Figure 1.--A poignant photo of two German Jewish children arriving in Harwich, England (December 12, 1938). They were among the earliest arrivals as part of the Kindertransport program. These children are only about 6 or 7 years old. Notice the tags with numbers that were used to track and identify them. The children seem to be treating the journey cheerfully as an adventure, but they must have experienced acute homesickeness being shipped to a foreign country and culture without their parents. Kinderstransport children were often taken into British households and treated almost like adopted children. The children are warmly dressed for December weather in Germany. The girl wears leggings that button up the sides of her legs and have a strap that goes under the soles of her shoes. The boy wears short trousers and black long stockings.

The Refugee Children's Movement (RCM) was set up in Bloomsberry House and did their best to keep track and assist the children. The first ferries with the Kindertransport children reached Harwich, England (December 2, 1938), Each group was about 200 children, although this varied. As the Kindertrasport progressed, about two groups of children per week landed. This picked up (June and July 1939). Groups began landing daily. The last Kindertransport group left Germany (September 1), the day the Wehrmacht invaded Poland. This ended most of the Kindertransports. There was, however, one last group. A ship managed to make it out of the Netherlands (May 14, 1940). This was the day that the Dutch army surrendered to NAZI Germany. The RCM met the ferries when the children arrived. Each child had a numbered tag. One Kindertraport child recalls thinking that with his tage he was being treated rather like a parcel. Only as an adult well after the War did he come to understand what had happened to him. The tag number was his or her number in the group they were with. They found a variety of accommodation for the children. The children with prearranged sponsors were sent immediately on to London. The many unsponsored children were sent to Dovercourt and other transient camps until permanent arrangements could be made. The children were eventually dispersed throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They were taken in by Jewish and non-Jewish families. They were both billeted and fostered. Others were placed in orphanages, group homes, and other institutions. Soon the children appeared in schools throughout the country, most speaking very little English.

Created: 3:42 AM 11/15/2007
Last updated: 3:43 AM 11/15/2007