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Journeys of nearly 9,000 children who escaped certain death by Nazis detailed in never-before-seen documents
27 January 2025, 11:42
Documents, believed to have been lost or destroyed, have been found in archives in Israel detailing the journeys of nearly 9,000 children on 90 trains as they escaped certain death in Nazi concentration camps.
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These records, uncovered at Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, capture the poignant moment families were torn apart.
Dr Amy Williams, a fellow at Yad Vashem, told LBC: “The documents captured the moment they would have seen their parents for the very last time, before adults were deported to concentration camps. It’s the final document where an entire family was still together.”
The Kindertransport effort began in the immediate aftermath of Kristallnacht, also known as The Night of Broken Glass, which occurred on the 9th of November 1938.
This night of violence marked an escalation in Nazi persecution of Jews, with over 9,000 Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues destroyed.
Following Kristallnacht, Jewish families were rounded up, and many were deported to ghettos or concentration camps.
In the face of imminent danger, Jewish organizations in Germany, Poland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia worked tirelessly to negotiate the safe passage of children out of these countries.
The Kindertransport programme primarily took children to the United Kingdom, where they were placed with foster families, hostels, or schools. However, these evacuations were often a difficult decision for parents, knowing they might never see their children again.
William Niven, Professor in Contemporary German History at Nottingham Trent University, explained: “People in Jewish organisations in Germany were desperate to get the children out of those countries. For children who got out, it saved their lives because if they had stayed, they would have undoubtedly been murdered.”
The newly discovered documents offer a harrowing glimpse into the experiences of these children. While the Kindertransport is often remembered as a heroic act of salvation, it is important to understand its darker aspects.
Dr Williams highlighted: “Stories are still being uncovered, but there is so much more to be understood. We often remember the Kindertransport in the context of the heroic act it initially was, but later it became a Nazi programme to deport children to Auschwitz, where they would be murdered.”
The Kindertransport saved approximately 10,000 children from almost certain death, yet it is a bittersweet chapter of Holocaust history.
Many of the children rescued through the programme lost their entire families in the Holocaust, and their journey to safety was often marred by trauma, isolation, and the loss of identity.
