Articles

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‘Closeness’ and ‘distance’ in Holocaust survivors’ accounts of mother-child relations

by Angela Davis (2019); Published by Oral History Society

This article explores how Holocaust survivors narrate their relationships with their mothers, focusing on the emotional tension between closeness and distance. Drawing on forty oral‑history interviews with women who later lived in Britain and Israel, Davis examines how pre‑war family dynamics, wartime separation, migration, and later motherhood shaped survivors’ memories and self‑understanding. The study shows that mother‑child bonds were often marked by ambivalence, shifting attachments, and the long aftereffects of trauma.

‘We became British aliens’: Kindertransport refugees narrating the discovery of their parents’ fates

by Chad McDonald (2018); Published by Routledge

McDonald’s article explores how Kindertransport survivors describe the moment they learned the fate of their parents after the Holocaust. Through close analysis of survivor testimonies, she shows how these discoveries shaped their identities, their sense of belonging, and their understanding of what it meant to become “British aliens.” The article highlights the emotional complexity of reconstructing family histories marked by loss, silence, and fragmented information, and it examines how survivors narrate these experiences many decades later.

“I’ve been teaching for 30 years. Right now it’s important to talk about the Holocaust because anti-Semitism is growing all over the world,” says the daughter of Winton’s children

by Judita Matyášová (November 2, 2023); Published by HateFree Culture

This interview features Karen Kruger, daughter of one of the children rescued by Sir Nicholas Winton‘s Czech Kindertransport. She reflects on her family’s history and the urgency of Holocaust education amid rising global antisemitism.

“All emigrants are up to the physical, mental, and moral standards required”: A tale of two child rescue schemes

by Wendx Sims Schouten, Paul Weindling (February 8, 2022)

A scholarly article comparing two major British child-migration programs – the British Home Child scheme and the Kindertransport – with a focus on how ideas of mental and physical deficiency, eugenics, and biological determinism shaped decisions about which children were excluded or returned.

6 Stories Of The Kindertransport

Published by IWM

This article presents six individual Kindertransport stories through personal objects carried by Jewish children fleeing Nazi persecution in 1938–1939. Each vignette highlights one child’s journey, the item they brought with them, and the fate of their family—illustrating both the trauma of separation and the small material traces that preserved memory.

A Couple of June Bloomings

by Sophie Herxheimer (June 6, 2024)

This blog post by artist and poet Sophie Herxheimer announces two events she is participating in, reflects on her childhood memories of drawing, describes her ongoing practive and shares images from recent workshops. She mentions her recent comissions from the AJR and KTA, where she facilitated paired story-collecting sessions with first- and second-generation Kindertransport descendants and shaped their contributions into a collective poem-

A German Holocaust Survivor Steps Into the Box

(July 1, 2013) Published by James Kirchick

A narrative article about Marion House, a 90‑year‑old German‑born Kindertransport survivor, who unexpectedly becomes a participant in the Berlin Jewish Museum’s provocative exhibition “The Whole Truth: Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Jews.” The exhibit featured a three‑sided glass box in which a real Jewish person sat for two hours each day to answer visitors’ questions. Initially hesitant, Marion ultimately steps into the box—transforming the moment into a profound encounter between survivor and museum visitors.

A hundred years of curiosity

(August 27, 2024) Published by MIT Technology Review

A biographical feature on Josef Eisinger, a Kindertransport survivor whose life spans escape from Nazi‑controlled Austria, internment in Britain and Canada, military service, and a distinguished scientific career at Bell Labs and Mount Sinai. The article highlights his resilience, intellectual curiosity, and wide‑ranging pursuits in physics, molecular biology, history, art, and music. As the article notes, “Eisinger made it out of Austria thanks to the Kindertransport program” and later built a life marked by scientific achievement, creativity, and family.

Alexander Gordon

by Ora Gordon; Published by Wikipedia

A Wikipedia entry about the life of the Kindertransport survivor Alexander Gordon, written by his daughter Ora Gordon, the president of the KTA.

