frequently asked questions about the Kindertransports

1.Why was the Kindertransport important?

The Kindertransport saved only 10,000 children, a small number compared to the six million people including a million and a half children who perished, yet, it has its importance. We were able to go to a friendly country not through luck, contacts or subterfuge, but through the will of the British people as expressed by their representatives in Parliament.

We are but a small part of Holocaust History, but, I think an
important one. We were spared the horrors of the death camps, but we were uprooted, separated from our parents, and transported to a different culture where we faced not the unmitigated horror of the death camps, but a very human mixture of kindness, indifference, occasional exploitation, and the selflessness of ordinary people faced with needy children.

2.What were the consequences of the Kindertransport?

The most immediate consequence was that we survived; had we stayed in Germany, Austria or Czechoslovakia, we would have perished in the Nazi death camps. Furthermore, those parents who sent their children away, had a better chance of surviving, either hidden, or by making their way to other countries. However, the majority did not survive and were killed in the concentration camps.

Most of us Kinder became productive citizens of whatever country we eventually settled in. Among us are at least one Nobel Prize winner, a very well known screen writer, a famous costume designer for stage and screen (she turned Dustin Hoffman into a woman in "Tootsie"), scientists, writers, doctors, artists, philanthropists, etc.

3. Did most of the children stay in England after the war, or were they able to return?

The majority of the children, especially those who lost their entire families, stayed in Great Britain. Those who had family members in other countries frequently joined them. In addition to those who went to the US, many went to Israel, some to Australia, and we even have one member in Nepal! Very, very few Jews returned to Germany or Austria after the war.

4.Were there any children besides Jewish children who were transported to England?

There were a few children who were not Jewish. Hitler persecuted "non-Aryans," and political radicals (usually communists), as well as gypsies and gays.

5.Did they keep their Jewish faith?

The majority did keep their Jewish faith. Even when children were cared for by Christians, rabbis visited them and stayed in touch. However, some did convert to the religion of their British hosts, and a few eventually reconverted to Judaism. A play, Kindertransport, by Diane Samuels, treats the issue of such a case. It is making its way through regional theaters, and can be produced by amateur troupes.

6.Could I contact people who experienced the Kindertransport first hand?

Yes. Most of our members are willing to talk about their experiences, and many give frequent public lectures on the subject. However, most of our members are concentrated in the Greater New York area, in Florida, and smaller groups in North and South California, Philadelphia, and Toronto.

Further information can be obtained from:

KTA, 36 Dean Street, Hicksville, NY 11801
Tel: (516) 938-6084, Fax: (516) 827-3329, email: margkurt@aol.com