EVENT SUMMARY

From December 2, 1938 through 1940 children from all ages were transported out of countries that were threatened by Nazi Germany.  This movement was called Kindertransport which means the moving of children. The Kindertransport movement was sponsored by the British Government.  Jews, Christians, and Quakers worked together to get children out of countries threatened by Nazi Germany.  Most of the children involved were transported to Britain.  The Kindertransport was for Jewish children the age of 3 to 17.  The purpose of this movement was to get all the Jewish children away from the Nazi soldiers so they wont be killed if they end up being transported to a concentration camp. Kids were transported from Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria, and Poland to Britain.  They would go by train to ports in Belgium and the Netherlands then sail to Harwich.  Only wealthy families children were  arranged to be transported to Britain or children who had connections with families in Britain.

On November 9-10 1939 was the start of Kristallnacht.  German soldiers were invading Jewish homes and businesses.  They were sending the Jews they captured to concentration camps and started killing a lot of them.   After about a month, the British Government agreed to allow more people to enter the country.  That’s when the the Kindertransport began to take effect.  Almost 10,000 kids were sent to Britain from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Austria.  Those kids knew they were safe once they were on their way.  Most of the children that were sent didn’t have a say in whether or not they wanted to got or stay with their families.  Most of the children that survived ended up without family to take care of them once the Holocaust ended.  They also did not know a lot about what was happening until it was too late.

ALICE MASTERS DAY 1 ON TRAIN

December 2, 1938

Today I woke up to the most unbelievable news I have heard in a very long time.  My sisters and I were going to be leaving our little town of Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.  At the time us sisters didn’t know where we were going and when we would be going but we knew we were leaving soon.  Our parents told us that our uncle who lived in Britain was scheduling our transport out of Czechoslovakia and we were going to Britain to meet him there.  Since I am only the middle child I was surprisingly really nervous to not be around my parents and to not know where they are and if they are okay.  We live in a very close knit family and I was worried to not be around my parents.  I am 14 and being transported away from my family to supposed family member that I have met once or twice before.  I knew I could not argue with my parents to stay because they knew what would happen to them and they did not want us to be involved with Hitler’s plans.  I reluctantly agreed to go even though I was afraid.  A few hours latter we were in the train station and we heard our names get called.  As we said goodbye to our parents we boarded the train unaware of the endless possibilities our parents called safe.  On the train we were given hot chocolate, bars of chocolate and cookies.  I made a friend on that train who I’ve never seen before who was about my age maybe a little older.  Her name was Eva Rothberger and we became good friends.  It turns out Eva was the daughter of one of my uncles friends.  Later that night I was becoming more and more home sick and I missed my parents incredibly and I wanted to be off the train.  However I knew we were days, maybe even weeks, away from getting off the train.  I knew I might not like what was there awaiting me when I got off the train but I stayed strong mainly for my sisters.  There was nothing much to do except make friends, look out at the view of mountain ranges and just pray that everything and everyone will be okay.

 

ALICE MASTERS LAST DAY ON TRAIN

December 8, 1938

Waking up this morning was just like any other morning.  The only thing that was different was that we were on the train.  Still.  Its already been a while; well more like forever, since me or my sisters had seen anyone from our family.  It seemed like every kid on the train was getting used to the living conditions, but not me.  Every day and every night was the same.  Same room same people same food most of the time.  Just when I thought we were gonna live on the train forever was when the conductor said we would be arriving in Britain soon.  A few hours later the train was screeching to a stop and we were finally there.  Everyone screamed with excitement to finally be getting off the train.  At the train station, it was crazy peoples names getting called and kids crying; not sure for joy or sorrow, maybe both.  Me and my sisters patiently waited for our names to be called.  It took a few hours and we were nearly the last kids there when our name was called.  To our surprise, there standing in front of us was our uncle that we haven’t seen in a long time.  However he was with someone, a lady that non of us recognized.  We said our hello’s and made our way to the car.  In the car our uncle explained everything that was going to be happening.  He said how we were safe and we were one of the lucky ones.  Only because we weren’t going to an orphanage but we were going to a foster home until the war was over.  The tree of us looked at each other with the same expression, an expression of shock.  I asked, “We are not going to be staying with you?”  He shook his head no and said he was not fit to hold foster kids in the eyes of the country, and he tried as hard as he could to be able to take us in himself.  The car ride seemed to last forever and it seemed like it would be the same day forever.  When we got back to the house we were going to stay in and said our good-byes to our uncle and settled in.  Still unsure about everything the last thing any of us wanted to do was live in and unsure house with unsure people, but they were nice and they took good care of us the first night.  As I sit on my bed writing this the same thought still lingers in my mind, “Are my parents and other family members okay?”  I knew this answer would not be answered in the short term so I put it in the back of my mind for another day.

