From Here On, Greenwich & Docklands International Festival

Posted on September 10, 2024

An exhilarating, emotive performance about displaced children both historically and in a contemporary context, that invites individuals to actively combat anti-refugee policies.

As part of the Greenwich & Docklands International Festival, Good Chance and Gecko Theatre’s From Here On marks 85 years since the Kindertransport saved thousands of mostly Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Europe. Working in conjunction with Gecko’s professional company 40 young people from around the world perform an exhilarating piece that uses movement, dance, music, and performative storytelling to consider both historical and contemporary issues around the displacement of children.

The Kindertransport was initiated by individuals and charity organisations rather than governments, and this production itself invites social connection that speaks to these origins. It is free to attend, open to all, and non-ticketed. It is also performed exposed to the elements (but under a roof) at Liverpool Street Exchange, where the large company embrace the open space, filling it with resonant music and expansive ensemble work.

Intricately directed by Amit Lahav, this vibrant, enthusiastic and physical performance is not simply a retelling of the story of the Kindertransport, but a complex recognition of the ongoing displacement of young people across the world today. Using simple props such as suitcases, musical instruments, domestic furniture and symbolic costume, the show enacts the experiences of children who are victims of migration, often sent unaccompanied to seek sanctuary by desperate families.

The story has a non-linear quality, intermingling times, countries and cultures in a whirling representation of an unremittingly present problem. From the very start, international boundaries are deconstructed, as languages cross over and similar events occur across cultures: from Africa to the Middle East to Asia to Europe, children around the globe are forced from their homes by war and political power struggles. The diverse casting of performers of many ages and backgrounds works beautifully to underscore this key message.

Slick, considered choreography visually demonstrates how people can be brought together to help or hinder refugees, but also how people can be separated, becoming isolated and vulnerable. The ensemble vividly portrays the human pressures that disrupt domestic lives, moving in synchronicity to show the menacing danger of anti-refugee pressures from the masses, then dividing up to relate the pain of families endangered by circumstances beyond their control. Individuals become objectified and dehumanised as they are labelled ‘refugee’, with the Kindertransport number tag a reminder of the sheer quantity of people who still undergo this process to this day. Yet we’re simultaneously reminded of the urgent need for play and community, which give value and support in difficult circumstances. The performers’ movements are fluid and beautifully descriptive, telling poignant, affecting tales without words, and they are accompanied by highly atmospheric music and sound throughout.

From Here On not only draws an emotive, tangible understanding of the humanity of refugees but it also demonstrates how the compassion of individuals and communities has the power to make real change and help them. Supporting this, the production additionally calls out to audiences to add their names to Safe Passage International‘s call for Safe Routes, which seeks to combat the impact of anti-refugee policies around the world and make asylum systems more humane for unaccompanied children. Their message: as with the origins of the Kindertransport, acts of compassion from every individual can make a big difference and it’s up to each of us to do the right thing for those who cannot help themselves.

Related Website »

The Kindertransport Statues Of Liverpool Street Station

Posted on September 9, 2024

A group of Kindertransport children — Image: Matt Brown

85 years ago, Liverpool Street station welcomed hundreds of refugee children.

It’s not unusual to find a group of kids hanging around outside McDonald’s. These five are a bit different, however. They are dressed in the clothing of another age, laden down not with Roblox rucksacks, but traditional valises and satchels. These five represent the many hundreds of children who arrived at the station in the late 1930s. They were refugees of the Nazi regime, and Londoners welcomed them with open arms.

The Kindertransport (German for “Children’s transport”) rescued some 10,000 children from Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe, between November 1938 and September 1939. Most of them were Jewish. Parents could not accompany the children, and nobody over the age of 17 was eligible. It must have been terrifying.

The evacuation was done with the support of the British government, who waived visa requirements. Numerous organisations and individuals — notably Sir Nicholas Winton — worked hard to set up the transport, raise funds and find foster homes for the children.

Most of the young refugees arrived by boat in Harwich, Essex. From there, many were sent to converted holiday camps. Others boarded trains for London. It was here, in Liverpool Street station, that they were first introduced to foster parents. The evacuations continued right up to the eve of the second world war, but which point some 10,000 children had been saved.

The experience could be deeply traumatic. Some children were too young to fully understand why they had been separated from their parents. Many would never be reunited. Then they had to settle in an unfamiliar country, living with strangers who often could not speak their language.

Liverpool Street’s Kindertransport Statues

Kindertransport children statue liverpool street station — Image: Matt Brown

Liverpool Street’s role in this mass evacuation is commemorated by two sculptures. The one shown above is called Kindertransport – The Arrival. It depicts a group of five children, standing symbolically on a railway track, which carries the names of the cities from which they fled. This powerful sculpture was created by Frank Meisler and Arie Ovadia. Meisler was himself among the children evacuated from Gdańsk and transported to Liverpool Street. It stands in what is now named Hope Square, just outside the Liverpool Street entrance.

Two kindertransport children sculpture in liverpool street station — Image: Matt Brown

The second sculpture, down on the main concourse, is called Fur das Kind – Displaced. It shows two forlorn children waiting around with their luggage. The base carries a dedication to The Religious Society of Friends (The Quakers) who played an important role in arranging the Kindertransport.

