Rabbi Mendy Korer and Islington mayor, Councillor Anjna Khurana, at the launch of the Jewish Heritage Trail [Chabad Islington]

SUSI Liebermann fled to England after the Nazis arrived in her Austrian homeland, only to end up in Holloway Prison – interned as an Austrian – when the Second World War broke out, separated from her children and her husband.

Ms Liebermann died in 1982 but her story is now being told as part of a newly-launched Jewish Heritage Trail focusing on the lives of Jews who came to this borough over the past 300 years.

Rabbi Mendy Korer of Chabad Lubavitch, Islington’s first synagogue since the last one closed in 1967, said the trail’s creation was something he always wanted to do.

“Ever since moving to Islington in 2011, discovering the history of Jews that lived in the borough was always something of interest,” he said, explaining how it wasn’t until funding came from the Mayor of London’s office two years ago, through his Untold Stories projects, that the synagogue was able to do something “quite significant”.

Ms Liebermann’s story is one that touched Rabbi Korer as she, like his grandmother, was later interned on the Isle of Man, where she was reunited with her children and husband Ludwig.

“I wondered, did these people cross paths possibly?” he said.

Another intriguing character highlighted in the Jewish Trail is Sarina Nathan, a Jew from Italy who married a German and in the early 1940s moved to Clerkenwell’s Myddelton Square. Over a 20-year period she had 12 children, and she also become a devoted disciple of Giuseppe Mazzini, the architect of Italian unification.

Rabbi Korer is also fascinated that not one Jewish prime minister, but two, had their roots in the borough. Benjamin Disraeli had many Islington connections, including a rumour that he was born in a doctor’s surgery in Upper Street, but it is the lesser-known life of Julius Vogel which intrigues.

Born in Finsbury Square in 1835, he moved to Australia during the Gold Rush before settling in New Zealand where, in 1873, he became prime minister.

He held the position until 1875 when he was knighted, and again, briefly, in 1876. He is best known today for his advocacy of Maori reconciliation and women’s suffrage, and for a major public works scheme.

The Heritage Trail was unveiled last month at Islington Town Hall, and features a wealth of personal stories over three centuries as well as 12 signs attached to lampposts across the borough.

Referring to world events dominating the news, Rabbi Korer said: “Launching this project, especially as we are at such a delicate time in society, is an opportune moment for Jews of Islington to feel welcome and know that this borough belongs to you, this is your home.”

Islington mayor Councillor Anjna Khurana said: “The trail celebrates the rich Jewish history in Islington and shares stories of Jews that lived, worked and thrived in our borough over the past 300 years.

“Stories include people from all walks of life and background, coming from different Jewish origins, prime ministers to musicians, prisoners to refugees.”