Audio file 73-2

[continues from 73-1] leaving Paris, Wonga remarks about items being lost - Ernest says his writing during the War was stolen in the camp; Ernest believes Sonja's works were left behind but Wonga corrects him, noting that "Skulptur" (1940-46) was exhibited in Denmark

Wonga incorrectly identifies the art association where "Skulptur" was exhibited as at Den Frie but it was actually shown at Linien II in 1948

Wonga asks Ernest how he felt travelling so far north; Wonga reminds Ernest he had been stopped in Belgium when he tried to escape Paris with Sonja during the war

At the outbreak of World War II, Sonja Ferlov returned to her native Denmark and hoped to bring Ernest with her, but his entry was rejected

Wonga asks about their passports: Ernest recalls fellow prisoner at St Denis, Thomas, advising him to apply for a British passport and not carry the South African one; Ernest explains that under Danish law, Sonja had lost her Danish citizenship when she married Ernest, so she also had to apply for a British passport; Wonga digresses on Ernest and Sonja losing their nationalities; Ernest confirms they both travelled to Denmark in 1947 under British passports

Ernest and Sonja applied for a British passport when World War II ended. Ernest's passport has been digitised in the database.

Note that the passport gives Ernest's birth year as 1907. In audio file 56-1 he states it was 1904, a year that better aligns with the events of his life in South Africa. Correspondence in the Johannesburg Art Gallery archive reveals no birth certificate in South African governmental archives

Wonga wants to speak of why Ernest's attempt to renew his British passport was rejected - because South Africa was no longer part of the British empire; Wonga believes Ernest should have naturally applied for South African citizenship but did not do so for political reasons; Wonga concludes that during the period until they qualified for French citizenship, Ernest had none; Ernest agrees

South Africa became a Republic in 1961 after which Great Britain rejected Ernest as a British citizen and his British passport was not renewed.

Wonga continues that Sonja, however, was able to renew her British passport; when Ernest qualified for French citizenship, Sonja also decided to take the same

As they noted, Sonja, who obtained her British passport as Ernest's spouse, was able to reapply for a British passport

Ernest's French passport has been digitised in the database

[tape stopped and restarts] Wonga asks about their emotional state leaving France for Denmark; Ernest recalls they were disillusioned by France [mentions Jean-Jacques Rousseau]

[tape ends]