This sculpture, by Flor Kent, is itself displaced. It originally stood up in Hope Square from 2003 to 2006, where the figures were accompanied by a giant glass suitcase filled with original objects from Kindertransport children. This proved unsuitable for an outdoor location. In 2006, it was taken apart, and reconfigured. Nicholas Winton himself re-dedicated the sculpture in 2011, when it was unveiled on the concourse. The objects from the glass suitcase are now in the Imperial War Museum.

We should note in closing that children were evacuated to other countries — including France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark — though in smaller numbers. Other memorials can be found along the Kindertransport routes, including at Harwich, Gdańsk, Berlin, Prague, Hamburg and Hook of Holland.

Liverpool Street’s statues are all too often used as ad hoc seating or for the lazy disposal of coffee cups. But they deserve our attention and respect. These are memorials to kindness, humanity and altruism, qualities we should remember today when considering the needs of refugees.

Related Website »

Dance performance outside Liverpool Street Station to mark 85 years since Kindertransport

Posted on September 6, 2024

A new dance-theatre production outside Liverpool Street Station this weekend will mark 85 years since the UK welcomed nearly 10,000 Jewish children on the Kindertransport.

Billed as “a powerful exploration of displacement, movement and being forced to find a new home”, the 35-minute show From Here On, by the theatre company Good Chance, brings history to life alongside global stories of children seeking safety now.

A spokesperson for Good Chance, said: “The fact that 2024 marks 85 years since the last train arrived at Liverpool Street Station, we realised that this is one of the last remaining anniversaries in which some of the Kinder will still be able to say: this happened to me, I was there.”

They added: “In this time of unprecedented global conflict, of increasing antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-immigration sentiment, the lessons we’ve already learnt from the past are being dramatically forgotten. It feels more important than ever to mark this courageous people’s act of safe passage and to understand what it can teach us about forced displacement and routes to safety now.”

t was important to us from the very beginning that young people particularly from Jewish and refugee/asylum seeking backgrounds were part of the cast, as they and their families have the lived experience of many of the stories being depicted,” said the spokesperson. “We’re so excited to be bringing these young people together to tell stories of safe passage through the shows – and equally excited that we’ll then be working with them to become changemakers in their own communities through our legacy programme to co-create their own talks and events.”

Directed by Israeli-born Amit Lahav, Gecko’s artistic director, the performers in the show use movement, both illustrative and more abstract, and emotion to tell the story. Instead of dialogue typically associated with theatre, audiences can expect to hear multiple languages and a “deeply evocative” soundtrack. This the creators hope will draw those from all backgrounds and nationalities to find a personal connection to the piece.

The company has previously told stories of displacement in large-scale theatre spaces and public outdoor settings in The Jungle and The Walk with Amal.

From Here On is on Friday 6 and Sunday 8 September, at 11am, 1.15pm, 3.30pm and 5.40pm.

Related Website »

From Here On musical performance at Liverpool Street Station

Posted on September 3, 2024

From Here On brings history to life alongside global contemporary stories of children seeking sanctuary now. Marking 85 years since the Kindertransport saved 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Europe, this show is a powerful exploration of displacement, movement and being forced to find a new home.

40 young people from around the world take to the stage alongside Gecko’s professional ensemble in an exciting large-scale production performed outside Liverpool Street Station, directed by Amit Lahav.

From Good Chance, creators of The Walk with Little Amal, and Gecko, who brought you Kin, From Here On is an artistic call for empathy, hope and unity. A thought-provoking piece that crosses borders, cultures and generations, told to inspire new acts of solidarity in partnership with Safe Passage International and build a safer future for all young people forced to flee their homes.

Related Website »

Man recalls seeing Hitler in Vienna on birthday

Posted on August 19, 2024

BBC/Mark Norman John Farago, an elderly man with white hair, wearing a black top — Mr Farago was taken to Brussels on Kindertransport trains, which took children out of Nazi-controlled areas to safer territory

A man who came to England during World War Two said that he can remember the moment that, “Hitler walked straight through the middle of Vienna during my ninth birthday party.”

John Farago, 95, who now lives in Deal, Kent, said that members of his Jewish family who he was living with in Austria were “apprehensive and fearful for their lives”.

Mr Farago was taken to Brussels in Belgium on Kindertransport trains, which took children out of Nazi-controlled areas and into safer territory.

He lived with a family in Brussels but came to Folkestone in 1940 and then moved to Amersham, in Buckinghamshire, with members of his family.

Speaking to BBC South East ahead of the 85th anniversary of the Kindertransport, Mr Farago said: “Most people were cheering for Hitler when he marched in. The people in the street were shouting for joy.

“I only learnt later in my life members of my family took their lives on the same day.”

He added that in November of 1938, during Kristallnacht in Vienna, people were fighting against Jews, and some were killed.

It was after Kristallnacht that the British government agreed that some Jewish children under the age of 17 could temporarily come to Britain to safety.

The first Kindertransport from Berlin in Germany departed for the UK on 1 December 1938. Over the coming nine months, thousands were rescued.

The last Kindertransport train to leave Germany departed from Berlin on 1 September 1939 – the same day that Germany invaded Poland. Britain declared war on Germany two days later.

‘I was lucky’

Mr Farago said: “I always felt I was lucky because I escaped. I was lucky because my parents escaped.

