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CHILDREN OF THE KINDERTRANSPORT |
CHILDREN OF THE KINDERTRANSPORT |
Lili and Gerd, children of Ilse and Robert who died in the Holocaust, reflected many years later on their time while waiting to be sent on a Kindertransport.
During the coming months, we were to experience the fears of marching boots, suddenly having to extinguish every sign of life in case the SS would know we were at home and come to collect our father for the concentration camp. Our uncle was collected in this way and spent three or four weeks at one of the camps. He was released but looked so ill; it made everyone more afraid than ever… later came Kristallnacht and the burning of the synagogues, a night never to be forgotten. Our parents must have seen the hopelessness of the situation because they asked an old school friend in England to find a home for their children. It was through the mediation of this friend that we obtained exit visas. In March 1939, we set foot in England with labels around our necks and hope in our young hearts that this would be a temporary separation from our dear Mother and Father. Our hopes were high, but they faded…Spring became Summer and others arrived but not our parents. By September, the war had begun and hope was very thin indeed. |
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