DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3866

ItemName
coat hanger, child's

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Worner, Pauline (née Makowski)

IndexPlaces
DE & Cologne

FullSummary
This coat hanger, inscribed 'Für das Kind', is one of a set of three, which Pauline Worner (née Makowski) brought in her luggage when she was evacuated from Germany via the Kindertransport. The full inscription which can be seen across the three coat hangers (one phrase on each) reads: 'Für das Kind', 'Fürs liebe Kind', 'Dem braven Kinde' - ('For the Child', 'For the beloved Child', 'For the good Child'). Pauline Worner recalled that 'These three little coat hangers seem to me so evocative of the love that went with sending us, small children into an unknown future. I remember barely anything at all. I have a selective memory, and I think unconsciously my mind obliterates painful memories. I remember packing the case and being at the station, my sister, five years older than me, went running till the end of the platform waving good bye. . . Somewhere we stopped for the night, I do remember being on the top tier in a bunk. A new experience. I remember the boat, another bunk and milky tea and biscuits in the morning. Standing on deck on a bright cold morning with the sound of raucous seagulls, and the sea. My father was sent to Poland. My mother emptied the apartment and once my sister left to Palestine my mother went to Lublin, Poland to join my father. We never knew what happened afterwards. The Red Cross gave V Day as the day of their death because there were no records of their fate.'

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3867 - EPH 3869; Docs; Photos

RelatedImageFile
eph_003866.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
Small wooden coathanger with a metal hook. It is painted white and has the inscription 'Für das Kind' printed on it in black.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3867

ItemName
coat hanger, child's

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Worner, Pauline (née Makowski)

IndexPlaces
DE & Cologne

FullSummary
This coat hanger, inscribed 'Fürs liebe Kind', is one of a set of three, which Pauline Worner (née Makowski) brought in her luggage when she was evacuated from Germany via the Kindertransport. The full inscription which can be seen across the three coat hangers (one phrase on each) reads: 'Für das Kind', 'Fürs liebe Kind', 'Dem braven Kinde' - ('For the Child', 'For the beloved Child', 'For the good Child'). Pauline Worner recalled that 'These three little coat hangers seem to me so evocative of the love that went with sending us, small children into an unknown future.
I remember barely anything at all. I have a selective memory, and I think unconsciously my mind obliterates painful memories. I remember packing the case and being at the station, my sister, five years older than me, went running till the end of the platform waving good bye. . . Somewhere we stopped for the night, I do remember being on the top tier in a bunk. A new experience. I remember the boat, another bunk and milky tea and biscuits in the morning. Standing on deck on a bright cold morning with the sound of raucous seagulls, and the sea. My father was sent to Poland. My mother emptied the apartment and once my sister left to Palestine my mother went to Lublin, Poland to join my father. We never knew what happened afterwards. The Red Cross gave V Day as the day of their death because there were no records of their fate.'

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3866, EPH 3868 - EPH 3869; Docs; Photos

RelatedImageFile
eph_003867.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
Small wooden coathanger with a metal hook. It is painted pink and has the inscription 'Fürs liebe Kind' printed on it in black.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3868

ItemName
coat hanger, child's

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Worner, Pauline (née Makowski)

IndexPlaces
DE & Cologne

FullSummary
This coat hanger, inscribed 'Dem braven Kinde', is one of a set of three, which Pauline Worner (née Makowski) brought in her luggage when she was evacuated from Germany via the Kindertransport. The full inscription which can be seen across the three coat hangers (one phrase on each) reads: 'Für das Kind', 'Fürs liebe Kind', 'Dem braven Kinde' - ('For the Child', 'For the beloved Child', 'For the good Child'). Pauline Worner recalled that 'These three little coat hangers seem to me so evocative of the love that went with sending us, small children into an unknown future.
I remember barely anything at all. I have a selective memory, and I think unconsciously my mind obliterates painful memories. I remember packing the case and being at the station, my sister, five years older than me, went running till the end of the platform waving good bye. . . Somewhere we stopped for the night, I do remember being on the top tier in a bunk. A new experience. I remember the boat, another bunk and milky tea and biscuits in the morning. Standing on deck on a bright cold morning with the sound of raucous seagulls, and the sea. My father was sent to Poland. My mother emptied the apartment and once my sister left to Palestine my mother went to Lublin, Poland to join my father. We never knew what happened afterwards. The Red Cross gave V Day as the day of their death because there were no records of their fate.'