“My grandparents stayed behind in Vienna but then married a Hungarian, so she moved there.

“Some members of my family survived, but one of my father’s brothers was lost.”

Related Website »

Kindertransport refugees given warm reception at Mansion House

Posted on July 30, 2024

Eighty-five years since the Kindertransport brought the youngest victims of Nazi terror to safety in Great Britain, some of the former child refugees have been hosted by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of the City of London – just a stone’s throw from their arrival point.

Eight refugees and their descendants were welcomed to Mansion House, a short walk from Liverpool Street Station, which was where many of the Kinder had met their foster parents for the very first time.

Two of the Kinder, Renate Collins, 91, and Alexandra Greensted, 92, were rescued by the late Sir Nicholas Winton, who became famous for being one of the key organisers of the rescue of 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, recenty depicted in the film ‘One Life‘.

The Lady Mayoress, Elisabeth Mainelli addressing the Kinder at Mansion House (Photo: Adam Soller Photography)

Addressing the Kinder, the Lady Mayoress, Elisabeth Mainelli, said: “From its earliest beginnings the City of London has welcomed people of all faiths, beliefs, and nationalities – many of whom were fleeing persecution at home. The City played an important role in the Kindertransport story. Children arrived at Liverpool Street Station to begin their new lives in the UK.”

She later said it had been “an honour” to host Kinder and their families at the mayoral residence on the 85th anniversary year of the Kindertransport and that it had been “an opportunity to remember their bravery and celebrate their lives and legacies We are proud of the City’s Jewish heritage.”

Kinder Alexandra Greensted (left) and Maria Ault (Photos: Adam Soller Photography)

The Kindertransport was a unique humanitarian mission through which approximately 10,000 children, the majority of whom were Jewish, were rescued from Nazi-controlled territories, during the nine months prior to the outbreak of World War Two.

Danny Kalman, Kindertransport chair at the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), which arranged the event, said: “We are thankful to the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress for hosting the Kinder today. It seems fitting that only a short walk from here, at Liverpool Street Station, so many of those children started new lives, after unimaginable journeys against the backdrop of oppression, displacement, and war.

“It’s testament to their parents’ brave decision to send their precious offspring into the unknown, for a chance of freedom, that we see three generations of descendants here today. A chink of light in one of the darkest chapters in history and emblematic of AJR’s growing next generation membership, who enrol with us to celebrate and preserve their family heritage.”

Kind Renate Collins (centre) with her family at Mansion House (Photo: Adam Soller Photography)

As part of the visit, the Kinder were treated to a guided tour of Mansion House and learnt about The Freedom of the City. They also looked at memorabilia relating to Sir Nicholas Winton’s Freedom and discovered more about the history of Jewish migration in the City of London.

Related Website »

The Kindertransport rescue

Posted on June 17, 2024

After Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, the idea to rescue children from the Nazis and bring them to Britain is proposed to the British Government by two of World Jewish Relief’s founders, alongside other organisations, and a delegation of prominent British Jews.

Following a 45-minute appeal by the delegation directly to the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, the British Government agrees to permit temporary admission of vulnerable Jewish children who were at risk of Nazi persecution, under the financial guarantee of the UK Jewish community.

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the UK Jewish community, World Jewish Relief (then the Central British Fund) raises funds to cover the cost of travel for each of these children.

Within three weeks of Kristallnacht, the first 200 of these children begin their journey from Berlin to the UK. Most of these unaccompanied children travelled to Liverpool Street Station, meeting their volunteer foster parents for the first time, heralding the start of a new life.

Between December 1938 and September 1939, almost 10,000 children were brought to safety through the Kindertransport

Related Website »

KINDERTRANSPORT – RESCUING CHILDREN ON THE BRINK OF WAR AT ILLINOIS HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

Posted on June 7, 2024

SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS GALLERY

Through November 17, 2024

Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War showcases the astonishing rescue effort that, in only nine months, brought thousands of unaccompanied children from Nazi Europe to the United Kingdom. Through personal artifacts, stories, and firsthand testimony, those who lived through the “Kindertransport” program tell its history.

The exhibition’s thoughtful, artistic design draws visitors in and features 75 personal artifacts, including items from Illinois Holocaust Museum’s collection, Survivor testimonies, and quotes that chart the heart-wrenching decisions parents made in sending their children away to safety. Kindertransport serves as a powerful testament to both the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of honoring the legacy of those who endured unimaginable suffering.

Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War was created and organized by Yeshiva University Museum and the Leo Baeck Institute – New York | Berlin.

Related Website »

Kindertransport exhibit opens eyes at Illinois Holocaust Museum

Posted on June 4, 2024

(click link for video)

The Illinois Holocaust Museum has a new exhibit about a program during World War II that saved thousands of childrens’ lives. It was called the “Kindertransport.” FOX 32’s Natalie Bomke talks with a Chicagoan who said that transport saved his life.

Related Website »

Son of Holocaust survivor returns to Austrian school which expelled his father for being Jewish

Posted on May 24, 2024

Michael Bibring continues to share the testimony of his late father Harry Bibring who fled the Nazis on the Kindertransport

Michael-Bibring-with-students-from-the-school. Pic: HET

More than 70 students from a grammar school in Austria heard from the son of Holocaust survivor and former student of the school, the late Harry Bibring.

