On Sunday May 12, 2024 (Mother’s Day holiday in the USA), Kindertransport survivor families, ages 92 years to six months, will meet in London. They’ve traveled from across the United States; from California and Washington State, New York, and Florida, with North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire all represented.
They will spend five days in England honoring the mothers, fathers, grandparents and great grandparents who made the unimaginable choice, exactly 85 years ago, in the months 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 if or when they would see them again, not knowing where or how their children would live. These children were among the more than 10,000 mostly Jewish children sent from Germany, Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia to safety in the United Kingdom.
Monday May 13 will be a highlight of the trip, as the travelers start at Liverpool Street Station, visit the Kindertransport memorials there, together with local Kinder and descendants, then take the train to Harwich, where the Kinder first set foot in safe haven, to view the recently installed memorial and talking bench, hosted by The Harwich Kindertransport Memorial and Learning Trust, and facilitated by Greater Anglia.
After the war, many Kindertransport survivors moved to North America, and there remains a strong family connection between Kindertransport generations in the USA and UK, reflected in the partnership between the Kindertransport Association, based in New York City, and the Association of Jewish Refugees in London as the two organizations co-host several events.
Over five very busy days, the travelers will learn about new Kindertransport research, and close the week with a farewell reception joined by Kindertransport generations from throughout the UK.