Alfred and Susanne Batzdorff

Published by Listening for a Change

This testimony pair traces the intertwined lives of Alfred and Susanne Batzdorff, German-Jewish refugees from Breslau. Alfred escaped on the Kindertransport in 1938.

Child refugees forever? The history of the Kindertransport of Britain 1938/39.

by Andrea Hammel (2010); Published by Verlag Barbara Budrich

Hammel’s article gives a compact historical overview of the Kindertransport to Britain and examines how the children’s experiences have been remembered, interpreted, and sometimes simplified over time. It traces the emotional, social, and political consequences of child‑only rescue, showing how the label “child refugee” can follow survivors throughout their lives.

Contesting the Kindertransport as a “Model“ Refugee Response.

by Jennifer Craig-Norton (2017); Published by Berghaan Books

Craig‑Norton’s article offers a concise but pointed critique of the idea that the Kindertransport should be celebrated as a flawless or universally applicable “model” refugee response. She shows how this narrative oversimplifies the historical reality: the Kindertransport was shaped by political hesitation, restrictive policies, and the painful separation of children from their families. By unpacking these complexities, the article encourages a more honest understanding of what actually happened.

Dr. Ruth Recalls Kindertransport at New Exhibit in Chelsea

by Stephanie Simon (May 9, 2019); Published by NY1

This news article reports on Kindertransport survivor Dr. Ruth Westheimer‘s visit to a Kindertransport exhibition in Chelsea, New York. It highlights her personal story, her memories of the journey and also includes description of the exhibition‘s artifacts.

Dr. Ruth Saved People’s Sex Lives. Now She Wants to Cure Loneliness.

by Sharon Otterman (November 9, 2023); Published by The New York Times

This New York Times article explores Governor Kathy Hochul‘s appointment of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the famed sex therapist and Kindertransport survivor, as New York State‘s first Honorary Ambassador to Loneliness.

Dunera & Queen Mary Association

Published by Dunera & Queen Mary Association

The official website of the Dunera Association, an organisation dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the Dunera and Queen Mary internees who were transported from Britain to Australia in 1940.

Dunera Boys

Published by National Museum of Australia

A concise historical overview from the National Museum of Australia about the Dunera Boys, the group of over 2,000 mainly Jewish refugees from Nazi‑occupied Europe who were deported by Britain to Australia aboard the HMT Dunera in 1940. The page outlines their arrest, transport, internment, and later contributions to Australian cultural and intellectual life.

Dunera: Stories of internment

Published by State Library of NSW

A page informing about the 2025 exhibion from the State Library of New South Wales about the Dunera internees. The page outlines the exhibition‘s focus.

Edith Stein‘s Niece: What Her Canonization Means for Catholic-Jewish Dialogue

by Susanne Batzdorff (February 13, 1999); Published by America Magazine

A reflective article by Susanne Batzdorff, a refugee from Breslau and later wife of Kindertransport survivor Alfred Batzdorff. She discusses her aunt Edith Stein‘s canonization and what it signifies for Catholic-Jewish relations. The article blends personal family memory with commentary on interfaith understanding.

Felix Weil To England on the Kindertransport

by Angelika Rieber; Published by Jüdisches Leben in Frankfurt

A biographical profile of Felix Weil, a Jewish boy from Frankfurt who escaped Nazi persecution by travelling alone to England on the Kindertransport. His story traces the rupture of leaving home after the November 1938 pogroms, the journey to safety, and the challenges of beginning a new life in Britain while separated from his family.

Fit, bright, not too Jewish – Kindertransport policy for which children to save from the Nazis revealed

by Rosa Doherty (April 17, 2019); Published by The Jewish Chronicle

A report from The Jewish Chronicle examining newly uncovered archival evidence showing that the Kindertransport rescue was shaped by discriminatory selection criteria. Contrary to the popular image of a purely humanitarian mission, documents reveal that British officials and some aid organisations preferred children who were “fit,” “intelligent,” and not “too Jewish”—criteria that excluded many of the most vulnerable. The article highlights how these findings complicate the narrative of the Kindertransport as an heroic rescue effort.