Amerling Gymnasium (grammar) school in Vienna met Michael Bibring, who continues to share his father’s testimony with schools through the Holocaust Educational Trust’s (HET) outreach programme, last week.

Harry, who passed away in 2019, was expelled from the school in April 1938 at the age of 12, following the German annexation of Austria, known as the Anschluss.

Ostracized by his non-Jewish friends, he was forced to transfer to a basic secondary school designated to accommodate Jewish children.

A-card-from-the-school-including-a-picture-of-Harry-Bibring-BEM.

Harry fled Nazi occupation and travelled to the UK on the Kindertransport in 1939. He dedicated the later years of his life to sharing his testimony.

In 2005, Harry, who lost both his parents in the Holocaust, returned to the school for the first time to speak to the students and returned a year later to unveil a memorial to remember all the former Jewish students who were expelled in 1938. The fates of many of them remain unknown.

Michael Bribing said: “This was an extraordinary event. To go back to the school that dad was expelled from and speak to their students about the horrors that led to that expulsion was so rewarding and emotional. Even more so because my dad had spoken at that school many times and students who had listened to him came in numbers when we unveiled the Stolpersteine five years ago.

“HET, my dad and I, were and are, firm believers in education being so important in fighting prejudice and intolerance and this whole experience underlined the importance of that in a way I found so moving – hopefully there will be opportunities to do it again”

Following the testimony, Michael was presented with a copy of his father’s school report from 1937.

Related Website »

Over 70 family members of Kindertransport children visit Harwich

Posted on May 21, 2024

FAMILY members of Jewish child refugees who arrived in the UK through the Harwich port during the Kindertransport movement in the lead up to the Second World War were welcomed to the town this week.

The Kindertransport scheme saw the United Kingdom take in nearly 10,000 children of mostly Jewish origin from Germany in the nine months leading up to the war.

The vast majority of the rescued children arrived at Harwich unaccompanied by their parents – most of whom died in the Holocaust.

The first Kindertransport children arrived at Harwich on December 2 1938, with some taken to London and others taken to local holiday camps such as Dovercourt Bay.

Nearly 2,000 of the mostly Jewish children spent their first weeks at the Dovercourt holiday camp.

72 family members of the Kindertransport visited Harwich this week for a day-event organised by the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) and the Kindertransport Association (KTA), assisted by the Harwich Kindertransport Memorial & Learning Trust (HKMLT).

The group visited an exhibition about Leslie Brent who was part of the Kindertransport

The group included 40 Americans and was accompanied by Mike Karp, AJR chief executive, Danny Kalman, chairman of AJR Kindertransport, Susan Harrod, AJR events and outreach manager, and Melissa Hacker, a Kindertransport film maker and editor.

Welcoming the group was HKMLT chairman Debbie Patterson Jones and the HKMLT director and High Steward of Harwich, Sue Daish.

The group visited an exhibition at the Electric Palace about the life of ‘Kindertransportee’ Leslie Brent who arrived on the first transport and stayed at the Dovercourt camp for several weeks.

This was followed by a visit to the memorial statue Safe Haven on Harwich Quay and a traditional lunch of fish and chips at the Pier Hotel.

The group also listened to refugee children’s recollections on the audio bench in the Mayor’s Garden and were invited to the Harwich Museum for an illustrated talk by curator David Whittle about the role of Harwich people in the Kindertransport story.

On behalf of the group, many of whom related very moving family histories, Susan Harrod thanked Debbie Patterson Jones and Sue Daish “for a very interesting, informative visit and successful day out”.

Related Website »

JEC Middle School Remembers

Posted on May 18, 2024

In light of recent current events, Jewish students learning about the Holocaust and its background is more important than ever. This spring, students at JEC Middle School have been deeply immersed in the study of the Holocaust, with each grade focusing on a different aspect.

Sixth grade students focused on individual stories of survivors with whom they had a bond. Unfortunately, none of the students had a living survivor to interview. Those who bore witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust are slowly fading out, placing the burden of remembering on the shoulders of the next generation. The students interviewed the children or grandchildren of survivors instead, learning their incredible stories of survival. They researched the key points of the stories and then used AI technology available on MyHeritage.com to have the survivors’ stories come to life.

Seventh graders learned about the Kindertransport. They then created fictitious stories about a child who went on the Kindertransport. These poignant stories incorporated what they learned about this difficult time with their own creativity. The authors needed to put themselves in the shoes of both the children and their parents who made the desperate decision to send their children to a foreign land. The students created ebooks telling the story of a child on the Kindertransport.

Eighth graders focused on the Jewish communities that were decimated by the Holocaust. The presentations showed what life in these communities was like before the war, relayed what happened to those who lived there and, finally, what life is like there today. The students then tried to imagine what the communities would have looked like had there been no war. To that end, the students used 3D printing technology to design and create a fictional community that they named Ir HaTikvah V’Hazikaron, City of Hope and Remembrance.

This exceptional unit culminated on Yom HaShoah. The students first presented their work to fellow JEC students during the day, and then shared their work with their parents in the evening in a beautiful and meaningful exhibition. The event began with a student-led reading of Tehillim, and then representatives from each grade explained their work. The event space was filled with parents and grandparents, all taking in the moment with pride and tears.

