The History Podcast | “The House at Number 48: 6. Spa Town”

BBC Radio 4 | Released: October 24, 2025

Episode Overview

In this powerful episode, host Charlie Northcott follows Antony Easton’s ten-year journey to uncover his family’s concealed Holocaust-era history. Prompted by the discovery of hidden documents after his father’s death—including a mysterious birth certificate—Antony investigates the fate of his relatives during Nazi persecution, the staggering loss of their fortune, and the cruel reality behind “spa towns” like Theresienstadt. Through eyewitness accounts, family interviews, and visits to historical sites, the episode examines both the personal and historical impact of Nazi crimes, and Antony's growing determination to seek justice for his family’s stolen inheritance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Escape and Internment in England

• In July 1939, Rudolf Eisner, his wife Hildegard, and their children fled Nazi Germany for England (01:15).
• The family was poor, isolated and easily identified as German, arriving just before WWII began (01:35).
• Six months later, Rudolf was arrested and interned by British authorities on the Isle of Man as a potential enemy of the state (02:26).

2. Ordeal of the Eisner Family

• Rudolf was sent to a detention camp with both Nazi and Jewish internees living side by side, separated from his family (03:19).
  • Antony imagines his grandfather focusing on “staying well and warm,” describing internment as grim and disorienting.
• Hildegard, left with two children in a foreign country, likely endured fear and uncertainty about potential arrest and her children’s safety (03:50).

3. The Erased Family Tree

• Antony describes a sprawling family tree handwritten in 1938: only his grandfather and father survived; more than 80 relatives perished (04:16).
  • “The other 80 people odd didn’t.” – Antony Easton [04:16]

4. Theresienstadt – The Nazi “Spa Town” Deception

• Cousins Ernst and Henriette tried to escape by purchasing passage to Theresienstadt—presented by Nazis as a “spa resort” for Jews (05:54).
  • “They dressed the best clothing...hats and so on. So that’s why Jewish people there, they paid to be sent here as to the spa resort.” – Peter Reich [06:05]
• The so-called resort was used for Nazi propaganda, fooling Jews and outsiders alike. Films showed staged scenes of comfort, even as the real conditions were dire (07:10).
• Theresienstadt imprisoned over 60,000 Jews in conditions meant for 7,000 soldiers. People slept in overcrowded barracks; privacy and sanitation were nonexistent (08:42–09:49).
  • “One day you’re in your house in Berlin and the next day you’re here… and you’ve got no privacy.” – Antony Easton [09:54]

5. The Grim Reality: Disease, Death, and Deceit

• Lice were the Nazis’ main weapon: they spread typhus, tuberculosis, and dysentery, killing tens of thousands (10:40).
  • “Do you know what was the biggest Nazi’s weapon inside of concentration camp? Lice.” – Peter Reich [10:40]
• Antony recounts relatives’ deaths:
  • His great-grandmother’s brother, Richard Tarlis, died aged 82 with broken legs—likely the result of beatings [11:31].
    • “He was 82… both his legs were broken…” – Antony Easton [11:59]
  • Ernst and Henriette: Henriette died during a typhoid epidemic; Ernst was sent to Auschwitz and murdered in the gas chambers along with other family members and the children who had performed in a camp opera (12:02).

6. Emotional Reckoning and Coping

• Antony reflects on how little he knew a decade ago, and how learning about his family’s fate brings sadness—but also closeness and meaning (13:31).
  • “We have coping strategies to help us deal with that sadness. And, you know, telling people stories is part of that coping mechanism. I feel a lot closer to them.” – Antony Easton [13:31]

7. Justice and the Fight for Restitution

• The episode closes with Antony’s renewed determination to seek justice and restitution for his family’s stolen assets in Germany.
  • “I feel we’ve been very shortchanged by the Germans. I’ve never found any reason not to try and extract as much financial compensation from them as possible.” – Antony Easton [14:19]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “They didn’t speak English particularly well, so I would think they were very easily identifiable as German.” – Antony Easton [01:35]
• “German Jews and the Nazis were living in the same buildings… I would have thought he was concentrating on staying well and warm. And warm is probably easier than well…” – Antony Easton [03:19]
• “So they were using that line to basically make people come here more easily.” – Antony Easton [07:57]
• “You can manipulate people into believing anything on a piece of film. Especially now.” – Antony Easton [08:23]
• “So yeah, look at me 10 years ago, I had no idea about these people. …Telling people stories is part of that coping mechanism.” – Antony Easton [13:31]

Timeline of Key Segments

• 01:15–02:41: Rudolf Eisner’s escape to England and arrest
• 03:19–03:50: Living conditions in the Isle of Man detention camp; Hildegard’s plight
• 04:16–04:46: The destroyed Eisner family tree
• 05:54–07:04: Theresienstadt’s propaganda and the “spa town” deception
• 08:42–09:49: Actual conditions within Theresienstadt
• 10:40–11:05: Lice-borne disease as a weapon
• 11:31–12:02: Personal stories of death and suffering in the camp
• 13:31–14:05: Antony’s reflections on loss and remembrance
• 14:19–14:38: The quest for justice and financial restitution

Summary & Tone

The episode strikes a tone of quiet sorrow, empathy, and steely resolve. Through firsthand accounts, historical context, and personal reflections, Antony Easton serves as both investigator and mourner. The narrative avoids dramatization and instead builds power through detailed, sometimes shocking, facts and the understated dignity of survivors and descendants alike.

Listeners seeking a deep, humane exploration of Holocaust memory, family survival, and the ongoing search for justice will find this episode both heartbreaking and inspiring.