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3866 - EPH 3867, EPH 3869; Docs; Photos

RelatedImageFile
eph_003868.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
Small wooden coathanger with a metal hook. It is painted blue and has the inscription 'Dem braven Kinde' printed on it in black.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3869

ItemName
wicker basket

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Worner, Pauline (née Makowski)

IndexPlaces
DE & Cologne

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Pauline Worner (née Makowski) brought this wicker basket, in which she kept her documents and papers, when she was evacuated from Germany to the United Kindom in the Kindertransport during the late 1930s: 'I remember barely anything at all. I have a selective memory, and I think unconsciously my mind obliterates painful memories. I remember packing the case and being at the station, my sister, five years older than me, went running till the end of the platform waving good bye . . . Somewhere we stopped for the night, I do remember being on the top tier in a bunk. A new experience - I remember the boat, another bunk and milky tea and biscuits in the morning. Standing on deck on a bright cold morning with the sound of raucous seagulls, and the sea. 'My father was sent to Poland. My mother emptied the apartment and once my sister left to Palestine my mother went to Lublin, Poland to join my father. We never knew what happened afterwards. The Red Cross gave V Day as the day of their death because there were no records of their fate.'

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3866 - EPH 3868; Docs; Photos

RelatedImageFile
EPH_003869.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
03/12/2008 05:51:24

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
small rectangular wicker basket (L 24cm x W 14.5cm x D 11.5cm) with a handle on top. There are two fastenings, also made of wicker on the front.

Access
On loan

IndexEvent
Kindertransport 1938-1939, Evacuation

Theme
Holocaust

CoLStatus
Ready

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3871

ItemName
wedding veil with myrtle

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Sellers, Ruth Sofie (née Hirsh)

IndexPlaces
DE & Karlsruhe

FullSummary
This veil and headdress belonged to Ruth Sofie Sellers' mother. Ruth brought it with her when she was evacuated from Germany on the Kindertransport. Ruth describes her memories of her parents: 'My parents, Lina Brotz Hirsh and max Adolf Hirsch, were married on 27 February 1921 in Karlsruhe-Baden at a Synagogue in Kronen Strasse. My father was Jewish, my mother converted. My father and sister had to do forced labour and we were separated from my mother who had to clean streets and trams because she had married a Jew and took the Jewish faith when they married. After I left she was called to a Gestapo office and was told if she divorced my father all would be well for her and her children. She refused. I lost many relations, but my father and sister were spared although they were deported to Theresienstadt. The Russians stopped the lorry on its way to Auschwitz in 1945. We all met again in 1949. My parents followed my sister to Canada and rest in a Jewish cemetery in Montreal. I have no wedding photos which is strange. Probably lost when we moved to my grandparents. '
Her family was hidden by her non-Jewish grandparents during Kristallnacht and were therefore saved at this time. Ruth Sofie Sellers' recalled her experiences as a Kinder: 'I arrived with the Kindertransport at Harwich on December 14th 1938, 16 years old - a refugee from Nazi persecution. I will never forget the tearful farewell at the station in Germany, the fear on the train with the Nazis going through our small suitcases, taking anything of value. We eventually reached the border of Holland, where the wonderful Dutch brought us hot drinks and kindness. Then on to Harwich to a reception camp. It was very cold indeed but it was freedom. . . after a short time we were sent to Bournemouth, I had my first Christmas there. We were then sent, two of us, to a school for young ladies. Thinking this was very good, we soon discovered that we were to be the maids, not the pupils. The ladies who ran the school were very good to us. We did not have to do the really dirty work, poor Ivy, the scullery maid did that. It was good to have a home and plenty of freedom. Then war broke out, and we had to leave Bournemouth as it was near the coast. Another uprooting, this time to Cambridge to a domestic science school for about 12 of us. I learned to cook, sew and launder. I decided I must do my bit for England and volunteered for the Land Army. I had no news of my parents or my sister and they had none from me until 1945. My parents survived the war, although my father and sister were 5 months in Theresienstadt concentration camp and were rescued the day they were destined to go to Auschwitz to the gas chambers . . . '

RelatedIWMItems
Docs; Photos; DPB

RelatedImageFile
eph_003871.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

Access
On display at IWM London

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3872

ItemName
toy dog, stuffed

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Kaye, Evelyn

IndexPlaces
AT & Vienna

FullSummary
Evelyn Kaye brought this toy dog with her when she was evacuated from Austria in the Kindertransport: 'This stuffed dog was the last gift my father gave me before I left Vienna, to accompany me on my journey to England. This was what he used to term an 'Ausieschaner' - a present peeking out of a pocket. As a journalist he travelled and generally brought back a little present to delight me. . . He used to make up his own vocabulary and he made a play with the German word versteckt, which means hidden. He used to put small animals in the pockets and hence the size of the dog. . . This toy is the only thing I have left from my case because when we settled at Lyons House, they did not want us to wear anything German, therefore all of our clothes along with the suitcases were donated to orphanages. '
Lyon House was sponsored by wealthy Jews, Keith Joseph and Leo Bitton. It housed 20 kinder. Evelyn still has a stuffed kitten given to her upon arrival at the house. Each bed had an animal for each child.