Related Website »

RUTH LEON RECOMMENDS… LENORE PIANO TRIO – WIGMORE HALL

Posted on May 18, 2024

Lenore Piano Trio – Wigmore Hall

Click here for tickets (£20 each)

The Kindertransport was a unique humanitarian rescue programme which ran between November 1938 and September 1939. Approximately 10,000 children, the majority of whom were Jewish, were sent from their homes and families in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia to Great Britain.

A prime mover in this rescue effort was Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker, not Jewish, who travelled to Czechoslovakia, saw the plight of Jewish families desperate to save their children even if they could not save themselves from the Nazis, and when he returned to Britain led the campaign to insist that the British government help the children.

He said, “Now I have seen it, I cannot unsee it”. For as long as it was possible through the war, he worked to fulfill the legal requirements of bringing the children to Britain and finding homes and sponsors for them. Thousands are alive today as a result of his efforts.

A recent movie, One Life, tells this moving story.

We can still catch a commemorative concert marking the 85th anniversary of the Kindertransport, even though it took place yesterday. The Leonore Piano Trio, Benjamin Nabarro (violin), Gemma Rosefield (cello) and Tim Horton (piano), are performing a memorial concert programme reflecting the music, culture and heritage of the German, Austrian and Czech roots of the rescued children.

Wigmore Hall, bless them, are keeping this fine concert on their website for 30 days so we can all watch it.

Related Website »

RVCC Institute of Holocaust and Genocide Studies to Hold Virtual Summer Book Series

Posted on May 16, 2024

The Raritan Valley Community College Institute of Holocaust and Genocide Studies will present a virtual Summer Book Series beginning in June. The series, which is free of charge and open to the public, will begin June 14, 2024 with author Lilly Maier. The segments will be held via Zoom webinars and registration is required.

The following programs will feature discussions of extraordinary novels that explore the past:

June 14, 10:00am-11:00am: Arthur and Lilly: The Girl and the Holocaust Survivor by Lilly Maier. What do a 75-year-old, Los Angeles-based rocket engineer and an 11-year-old schoolgirl from Austria have in common? Not much at first glance, but Arthur and Lilly influenced each other’s lives in a fateful way. In 1939, Arthur’s Jewish parents sent their son abroad on a so-called Kindertransport (“children’s transport”), hoping to save him from the Holocaust. The separation is a traumatic experience for the 10 year old. Although he is rescued—after traveling from Austria via France to the United States—his family members are murdered by the Nazis and he never sees them again. Sixty-five years later, during a visit to his parents’ former apartment in Vienna, Austria, Arthur Kern meets 11-year-old Lilly Maier. It’s a decisive encounter for both, one that not only shapes Lilly’s future, but also leads to Arthur receiving a long-lost legacy from his parents. The book offers a moving tale of two lives that fatefully cross paths, as well as insight into a profound Holocaust story: the rescue of hundreds of Jewish children to America on a Kindertransport. To register for the June 14 discussion, visit https://rb.gy/9gd8jw.

July 19, 10:00am-11:00am, The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan. Set in World War II in London, The Underground Library shares the story of three women: Juliet Lansdown, Bethnal Green Library’s new deputy librarian, discovers that the library isn’t the bustling hub she’s expecting. So, she becomes determined to prove herself and breathe life back into the place. Katie Upwood is thrilled to be working at the library, although she’s only there until she heads off to university in the fall. But after the death of her beau on the front line and amid tumultuous family strife, she finds herself harboring a life-changing secret. And Sofie Baumann, a young Jewish refugee, who came to London on a domestic service visa only to find herself working as a maid for a man who treats her abominably. So, she escapes to the library when she can, finding friendship in the literary community and aid locating her sister, who is still trying to flee occupied Europe. To register for the July 19 book discussion, email michelle.edgar@raritanval.edu.

August 16, 10:00am-11:00am, The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson. It’s 1950s Philadelphia, and 15-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to become the first in her family to attend college. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back into poverty and desperation. Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite, wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been wanting. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done. With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.To register for the August 16 book discussion, email michelle.edgar@raritanval.edu.

Related Website »

Families recreate Kindertransport journey

Posted on May 16, 2024

Stuart Woodward/BBC Kindertransport relatives in Harwich, gathered around the Kindertransport statue

Dozens of families of children who came to the UK seeking safety from Nazi Germany before the start of World War Two have recreated part of the Kindertransport journey.

The first children arrived at the port of Harwich in Essex on 2 December 1938.

Family members travelled between London Liverpool Street and Harwich on Monday as part of the commemorations.

Many said they were thankful for the project saving their loved ones.

What was Kindertransport?

The Kindertransport mission unfolded between November 1938 and September 1939, just before World War Two broke out.

It helped 10,000 children to escape from parts of Europe controlled by the Nazis.

The children had to travel alone, often leaving behind parents and other family members they would never see again.

Trains left Germany, Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia full of children as young as five years old up to the age of 17.

Memorial statues have been placed at London Liverpool Street station and Harwich – both key points where children arrived.

‘Walking in their footsteps’

Stuart Woodward/BBC Brian and Kortney Spencer, brother and sister — Siblings Brian and Kortney Spencer travelled from California to honour their grandmother Leisel, who was 16 when she came to the UK on a Kindertransport

Siblings Brian and Kortney Spencer’s grandmother, Liesel Spencer, arrived into Harwich from Germany aged 16.

