visit the site of the
former Jewish cemetery here in Izbica.

The cemetery was destroyed in World War
II. The Nazis destroyed it. But there is

a field that marks the site, and perhaps
you'd like to go there and think about

your other ancestors who were buried
there.

Jewish people take stones and pebbles to
the cemetery.

Oh, my gosh. I've been collecting stones
since I was a little girl.

I mean...

It all comes together. It all comes
together.

I find it crazy to me that this has
never been spoken about in my family.

In the last 48 hours, I've learnt more
about me than I've ever known.

Just the thought of all my family
members that would have been buried

It's emotional.

I've constantly got goosebumps.

I've got this whole family that I didn't
know actually existed and they come

from tailoring.

Following the story of her Jewish two
-times -great -grandparents, Wolf and

Baila Topinski, Camilla's now travelling
from central Poland to London.

In London's East End, she sought out
social historian David Rosenberg... Hi,

Camilla. Hi, David.

..to find out whether the lure of a
brighter future in England's capital

off.

Wolf and Byler, they were making a new
life here.

I'm going to show you a document which
takes us into the next generation.

So this is the birth certificate of your
great -grandmother, Sarah.

Following Camilla's paternal line, her
great -grandmother was Sarah Levy,

sometimes known as Sadie.

She was born in East London in 1882.

the first child of Wolf Topinski and
Baila Bass.

Like so many other migrants, when they
arrived, Wolf and Baila changed their

family name to Levy.

Other name changes followed.

So you can see the father is Wolf, your
great -great -grandfather, and his

wife in the old country was called
Baila.

But here, it's a peculiar spelling. And
I know from another document I'm going

to show you that her name is Rebecca.

That's a big change. And that's a big
change. And Rebecca is one of those

biblical Jewish names.

Your great -grandmother, Sarah, she was
born the year after they have arrived.

25 Old Castle Street.

Yeah, Old Castle Street is right in the
heart of where the Jews were settling.

In East London. In East London.

Between 1880 and 1914, London's small
Jewish population was transformed by

the arrival of 150 ,000 Eastern European
and Russian Jewish refugees.

Fleeing economic hardship and religious
persecution...

Up to 70 % settled in London's East End.

Here, they established a vibrant
community and the streets rang with the

of Yiddish -speaking traders.

I love knowing that they really lived
with their community and their tribe.

Having their people around them would
have brought them a lot of comfort.

And it says here that Wolf is still a
tailor. Yeah, yeah. So tailoring was

common. area of work, the largest of the
trades that the Jewish immigrants were

doing in East London. And the tailoring
was done in workshops.

They were often in the basement of
houses, or if you had a shop front, it

be in a very cramped room behind.

And they often had between 10 and 25
workers.

These were very bad conditions.

This is the next document I wanted to
show you. This is from the census of

Rebecca. Yeah.

Rebecca Levy, your great -great
-grandmother. Baila.

Yes. And then I see all these children
here.

And that's where we find Sarah, the
first daughter, your great -grandmother.

There's four daughters here and there
was a fifth one born after this census.

Right.

And then what's this?

Sarah Scholar.

That's Sarah, your great -grandmother.
She went to the Jews' Free School. I'm

going to show you a photo.

Have a look at that. Wow.

Look at their little outfits.

What does it say here?

That says child's pinafore.

So they're learning how to make
pinafore. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Right, okay. They're learning about the
trade of textiles from this age.

Yes, yes. The school was very geared
towards preparing them for work.

So this is the last document and it's
particularly about Wolf Levy, your great

-great -grandfather.

Certified copy of an entry of death.

Yeah. Wolf Levy, male, 33 years old. He
was so young. And he

passed away.

On 26th of October, 1897, cause of
death, stasis.

Stasis, hypostatic pneumonia.

That's the glorified way of saying TB,
tuberculosis.

Right. And TB was such a killer.

in the East Bend in that period.

Because of the work conditions?

I suspect so.

And it's really contagious, so like
COVID.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very confined
conditions are its favourite climate for

spreading. It makes me sad because he's
taken such big risks and shows such

resilience to kind of travel across the
world and to here to find himself

working in really a sweatshop, which
takes his life.

And I can't help but think that Rebecca
would have been left with five children.

Yes, yes.

That's terrifying.

Yeah. Well, if you go to the Princelet
Street Synagogue, very near here, I

people there will be able to tell you
more about what happened to your family

after this.

I've been coming to East London for work
for years.

It's been the hubbub and the melting pot
for textiles and beading and embroidery

and laces.

Now it's not just a professional link
for me, it's a bloodline link. It makes

realise that I'm meant to be walking
this crazy, wild, adventurous journey of

fashion.

Staying in London's East End, Camilla
will confront her family's generational

trauma.

Kaftan Queen Camilla Franks is in
London's East End, pursuing the story of

Polish -Jewish ancestors, appropriately
a family of tailors.

Her two -times great -grandfather, Wolf
Levy, died in 1897, leaving his wife and

five young daughters.

Camilla's hoping that by learning more
about these ancestors, she'll gain

insight into her relationship with her
father.

To do so, she's come to the Princelet
Street Synagogue, established in the

1870s.

I love it that this is the first
synagogue that you've been in. Yeah.

And what a special one it is.

