Kindertransport

Possibly the most well-known example of these rescue operations involved individual British families agreeing to “host” children from Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic through a program known as Kindertransport.  Through this program, organized by Sir Nicholas Winton, an estimated 10,000 refugee children, most of them Jewish, were housed in the United Kingdom during the war.  These children were able to avoid ghettoization and camp experiences; in many cases, they were the only members of their families to survive the Holocaust.

Vera Gissing on the Kindertransport

Vera Gissing remembers her parents decision to send her and her sister Eva on the Kindertransport from Czechoslovakia to England in May 1939. She also describes their farewell at the train station in Prague and the journey to England. Vera’s testimony is featured in Testimony – The Legacy of Schindler’s List and the USC Shoah Foundation.

  • Vera Gissing on the Kindertransport

    Language: English

    Vera Gissing remembers her parents decision to send her and her sister Eva on the Kindertransport from Czechoslovakia to England in May 1939. She also describes their farewell at the train station in Prague and the journey to England. Vera’s testimony is featured in Testimony – The Legacy of Schindler’s List and the USC Shoah Foundation.

  • Dave Lux on the Kindertransport

    Language: English

    Dave Lux survived the Holocaust as a child because of Nicholas Winton, who orchestrated the Czech Kindertransport, saving hundreds of Jewish children by transporting them to England. Lux remembers leaving his parents and thinking he’s going on a field trip.

  • Alice Masters on Sir Nicholas Winton

    Language: English

    Alice Masters recalls meeting Sir Nicholas for the first time in London at the 50th reunion of the Kindertransport children.

  • Eva Hayman on Sir Nicholas Winton

    Language: English

    Eva Hayman remembers when her family found out about the Kindertransport orchestrated by Sir Nicholas Winton. Eva and her sister were a part of the 669 children who were rescued by Winton from Czechoslovakia in 1939.

  • Herbert Holden on Nicholas Winton

    Language: English

    Herbert Holden describes Nicholas Winton's lifesaving efforts to bring 669 Czech children to Britain during the Holocaust, and how he called up a television program to reveal himself as one of the children Winton saved.

  • Sir Nicholas Winton on his decision to save over 600 children

    Language: English

    100 Days to Inspire Respect

    Sir Nicholas Winton, responsible for organizing the Kindertransport that saved the lives of 669 Jewish children, passed away at the age of 106. Here is his message to the future.