Mr Spencer said: “Being able to feel like I’m walking in my grandmother’s footsteps when she came here, that’s really special to me.”

Ms Spencer, who brought her daughter Aila from California, recalled her grandmother telling her that when she left her parents she said goodbye believing they would be reunited one day in the United States.

However, like many Kindertransport children, she never saw them again.

As a mother herself now, Ms Spencer said she “can’t imagine” what it must have been like for the parents.

She said: “I think it’s so special [to be here]. “Now I’m a mom too, I have the opportunity to pass this to my baby and I’m sad she can’t meet my grandmother but we can pass on her stories.”

‘People shouldn’t forget’

Stuart Woodward/BBC Lady Linda Reich, widow of the late Sir Erich Reich — Lady Linda Reich said it was important the legacy of the Kindertransport continued

Sir Eric Reich came to the UK on a Kindertransport from Austria when he was four years old.

Sir Eric, of the Association of Jewish Refugees, died in 2022 but his widow said he believed in continuing to educate people about the project.

Lady Linda Reich said: “It saved his life obviously and he never saw his parents again.

“His father died in Auschwitz and his mother, he was never able to find out what happened.

“It’s important and very special [to be here] and I feel it’s really important the legacy continues,” she added.

‘A remarkable story’

Stuart Woodward/BBC Michael Karp, chairman of the Association of Jewish Refugees — Michael Karp said Harwich’s part in the Kindertransport project had been “under-appreciated” previously

Michael Karp, chairman of the Association of Jewish Refugees, said he essentially owed his life to the Kindertransport which saved his mother from Nazi occupied Austria in June 1939.

He said: “It’s a remarkable story what happened with those 10,000 kids in the face of horrendous humanity, at least there was some decency.

“Ordinary people got together to secure the safety of the kids and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that and I’m eternally grateful.”

He said he was glad to see Harwich’s role in the project remembered having been “underreported and underappreciated over the years”.

Related Website »

Kindertransport tale of friends reunited 85 years later

Posted on May 16, 2024

When Daisy Holzapfel arrived at her new school in 1939, she had just left her whole life behind.

The 14-year-old was one 10,000 unaccompanied Jewish children who fled Nazi Europe on what became known as the Kindertransport.

The headteacher of the Dorchester school asked local girl Louise to help the newcomer settle in – and the pair became firm friends.

In later interviews Daisy said she was very happy and felt welcome at the school even though “they had never seen a foreigner before”.

“I had no regrets, I didn’t feel homesick, and I didn’t want to speak German. All I wanted to be was an English schoolgirl, in my school uniform, riding my bicycle.”

Ham & High: Daisy and Louise were in the same class at Dorset County School for Girls in 1939 Daisy and Louise were in the same class at Dorset County School for Girls in 1939 (Image: credit: Daisy Hoffner/BeaLewkowiczarchive)

Interviewed together years later, Louise says: “I knew she came from Berlin and the family had to leave everything behind, which seemed to me terrible, but I didn’t know what Jewish was living in Dorchester. I remember she wanted to lose her German accent, and we would walk home together and practise words.”

With help from Daisy’s Quaker sponsors, her parents Kurt and Erna managed to leave Berlin and join her in Dorset.

But when the British Government designated all German-born residents ‘enemy aliens,’ the family had to move from the idyllic village of Milton Abbas.

Kurt was interned in several enemy alien camps, and Daisy and her mother lived in boarding houses around Finchley Road. Meanwhile Louise joined the Wrens at 18 and served in Scotland, where she was responsible for explosives.

Ham & High: Daisy and Louise as teenagers Daisy and Louise as teenagers (Image: Daisy Hoffner/BeaLewkowiczarchive)

The girls lost touch until Daisy and Louise ended up living on the same Belsize Park street in the 1970s.

But for 26 years they were unaware of the connection because Louise had changed her hated first name and got married, and they didn’t recognise each other.

As Daisy said years later: “Somebody from deepest Dorset ending up in Glenilla Road seemed too unlikely!”

Oral historian, photographer and filmmaker Dr Bea Lewkowicz interviewed both women in 2003, which she has now turned into a film: Daisy and Louise.

She said: “Louise was the English girl asked to take care of Daisy when she arrived at Dorchester County School for Girls. They became close friends for nine months until Daisy moved to London, and they lost contact.

“Years later these two women happened to live on the same street for years and years without recognising each other – they were both very active Belsize residents, and Louise even did some gardening for Daisy, but the topic never came up.

“It was only when Louise invited Daisy to a dinner party that they realised they had been to the same school. After that they became very close friends again until the end.”

Bea herself grew up in Germany, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors and happened to live opposite Daisy, who died in 2019. Louise died in 2014 at the age of 90.

As part of commemorations to mark 85 years since the Kindertransport, she is giving a talk at Belsize Library on Thursday May 16 which will be attended by Daisy’s daughter Michele Hoffner, and Louise’s son, Tom Pennington Legh.

“I interviewed them together to tell their extraordinary story. I have been sitting on this footage for many years and finally made this film,” says Bea.

“How it’s possible to be neighbours and never talk about the past is amazing.

“But the film is a beautiful record of a Kindertransport and the English girl who helped her to start a new life, who found each other again many years later and stayed neighbours until the end of their lives.