Here, she's enlisted the help of writer
and historian Dr Rachel Lichtenstein.

So we're going to pick up the story with
Rebecca, your great -great

-grandmother.

To be without her husband, Wolf would
have been incredibly tough because I

imagine they were living in dire poverty
like most in the Jewish community were

in this area.

So let's have a look at this document.

This is a census from 1901.

So this is Rebecca.

There you've got her, Rebecca Levy. And
she's 39 there?

39 years old.

And Sarah?

Her daughter, your...

Great -grandmother. She's 18.

And Esther, Rachel, Celia and Annie.

That's a lot of girls.

It's a lot of girls.

Your great -grandmother, Sarah, here.
Can you see what she's working as?

Tailoress.

Amazing. And how about her sisters?

Fur machinists and ladies tailoress. So
they were involved in what was...

commonly known as the shmutter trade.

Shmutter. Shmutter, which is the Yiddish
word for kind of rag.

Wow. But it really means everything
connected to the tailoring trade.

It's so cool to think that all these
beautiful females worked in the

same world that I live and breathe.

I had no idea.

It's incredible.

But it really makes sense to me now.

It's literally in your blood.

It's in my blood. Yeah.

So let's see what we've got next here.

Sarah, your great -grandmother.

A certified copy of an entry of
marriage. And the year is 1908.

So Sarah, or Sadie Levi, marries Hyman
Frank.

So we've got the Franks name now.

That's right.

Right. And Hyman is an outfitter. He was
measuring up gentlemen's suits.

Maybe a pattern cutter?

Married, solemnized at Spitzel Square
Synagogue. We're very

close to the Spitzel Square Synagogue.
It no longer exists.

This synagogue is called the Princelet
Street Synagogue and it's the only

surviving Ashkenazi Jewish synagogue
erected by Polish Jewish immigrants

like your family.

I wonder if my family experienced...

Praying in here?

It's very, very possible. They might
have worshipped here or come here for

mitzvahs or other celebrations.

That's wild.

I am blown away.

Just a few months after your great
-grandparents get married in 1908,

a boat travelling to Sydney.

An incredible journey to make.

They were brave and bold, for sure.

I wonder why they wanted to leave.

Lots of people did.

Anti -Semitism or... It could have been,
but there was great poverty as well.

They're leaving for a brighter future.
Again, this seems to be a common theme

my family.

Again, absolutely.

They arrive in Sydney and then they move
to Newcastle. Mum and Dad were brought

up in Newcastle, so that makes sense to
me.

There was a small Jewish community
there, and there was a Lithuanian rabbi

moved to start up this community.

That's where Wolf, your grandfather, was
born. So this Lithuanian rabbi

was probably the rabbi that circumcised
your grandfather, Wolf.

It's possible.

And then I'm afraid the story does take
a darker turn.

Oh.

This is a death certificate.

Hyman Frank, 44 years, so young. So
young.

Hospital for the Insane in Gladesville.

Wow. What does this say?

Chronic mental disease and exhaustion.

I really resonate with that.

Who knows what trauma he experienced?

in his short life, whether he had also
come from Poland or Russia during that

time, whether he had inherited trauma.

Oh, God.

That's awful.

Awful, awful.

What is so crazy about this document is
my grandfather, Wolf Lazarus, committed

suicide.

Oh. So... That inherited, inherited
trauma.

Mm. And I struggled with depression like
ten years ago and I couldn't quite put

my finger on it. But now, you know, you
don't just get the good, you get the bad

too. It doesn't discriminate.

It doesn't.

And poor Sadie, Sarah, being left in
Newcastle. She's left on

her own in this strange country with a
young child.

Let's end on a happier note.

Yay.

So here she is.

Here is Sadie, your great -grandmother
some years later.

I finally got a photograph.

Yeah. Hi, Sadie.

She got married again. She found a new
life for herself. She had a new family.

And this is the picture of her at the
wedding of one of her sons.

I'm seeing...

Like a mixture of my uncle and my dad.

But what's crazy is with DNA, you always
think of the physical, but now there's

so much more to my DNA than just the
physical.

So much more.

It's nice to meet you, Sadie.

Learning more about my ancestry, it's
definitely making me reflect

on my relationship with my father.

I think it's in some ways created a bit
more acceptance for me.

Does it mean that I'm going to open the
door? Maybe not.

But, you know, you can always love
someone from afar.

My Jewish bloodline is something to be
nurtured, loved and celebrated.

The beauty of this is being able to
teach my daughter about this and that

is such a gift.

All of those experiences my ancestors
have gone through, the risk -taking, the

adventuring, the bumps and bruises, all
those challenges become our biggest

teacher.

That is one of the most empowering
lessons I've learned on this.

My blood is filled with their spirit,
their determination, sticking the middle

finger to conformity and fear.

And that's why I'll continue to walk my
own path unapologetically.

Next time on Who Do You Think You Are?
Indians get around, don't they?

They do.

Journalist Mark Fennell finds a
generation traumatised by war.

Shit, I've heard this story passed down.

It's so much worse than I imagined.

And unearthed tales of forbidden love.

This is scandalous.

It is Romeo and Juliet.

It really is. It is, yeah. And tragic
loss.

Oh, no.

She dies from squalor.

Yeah.

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