Rescuing Jewish Children During Difficult Times

July 10^th 1939

Dear Journal,

            Another stressful day as a social worker in Berlin! I am part of a Kindertransport organization. We are transporting Jewish children from Europe to Great Britain. It is stressful watching the children being separated from their parents. They aren’t even aware of how much we are saving them. If they were to stay in Europe, the Nazis would probably hurt them and take them away. Even though they are being separated from their families, their lives are becoming SO much better. I was separated from my wife and child because I had to move to Auschwitz  for my job. It was tragic; I miss them so much. But at least I get to help children escape from the Nazis. I am happy that I can make a difference in Jewish childrens lives. I am giving them new guardians so that they can live a healthy and safe life away from the Nazis. The Nazis are taking away Jew’s rights and soon they will be doomed. I put the Jewish children on trains and then they move onto boats. They are usually excited and nervous. They are excited to go to a whole new country! It is like a vacation. But the children are also really nervous because they don’t know where they are going. It is upsetting to watch the children say goodbye to their families but it is good to know that their life will be better this way. They will be safe and secure. I am glad that I am part of the Kindertransport organization.

Sincerely,

Norbert Wollheim

I Must Capture The Jews

June 18th 1939

Dear Journal,

I took away four Jews to concentration camps today. I don’t feel bad sending them away to die because they are horrible creatures. I hate the Jews. They deserve to be killed because they made us lose the World War. They need to be punished. A few days ago I heard about some kind of escape program the Jews were participating in. It’s called Kindertransport. Another Nazi told me that this Kindertransport organization transport Jewish kids from here, Europe, to Great Britain. This is so that we, Nazis, can’t catch the Jews and send them away to concentration camps. I cannot believe this is happening! We cannot let the Jews escape! They all need to suffer for what they did. It’s the Jews fault for us losing World War! And now they try to run away from us, Nazis! The absolute nerve! If I see a Jewish child, I am taking him or her away, regardless of what the parents say. I will take the parents away too! Nazis must obey Hitlers orders to kill the Jews. They should suffer without care or food in the concentration camps. Someone needs to stop the Kindertransport organization; we cannot let any more Jews be free.

Sincerely,

Helmut Meier

Jewish Child Leaves For Great Britain

August 3^rd 1939

Dear Journal,

My uncle wrote to us from Berlin, Germany. He’s the uncle that had to move for his job which is representing the Trnava Spa. In my uncle’s letter, he wrote that the Nazis were harming the Jews. He also wrote that it would be unsafe for me and my two sisters, Josephine and Ellie, to live in Bratislava. Bratislava is a village in Czechslovakia. My sisters and I would always go by the forest near our house and we picked wild flowers and strawberries for my family’s farm. Anyways, my uncle wrote that he thinks that we should be part of a Kindertransport system. I didn’t exactly know what this means, but my parents agreed for me and my sisters to be sent away on the Kindertransport. My parents thought that my sisters and I would be safer in another country. I said goodbye to my parents and my best friends Hilda and Maria. I was sad, but not depressed, because I didn’t really understand what was going on. Everyone on the train thought of it as a vacation, so I was excited. I was also a little scared because I didn’t know where I was going.

 I ended up in Great Britain. When we first arrived, I was so excited. We were wearing tags and I waited so long for my name to be called. Once it was, we were assigned guardians, since we no longer lived with our parents. My guardian is Ms. Fannie Bandit. I live with my sisters and we live at Burgess Hill, a home for children. So far it is going well, but I dearly miss my parents. I miss our hourly conversations on the Sabbath. As a family, we would all go to temple on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. We were religious Jews, so we didn’t use electricity on the Sabbath. My parents and I still write letters to each other, but they never mention what is going on with the Nazis. I hope they are safe. I will pray for them.

Sincerely,

Alice Masters

Watching Kindertransport Stroll By

 

Dear Journal,

            Again, I woke up to the sound of screaming children. This has been going on for weeks ever since the Kindertransport children moved next door. I live next to a private citizen. He works at the Kindertransport organization. They are transporting children from Europe to Great Britain. Unfortunately, I hate kids. I always hear them crying about how much they miss their parents. There are four kids living next door. They are all siblings so they didn’t want to get separated from each other. I am supposed to be housing some children but I don’t want to. I don’t want to have to take care of little children. I don’t want to clothe them. I don’t want to feed them. I know it’s bad that I am not taking care of the children in need, but they have other people. My neighbor’s Kindertransport children seem happy. All the Kindertransports are Jewish, so they are always going to temple on Friday nights and Saturday mornings. I am Christian, so I go to church on Sundays. This could be my excuse for not housing the Kindertransports. Also, I work all day so I couldn’t drive the kids to school. So it’s not really my fault for not taking care of the children. I just don’t want to take care of these children in need. Okay, I guess it is my fault

Sincerely,

James Venson

What Occured During Kindertransport

 

            In 1933, after the war started, Europe became unsafe for children. Nazis were taking over Europe and discriminating against Jews. The Nazis were taking away the rights of the Jews. In 1933, Hitler held a campaign that was about persecuting Jews. This is the anti-Semitism that was happening in Europe. During Kristallnact, Night of Broken Glass, Nazis burned Jewish businesses to the ground. Nazis were discriminating against Jews, and Jewish children were in danger. In order to save the Jews, organizations in Europe transported thousands of Jewish children under sixteen years old to Great Britain. If they were older than sixteen, they were sent from Britain to Canada and Australia. Kindertransport was a rescue operation that was created to save Jewish children during this difficult time. The parents of the children sent them away so that they would be safe from the war.

 The first Kindertransport was on December 2^nd 1938 from Harwich, England. Within just a few months there were thousands of Jews that left Germany. The children went on trains and ships to Great Britain. Most countries didn’t accept the Jewish children so only thousands made it into countries safely. Private Citizens from the organizations took care of the children. Ninety percent of the Kindertransport children never saw their parents again because their parents died in Europe. The Private Citizens who took care of the children had to pay for their education and their eventual emigration from Britain. Most of the children emigrated to Canada or Israel when they were older. In 1989, 1,200 Jews said the Kaddish, which is a prayer for the mourning of the dead, over their parents. Kindertransport was an operation to save the Jewish children from the Nazis. Even though the Jewish children couldn’t see their parents, they were safe, and that was the goal.