“It was my privilege to interview them and tell their story.”

As co-founder of the AJR Refugee Voices Testimony Archive Bea has captured interviews with 300 Holocaust survivors including 85 who arrived on the Kinderstransport.

“It’s ongoing,” she adds. “I am still interviewing people all over the UK including a 103-year-old. People still want to give their testimony.”

Related Website »

Kindertransport refugees receive standing ovation at 85th anniversary concert

Posted on May 14, 2024

Kinder, among them Lady Grenfell-Baines, Lord Alf Dubs and Bronia Snow, hailed as “national treasures” at Wigmore Hall event.

The concert was hosted by renowned actor Tom Conti, who recently portrayed the German-Jewish refugee Albert Einstein in the film Oppenheimer.

Kindertransport refugees have attended an emotional commemorative concert to mark the 85th anniversary of their arrival in Britain.

Milena Grenfell-Baines – today Lady Grenfell-Baines – was among those at the concert organised by the Association of Jewish Refugees.

She still has the leather-bound autograph book her grandfather gave her the night she got on the Kindertransport. The message he wrote told her to be “a faithful daughter of the country you’re leaving and of your parents and grandfather who love you very much.”

Milena left Prague on 31 July 1939 at the age of nine along with her sister who was three-and-a-half. Most of her family were killed by the Nazis but her father and mother managed to escape to England, where the family were eventually reunited.

It was only 40 years later that Milena discovered exactly how she’d survived the war. She was one of the 669 children saved by Sir Nicholas Winton on a train that left Prague days before the Nazis invaded, a story that was recently depicted in the film One Life starring Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Held in London’s Wigmore Hall, the concert was part of a series of events commemorating the 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia who were given refuge in Britain in 1938-39.

Several surviving Kinder – among them Lord Alf Dubs and Bronia Snow BEM – attended the concert and received a standing ovation from a 500-strong audience as they were hailed as “national treasures”.

Sir Nicholas Winton’s son Nick and grandson Laurence were also present. Nick told Jewish News: “There are sadly not many [Kinder] left but it’s lovely to see the ones who are still active and engaged. Sadly, the threat to people still goes on. We’re seeing almost a carbon copy of what happened in Czechoslovakia in 1939 happening today in Ukraine and there are other countries where people are under threat for their lives and desperate to be rescued.”

The concert was hosted by renowned actor Tom Conti, who recently portrayed the German-Jewish refugee Albert Einstein in the film Oppenheimer.

Speaking to Jewish News about his conversations with survivors, Conti said: “One is just over-awed by their courage. The tragedy of the kids who got out and never saw their mums and dads again is unspeakably awful.”

The music, which included pieces by Beethoven, Haydn, and Novák, was performed by the internationally acclaimed Leonore Piano Trio. It was specially chosen to represent the countries from which the refugees came.

Michael Newman, chief executive of the AJR, explained that “these are pieces of music that people would have been listening to in their homes. They may have attended concerts with their families and so it’s quite evocative and symbolic of that.”

He added: “We’re honouring the people that made it possible. The families of the Kinder who sent them away to the unknown and the Kinder who are still with us and their families.”

Newman estimates that around 100 Kinder are still alive in the UK today. Many are still involved in school visits and oral history projects to ensure their stories are not forgotten. As Lady Grenfell-Baines says, “Time goes on and soon this will all be history. We’re still around to tell the tale.

Related Website »

Glasgow children to be helped by a city firm started 70 years ago by a WW2 refugee

Posted on May 14, 2024

A Scots business founded by a refugee who fled Nazi oppression on a Kindertransport train is celebrating 70 years in business, by helping 70 disadvantaged children in Glasgow.

Fred Weiss was born at a time of turbulent politics in Europe, and to a family later decimated by the holocaust.

By the time he was a teen, he was living with his mother in Vienna, officially classed as a ‘stateless child’. Just months before the Second World War broke out the now 17-year-old Fred was granted papers to leave as an adult volunteer, supervising dozens of children travelling alone on refugee trains and ships bound for the UK.

Ambition and growth

Sponsored by the Caplan family in Giffnock, Glasgow, young Fred began working for a bedding company, a move that was to define his entire career in the city.

As one family member later recalled: “When they offered him the chance to buy 49 per cent of that business, he knew it was time to trust himself and go out on his own.”

Elite Bedding Company, now Elite Contract Furniture, the firm Fred set up in the 1950s, is still a family run business today, and a major player in the contract bedding and furniture market in Scotland. Its work graces the Radisson Red Sky Bar, the Royal Scots Private Members Club, and numerous hospitality and healthcare enterprises around Scotland.

Over the years daughters Betsy and Eleanor, his sons-in-law, his wife Beatrice and other family members have worked in the firm. They have been part of a loyal staff, many of whom worked with the firm until their own retirement.

His daughter Betsy Winston, now managing director in the firm, and grandson Greg are thrilled to carry on Fred’s legacy.

Betsy said: “It’s very unusual to have a family firm last this long, and still be in the same hands. The average length of time a UK business exists is just eight years, and here we are, 70 years on and honouring dad’s achievements in a way he would have loved.”

Working with local charities

Fred-The-Bed, as he was affectionately known, was hugely involved in charitable works in and around Glasgow, and donated beds to needy families for decades.

