Larry Kitzler Larry Kitzler’s Jewish parents escaped from Nazi Germany, finding refuge in Northern Ireland at the beginning of World War II. Larry and his mother spent time on the Jewish refugee farm near Millisle, Co Down. Later they settled in the community in Millisle.

In this interview Larry was asked about his feelings of being an outsider, he described the following incident: “There was very little of feeling like an outsider. I can remember living in Beachmount Gardens and I remember the family at the end did think it was a funny idea to call their cat Juice. So whenever they were calling their cat Juice it was very like Jews. So anyway we knew that was going on but my mother said just forget about that and don’t let that annoy you and we didn’t let it annoy us, why should we? We just ignored it. That was about all and it was harmless I suppose. It was just people who thought it was funny. We didn’t think it was funny but it was harmless.”

Discuss in your group: What do you think of the behaviour of the family that gave this name to their cat? Do you agree with Larry’s opinion that it was “harmless”? Is this racism? How significant is it that Larry remembers this incident after such a long time? What do you think of the reaction of Larry and his mother? Would you have reacted like this? Discuss your experiences as an outsider.