The Willesden Project commemorates Kindertransport and hails courage of refugees with virtual field trip

It was 83 years ago this week that 13-year-old Lisa Jura boarded a Kindertransport train from Vienna to London, the first step in a journey that would be memorably depicted by her daughter Mona Golabek in the acclaimed The Children of Willesden Lane books.

A series of rescue efforts organized by Sir Nicholas Winton, the Kindertransport helped nearly 10,000 Jewish children escape from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia to safety in the United Kingdom.

New Animated Film for Young Students Explores Refugee Displacement and the Power of Music to Inspire Hope, Healing

Today marks the 83rd anniversary of the arrival of the first Kindertransport to the United Kingdom. This rescue operation saved 10,000 child refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe.

As part of the commemoration, USC Shoah Foundation has produced an animated short film, “Music Dreams,” based on the story of Lisa Jura, a young Holocaust survivor who in 1938 escaped from Vienna to London on the Kindertransport.

Making a New Life

Saturday, June 28, 2025 - 01:07 PM PDT
This new Virtual Field Trip gives students perspective on compassion and understanding otherness when interacting with those who are different from them. Students will learn how refugees adjust to their new homes and cultures and celebrate the courage people can have in times of great change.

USC Shoah Foundation and Discovery Education Announce UK Winners of Stronger Than Hate Challenge

USC Shoah Foundation and Discovery Education have announced the winners of the United Kingdom category of the 2021 international Stronger Than Hate Challenge

First prize in the challenge was awarded to Elizabeth Stickland, a Year 8 (US 7th grade) student from Attleborough Academy who wrote a powerful poem about how communities can overcome prejudice. Elizabeth’s top prize is a £5,000 ($6,700) grant for her school and an iPad.

New Cohort of William P. Lauder Junior Interns Begins 2021-2022 Program

A cohort of forty-one new students and five returning Junior Intern Emissaries convened virtually on November 14 for the first session of the 2021-2022 William P. Lauder Junior Internship Program.

The highly selective program provides a dynamic and unique learning opportunity for students in 7th–11th grades to engage with testimonies–personal stories–from survivors and witnesses of genocide to develop their own voice, learn to recognize the patterns and impact of hate, and gain work experience and academic and digital skills.

Armenian-Language Resources Inspire Students, Connect Families

By: Julie Gruenbaum Fax

Women and children of Kharpert at the banks of the Euphrates in Der Zor on their forced march to Baghdad. The image and story is used in “Politics and Place,” an activity that explores how political ideology can influence policies, people, and eventually memories of a location. Image provided by: Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives

Julie Gruenbaum Fax
Julie Gruenbaum Fax is a content strategist and writer for the USC Shoah Foundation. She was a senior writer and editor at the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles and has co-authored six personal history books. She is currently writing a book about her grandmother’s Holocaust experience.

The Healing Power of Music

Saturday, June 28, 2025 - 12:44 PM PDT
This special event will welcome concert pianist and author of The Children of Willesden Lane books, Mona Golabek, as she tells the story of how her mother, a child survivor of the Holocaust, gained strength from music to survive and thrive.

New Partnership with National Center for Families Learning Explores ‘What Inspires You?’

The Willesden Project, a partnership program of USC Shoah Foundation and Hold On To Your Music, today announced a new collaboration with the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) to promote literacy and education through a variety of programs and activities over this school year.

Subscribe to education