JOURNAL PERSPECTIVE OF A RESCUER

December 4, 1938
    Another sleepless night.  Another night on a train.  Once again I am sitting up in bed writing late into the night.  Its hard seeing all these kids on the train without any parents to tend to the them.  For right now I am a parent to some of them.  I wish these kids were able to have at least one parent with them.  However it is not my job to wish. It is my job to make sure these kids are as happy as they can be even though its hard for some of them.  I have always wondered what it was like not be in touch with my family for a very long time.  Well I guess I kind of know but  that was only for camps and it lasted for only 2 to 3 days.  Also I knew once the camp was over I would see my parents again.  Here on this train these kids don’t know if there parents will be there to pick them up and take them home, they don’t know if their parents are okay along with the rest of their families.  I hate seeing these kids look me in the face and ask, “Are my mom and dad going to be on another train meeting us where we need to be?” All I have the guts to say is, I simply don’t know.  The disappointed looks on their faces pains me to watch but I know I can’t really tell them what is happening to their parents, that would just be cruel.  While I sit and play with kids I some times day dream about what is going to happen to them once they get off the train.  I only come to when a child in my group taps my arm and says my name.  This is just one of the things that I stress about before I go to sleep every night.  Another is figuring out how to keep these kids occupied during the day.  As the week goes on more and more art supplies is being used and I am having a very hard time making sure their minds are not thinking about their parents and families but only on the project I give them.  However almost all the projects I have only last for about 30 to 45 min and then all or most of the kids are either bored or finished with the art project.  At that point I know I must move on and give them something else to do.  I really hope we are almost to the end of our journey because I am not that creative and I’m running out of ideas.

JOURNAL PERSPECTIVE OF A PERPETRATOR

December 11, 1938
    This morning I woke up ready to captivate another town.  I knew this town would be fun because rumor had it that it was filled with kids and any good soldier knows that kids are the easiest to capture due to the fact that they most likely won’t fight back.  As I put on my uniform preparing myself for the day ahead thoughts are running through my head.  Mainly of how many houses we are going to over take today.  I eat breakfast then walk outside to see what the weather is like.  Its another cold morning and I make sure I grab another jacket and wait outside waiting for the giant tank to come get me so we can be on our way.  I wait for 10 minutes and I see the tank come up to my house.  I get in and say hi to my fellow colleagues and we are on our way.  The ride lasted about 30 minutes because we had to cross Germany’s boarder into another country.  As we get closer the lieutenant gave us a pep talk and we were ready to go.  We were invading houses for 5 hours straight every house has people in them.  We could definitely say it was  successful day.  The only thing that was disappointing to every solider that day was that their were no children in any of the houses.  During our lunch break we all talked about what we have witnessed so far and everyone was in aw how every house contained no children.  We all agreed that we weren't going crazy and that this neighborhood was supposed to have a lot of kids.  1-3 kids per house to be exact.  We got back to work and invaded more houses and still no kids.  At the end of the day there were still no kids and we were all getting really suspicious.  Non of us knew where the children went and when we all read the review of the neighborhood and amounts of people per house and age again we were all stumped.  We couldn’t figure it out.  How could so many kids just disappear from their houses?  I went home that night still trying to figure it out but I could not figure it out.  Even as I conclude yet another journal entry I can not figure out where all the towns kids have gone.  I hope tomorrow is a better day and this neighborhood is also supposed to have a lot of kids also.