This year, working with Cash for Kids and supported by St Mirren Women Football Club, which Elite sponsors, the firm is donating 70 beds and mattresses to families in the city to mark the anniversary.

Elite director Greg added: “My grandfather’s own dad died very young, and Fred had a tough beginning, which is perhaps why he always wanted to help children in particular.

“All of his mother’s family were to die in the holocaust, and he restarted life in Glasgow with nothing. He worked incredibly hard to learn a trade then build up his business, and always said that one thing would prove he had been a success – owning a Rolls Royce. He went on to have two (giving up his beloved cigarettes on the day he got the keys, so they never ended up smelling of smoke!)”

Fred died in Glasgow at the age of 89, after enjoying a retirement spent partly in his beloved Majorca.

Making a difference

Betsy added: “We are incredibly proud of him, and the business he built up. It shows that a young refugee, given opportunities and driven by ambition can succeed in the world, make a worthwhile contribution to their new community and leave a meaningful legacy.

“As Elite Contract Furniture celebrates its 70th anniversary, we are not only doing something fitting in dad’s memory, but looking forward to the years to come.”

She added: “We’ve had challenges in recent years – Brexit massively increased our costs, and our customer base largely closed down over Covid – but as a family we are proud of how the business and our customers have rallied.”

Discover more about Elite Contract Furniture here.

Related Website »

Kindertransport families mark 85th anniversary with trip to England

Posted on May 10, 2024

On May 12, 43 Kindertransport survivor families from across the United States, ages 92 years to six months, will meet in London. They will spend five days in England honoring their forebears, who made the unimaginable choice, 85 years ago, before the outbreak of World War II, to send their children away to safety.

These brave mothers and fathers said goodbye to their children, not knowing when or if they would see them again, not knowing where or how they would live. The Kindertransport youngsters were among the more than 10,000 mostly Jewish children sent from Germany, Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia to safety in the United Kingdom.

The travelers will visit the Kindertransport memorials in Liverpool, together with local Kinder and descendants. In Harwich, they will view the recently installed memorial and talking bench, hosted by the Harwich Kindertransport Memorial and Learning Trust, and facilitated by Greater Anglia.

The group will learn about new Kindertransport research via seminars at the Wiener Holocaust Library and the Austrian Cultural Forum, tour the Holocaust galleries at the Imperial War Museum in London, and attend receptions at the German and Austrian embassies. Kindertransport generations from throughout the U.K. will join them at a closing reception.

Several of the participants will stay on to do family history research and meet with members of the foster families who took in their Kindertransport parents.

Related Website »

Learn About the Heroic Rescue Effort that Saved Thousands of Children During the Holocaust

Posted on May 10, 2024

Illinois Holocaust Museum’s special exhibition, Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War, will run from May 19 – November 17, 2024.

As the situation worsened in Nazi Germany, parents were faced with a difficult decision: send their children alone to a foreign land in the hopes of finding a better life or keep their family together while facing increasing repression. In just nine months, thousands of unaccompanied Jewish children under the age of 17 were sent from Nazi-occupied Europe to safety in the United Kingdom. Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War, opening at Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center on May 19, showcases this astonishing rescue effort through personal artifacts, stories, and firsthand testimony. The exhibition will run through November 17, 2024.

“I received a ticket for the Kindertransport on my tenth birthday and left Germany a week later,” says Holocaust Survivor Ernie Heimann. “It assured my place with the 10,000 children who were rescued from Nazi-occupied Europe instead of among the one-in-a-half million children who were murdered in the Holocaust.”

Created and organized by Yeshiva University Museum and the Leo Baeck Institute – New York | Berlin, the exhibition is arranged into eight sections, beginning in the days and months following Kristallnacht when Europe’s Jewish population could no longer deny the threat of Nazism. The Kindertransport is brought to life by presenting objects that the children brought with them to the United Kingdom; a map detailing the transport routes; letters between parents and children; audio testimonies by survivors; and quotes charting the heart-wrenching decisions parents made in sending their children away to safety. The Museum will expand the exhibition to feature local stories of those saved by the Kindertransport.

“Illinois Holocaust Museum is excited to share this lesser-known story of bravery and resilience,” says CEO Bernard Cherkasov. “As part of our mission, we look to share the full scope of what happened during the Holocaust, including the trials, tragedies, and survival of the children saved by the Kindertransport. While the majority of their parents were murdered in the Holocaust, it was thanks to passionate upstanders that these children were able to survive.”

Details about the exhibition are available here.

About Illinois Holocaust Museum
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center honors the Survivors and victims of the Holocaust and transforms history into current, relevant, and universal lessons in humanity. Through world-class exhibitions and programs, the Museum inspires individuals and organizations to remember the past and transform the future. The Museum is open Wednesday through Monday from 10:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.ilholocaustmuseum.org or call 847-967-4800.

Related Website »

2026 (3)
2025 (67)
2024 (55)
2023 (76)
2022 (73)
2021 (68)
2020 (81)
2019 (63)
2018 (44)
2017 (61)
2016 (31)
2015 (35)
2014 (33)
2013 (72)
2012 (25)
2011 (47)
2010 (74)
2009 (92)
2008 (28)
2007 (1)
2006 (1)
2005 (2)
2004 (1)
2000 (1)
1999 (1)
1983 (1)

Uncategorized