Into the arms of Strangers.Stories of Kindertransport

Kindertransport
In Eine Fremde Welt

Warner Brothers pictures presents an Academy award winning documentary feature-2000 .This feature is narrated by Judi Dench, photography by Don Lenzer, edited by Kate Amend, produced by Deborah Oppenheimer and it is written and directed by Mark Johnathan Harris. I mention these artists because of their sheer brilliance at carrying this story from history to the present age… I mean even my little brother can watch his documentary and understand it as though someone were reading out of a book for him.

There was no exaggeration when Kenneth Turan of the LOS ANGELES TIMES called this documentary “Especially moving and effective. Gripping and memorable.”
For me it as much as opening a history book, reading out what I had read before but understanding the depths of that history and learning even more.

These artists have a used a collaboration of things to tell the story of the youngest victims of Nazi terror, such as vintage toys, archive magazines, videos, pictures, music and even newspapers. Showing the extensive research that went into the developing of this idea before it was constructed.

This documentary is about the ten-thousand Jewish and other children who were transported from German-held lands to foster homes and hostels in Great Britain. These children were given new family homes where many build family ties. However many of these children endured the blitz and even were soldiers to help in the war against Germany. The interest of this documentary, I believe is that the story is now being told by and through the experiences of these children, who are now grown and can tell their side of the story. It also must be said the producer’s mother was one of the 10,000 children.
However the story is also old through the survivors, rescuers and parents of the heroic Kindertransport.

These now grown children tell of their turbulent and traumatic experiences of having a death threat over their families and of their separation from their parents in the era of 1933. These children coming from German, Austrian and Czechoslovakia Jewish families were all off a sudden turned into outcasts by Hitler’s Tyranny. Their homes and family businesses were destroyed or else under watch. Their walks to school became dangerous and their schools burnt down. And German friends became idle towards them. There is not much one needs to understand, that their not wanted. This is how the end of their background starts.

Having seen some vintage toys, comics and archive footage at the beginning of this documentary we are first introduced to Lory Cahn from Breslau, Germany who tells us of her father who adored her, who wouldn’t stop at anything to give her everything she wanted. Then we are introduced to Kurt Fuchel from Vienna,Austria, whose father was a well established banker and mother “a woman of leisure.” They lived an idyllic life,with a maid and he was “ the center of the universe” to his parents. Then my favourite character is Eva Hayman from Celakovice,Czechoslovakia a petite lady with red chicks, who tells her story through a small slightly hoarse voice. During the whole documentary we meet many more characters who walk us through their previous life before Hitlers dangers on the streets started to parade themselves. It came to a point where the only thing anyone could think of was to leave, change for anyone is hard to adjust to, especially when your force into having to leave.

It would of seemed that was the only thing to do, but why didn’t most Jews do this? Well like most people under oppression as in South Africa during the apartheid regime, the government made it impossible for them to leave and made the Jews refugees in their own country. Apparently to be able to leave, Lore Segal from Vienna,Austria explains that “First of all you had to have a sponsor, in the country you were going to. Someone who would promise you would not become a burden on the government. You would have to get a visa from the state department or the government to be allowed in. Then you had to get an exit permit from the Nazis.” “All these things,” she says had to come together.” As “they had a time span in which they would expire.” She says “all these things had to ready all together, and it usually didn’t happen.” By this time Hitler had already gained control of Austria and was just obtaining Czechoslovakia. Which Hitler later destroyed, a year later Nazis’ still on the tramped of Jews, set out on a night called the Kristallnacht: “The Night of Broken Glass.”

Franzi Groszmann a survivor, Lore Segals mother explains of the pain of having to face facts that their children had to be sent away, into the arms of strangers.
As Judi Dench narrates, German policy in 1938 was to force Jewish emigration. They willingly let the children go “ as long as they didn’t not take any valuables with them.”
Every child was only allowed a suitcase, “one piece of hand luggage and ten reichsmark.”

At the age I am, I honestly believe that every story of oppression has little people who stand out to only make, if possible, a little change to peoples situations but then tend to turn into hero’s, for the little change they hope for ,brought about a huge change, resulting in the saving and embetterment of lives. In this story that little person ,now one of the many hero’s, is English stockbroker Nicholas Winton. Who having been driven by a friend to go and have a look at the situation himself. So he ended up travelling to refugee camps with Doreen. Warriner (representative of the British Committee for refugees from Czechoslovakia) Their discoveries were that the situation was worse than they had thought, and what came to thought was the children, so Winston said he would see if the Home Office in England would let them bring some of the Jewish children into the country. Having been given conditions by which to go by, they were told they could bring in as many children as they liked. It was a lot of work he admits, and the job had a benefit as for most people it was easy to take a child than to take a grown up.
Having seen how England had responded he then tried to approach America to get involved…but all he got was a lot of “answers,” from senators “saying how concerned they were and all the various reasons why they couldn’t do anything.” There was even a congressional bill to admit 20,000 child refugees that was not accepted with one of many arguments against it, being that “accepting children without parents was contrary to the laws of Gods.” How quickly views would change if situation was reversed.

Many of the children ended up in homes, campsites, kitchens, as nurses, as soldiers and along the way many complain of mistreatment. However the gratitude of these now grown children towards great Britain overshadows these mistreatments. As the gift of life for them seems much, much more important than any mistreatment, than not having your life.

Many of this children having stayed in contact with their parents through writing letters ,came to an understanding, as the years past, why these letters ceased to come . As many Jews were killed in the concentration camps under Hitler’s regime. As Hitler’s regime did come to an end and Germany was defeated during World War II, this story reaches a level of joy , as some of the parents were able to escape or were rescued and had survived. Some of which were reunited to their children. The tears for me came when the documentary started to read the letters that had been both written and sent between the parents and their children, and suddenly I remembered all the little letters I used to write to my mother and father, whether it was mothers or fathers day..a sad day or anytime while a child….and visions of how much my parents were overjoyed at such letters all to show me their appreciation. Suddenly the thought of not being able to have enjoyed that privilege or enjoying it under such conditions, haunted me.

The Holocaust:

I am amazed by the level of memories these grown elderly and beautiful people can still recall. Naturally they would though, for of the many memories we have, the ugliest are the most we either remember or try to forget. I am educated by the survivors of the holocaust, that man can only touch the body but they cannot touch your spirit. The will to live is always waiting to be pushed and encouraged ever single day. Their survival is a testament of that.

Some silent thoughts to myself, as learnt from the history of my own country, South Africa. Was that to be angry and carry bitterness towards a German people after its all said and done, profits nothing, it only eats away at you. Sadness, at what occurred is something that goes deeper and scratches the soul at every thought of what was lost.
And at this sadness is what I pray and hope many will be comforted by those who are around them.

My comforting thoughts to all Holocaust survivors or children.

There’s more to do, people should not have to suffer in a world so rich with every type of resource,that can stop such cries of suffering. What we do matters and educating ourselves about the history is key.....how else can we deal with the future.

That’s my view: