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Opening a door to the past: Part 1

The Opening a door to the past: the life of refugees in Norfolk podcast was created through a project run by Norfolk Record Office (NRO) and the Youth Inclusion and Support Panels.

The young people included in this podcast attended six sessions at the NRO, looking at documents showing the history of refugees in Norfolk. These included:

  • The Strangers, a group of Dutch and Flemish refugees who came over in the 16th century to boost the weaving industry in Norwich
  • Huguenot refugees and their descendants from the 17th century, including the Martineau family of Norwich
  • Jewish refugees in the 19th century such as Barratt Lazarus, a tailor from Warsaw, Poland
  • Young refugees during the Second World War, from both England and Europe

The young people worked with local artist Martin Figura to create a story based on what they had learnt, before working with NRO staff to record and edit their story.