Articles

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Our finest living artist schooled in goodness of the human spirit

(March 15, 2024) Published by Howden Insurance

This article profiles artist Frank Auerbach through the lens of his childhood rescue and education at Bunce Court School, led by Anna Essinger, who brought more than 900 children, many Jewish refugees, to safety between 1933 and 1946. It traces Auerbach’s escape from Nazi Germany in 1939, his formative years at Bunce Court, and the school’s educational philosophy. The article connects these experiences to Auerbach’s later artistic development and highlights his current exhibition. It also outlines Essinger’s legacy and the later lives of other Bunce Court pupils.

Peter F Kurer: an extraordinary life

by Jews and Quakers Conferences (July 18, 2017)

This resource highlights the life of Peter F. Kurer, who escaped Nazi persecution in 1938 with the help of Quakers in Manchester. It traces how this rescue shaped his lifelong commitments. The piece also showcases his efforts to document and teach about Quaker rescue during the Nazi era.

Quakers and the Kindertransport

Published by Quaker.org

A brief overview of how Quakers helped organize and support the Kindertransport, aiding Jewish children fleeing Nazi persecution and providing care, housing, and advocacy before, during, and after their arrival in Britain.

Ruth Morley and Lore Segal, Kindertransport Survivor Artists on Film Film Screening and Conversation with Director Melissa Hacker

(2025) Published by Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized, and Banned Art

An online program in the Flight or Fight: stories of artists under repression series, featuring a screening of My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering the Kindertransports and a live conversation between filmmaker Melissa Hacker and Rachel Stern. The event highlights the lives and artistic legacies of Kindertransport survivors Ruth Morley (née Birnholz), an Academy Award–nominated costume designer, and Lore Segal, acclaimed writer. Both women recount their experiences of antisemitism in Vienna, the trauma of November 1938, their Kindertransport journeys, and their postwar lives in the UK and North America.

Shattered Crystals

by Eve Kugler

A personal memoir website by Eve Kugler, a child survivor of Kristallnacht and the Holocaust, presenting her family’s story of persecution, separation, and survival. The site includes autobiographical chapters, historical context, and information about her later life and public speaking. Eve Kugler is the aunt of Janet Rosen, a second‑generation Kindertransport Association member.

Stories of Survival: Melissa Hacker on the Legacy of the Kindertransport

(2024) Published by classroom without borders

An event listing for a public talk by filmmaker and KTA Executive Director Melissa Hacker, whose mother was a Kindertransport survivor. The program highlights her work documenting Kindertransport histories.

The “300 Children Campaign” of 1939

by Sabrina Bossert (October 27, 2022); Published by Swiss National Museum

This article recounts the history of the 300-Kinder-Aktion, a 1939 Swiss rescue initiative that admitted mostly Jewish children from southern Germany shortly before World War II. Originally intended as a temporary stay before onward migration, the outbreak of war forced many children to remain in Switzerland for years, which ultimately saved their lives. The piece focuses on the story of Anneliese Laupheimer, a Jewish girl with an intellectual disability, tracing her journey from escape to long-term care, the fate of her family, and the postwar asylum and compensation processes. It also contextualizes the broader Swiss refugee policies and the role of Jewish aid organizations.

The 1938 Kindertransport saved 10,000 children but it’s hard to describe it as purely a success

(November 22, 2018) Published by The Conversation

A The Conversation article offering a historical analysis of the Kindertransport, highlighting both its life‑saving impact and the limitations, exclusions, and political constraints surrounding the rescue of 10,000 Jewish children before WWII. The article explains how the program operated, who was left out, and why the rescue cannot be viewed as wholly successful.

The Acculturation of the Kindertransport Children: Intergenerational Dialogue on the Kindertransport Experience

by Ruth Barnett (2004); Published by Purdue University Press

The article explores how Kindertransport refugees adapted to life in Britain and how their experiences are remembered and discussed across generations. It examines the emotional and cultural challenges the children faced as they adjusted to a new country, often without their parents, and how these experiences shaped their identities. Through intergenerational conversations, the article shows how memories of the Kindertransport are transmitted, reinterpreted, and sometimes contested within families, revealing both continuity and change in how this history is understood.

The Dunera and Queen Mary: Internees and Their Stories

Published by Stories from the Dunera and Queen Mary

A digital storytelling site expanding on the histories presented in Dunera Lives. It documents the lives of nearly 3,000 Dunera and Queen Mary internees brought to Australia in 1940, highlighting personal archives, photographs, artworks, and family‑submitted materials. The project aims to recover the largely undocumented experiences of the majority of internees whose stories remain absent from public records.

THE KINDERTRANSPORT AND REFUGEES

Published by Holocaust Memorial Day Trust

An overview from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust explaining the Kindertransport, outlining how the rescue was organised, who the children were, and what they experienced before, during, and after their arrival in Britain.

The Kindertransport in Context: Eva Paddock’s Story

by Dr. Amy Williams; Published by Hi-Story Lessons

A comprehensive educational article by Dr. Amy Williams that explains the Kindertransport in its historical, political, and emotional context, with a special focus on the life of Eva Paddock—one of the youngest children rescued from Prague in 1939. The article integrates newly rediscovered Kindertransport lists, archival sources, and survivor testimony to illuminate both the rescue effort and its long‑term legacy.

The Kindertransport to Great Britain – Stories from North Rhine-Westphalia

Published by Kindertransports from North Rhine-Westphalia

This website informs about the Kindertransport from North Rhine-Westphalia to Great Britain and offers individual biographical information on Kindertransport survivors.

The Kindertransport: history and memory.

by Jennifer Norton (2010)

Norton’s thesis provides a historical overview of the Kindertransport and examines how its memory has been shaped over time. She traces the rescue operation’s context, the experiences of the children involved, and the ways in which public remembrance, survivor narratives, and commemorative practices have constructed the Kindertransport as a historical event. The work combines archival research with memory studies to show how history and remembrance interact in shaping our understanding of the Kindertransport.

The resilience of the refugee: how Kindertransport memoirs complicate understandings of “resilience”

by Stephanie Homer (2019); Published by UCL Press

The article examines how Kindertransport memoirs challenge simplified ideas of “resilience.” By analysing autobiographical writings of former Kindertransport refugees, the author shows that their experiences do not fit neatly into heroic or triumphant narratives. Instead, the memoirs reveal emotional complexity: ongoing trauma, ambivalent identities, and the long‑term struggle to rebuild life after forced separation and displacement. The article argues that the popular use of “resilience” can obscure these nuanced realities and oversimplify refugee experiences.

Werner Rothschild: I felt like an American from day one

by Brigitte Hofacker; Published by Jüdisches Leben in Frankfurt

A biographical profile of Werner Rothschild, a Jewish child from Frankfurt who escaped Nazi Germany via the Kindertransport and later built a life in the United States. His story traces the rupture of forced displacement, the challenges of resettlement, and his eventual service in the U.S. Air Force.

What They Carried: The Kindertransport

by Michael D. Bulmash; Published by Kenyon College, Chalmers Library

A digital collection of Kindertransport-related artefacts and documents.