RelatedIWMItems
Photos

RelatedImageFile
eph_003872.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport
YH_ToysGames

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
Small stuffed toy dog made of fur fabric, threadbare in places, with a purple ribbon round its neck.

Access
On display at IWM London

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3873

ItemName
dress, knitted wool, child's

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Nissen, Edith (nee Glucksmann)

IndexPlaces
DE & Dortmund

FullSummary
This hand-made woollen dress was brought by Edith Nissen (nee Glucksmann) when she was evacuated from Germany in the Kindertransport. She was an orthodox Jew whose parents, Rosa and Max Glucksmann, perished during the Holocaust. Her most enduring memory is of her particularly strong attachment to her mother - so much so that every time her mother left her at her grandparents' home, Edith persisted in crying and repeatedly forced her mother to reclaim her.

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3874

RelatedImageFile
eph_003873.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
Navy blue hand-knitted woollen child's dress with short sleeves. The top and sleeves are embroidered with coloured flowers. Two red buttons are fitted at the neck opening.

Access
On display at IWM London

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3875

ItemName
suitcase

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Sachs, Kurt

IndexPlaces
AT & Vienna

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Kurt Sachs brought this suitcase with him when he left Austria for Prague to take one of the Kindertransports to England in May 1939: 'In September 1938 I hopped the border into Czechoslovakia and stayed with distant relatives in Pilsen. There was no prospect of a secure future and I wrote to all refugee committees I could find addresses for, mostly in England. In March 1939, just after the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the German army, I received a letter from a committee in Birmingham to the effect that they had found a family who had volunteered to give me a home and would let me know about arrangements to travel in England. About a month later I was advised to be at Masaryk Station in Prague on May 11th to depart for England - I have since discovered that this was one of the Kindertransports arranged by Nicholas Winton in Prague. With little time in hand, I went to the Gestapo office with my German passport and asked permission to visit my parents in Vienna - they gave me the appropriate papers. So I had about a week in Vienna and saw my parents for the last time. My mother was most anxious I should arrive in England with more clothes than I had been able to pack in the little rucksack I had taken across the border. So the suitcase was packed and I travelled to Prague with it. I joined the Kindertransport party; the suitcase was too big and had to go in the luggage compartment. I remember very little of the journey. The compartments were very crowded and I was alone in the crowd. We arrived in Hook of Holland late at night. I was very tired and slept throughout until we reached Harwich, then we were put on a train to Liverpool Street Station. On May 13th we arrived in Liverpool Street Station and were met by the people who organised onward transport. My suitcase was not in the station, but I had a smaller case with overnight equipment, so we set off - two young men who had volunteered to meet me and drive me to Birmingham in their open MG! So I joined my new family - provisionally without the bulk of my clothes. A week later another volunteer from the Birmingham Refugee Committee brought a suitcase - unfortunately with the clothes of a little girl of about 10! Another week later the correct clothes were brought around.'
For further details see : 'I came alone : the stories of the Kindertransports' edited by Leverton and Lowensohn, pp. 281-283.

RelatedImageFile
EPH_003875.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
03/12/2008 05:51:24

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
brown leather suitcase (L 79cm x W 43.5cm x D 21cm) with two metal locks on the front and a leather handle. The case retains remnants of travel labels relating to the railway stations in Prague, Hook Holland and London Liverpool Street. As the labels have partially peeled away the full inscriptions cannot be made out.

Access
On loan

IndexEvent
Kindertransport 1938-1939, Evacuation

Theme
Holocaust
Great Britain 1919-1939

CoLStatus
Ready

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3881

ItemName
trunk, large

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Kaufman, Richard

IndexPlaces
DE & Karlsruhe

FullSummary
Richard Kaufman brought this trunk with him to England when he was evacuated from Germany during the Kindertransport. As the trunk was too large for him to carry, it was sent ahead by cargo.

RelatedIWMItems
Docs

RelatedImageFile
eph_003881.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
Brown trunk with wooden reinforcements at the edges and in the middle. There are two metal locks on the front, for which we have two metal keys. The trunk is complete with its inner tray, which has a fabric underside and wooden edges. The initials 'R.K.' (Richard Kaufman) are printed in black on the top of the trunk. A luggage label on the left side of the trunk reads (in five lines):'London & North Eastern Railway / Lugagge in advance / no.s92918 / from Newcastle Central J. 2/4 paid / to Kings X Station'

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3882

ItemName
pen, metal, four-colour

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Rothschild, Edith

IndexPlaces
DE & Frankfurt

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Edith Rothschild brought this pen with her when she was evacuated from Germany to the United Kingdom via the Kindertransport in the late 1930s: 'After a sad farewell to my parents and a promise from my mother that I would see her again in England, this sadly did not happen, I got on the train which then left Frankfurt/Main. I do not remember much of the journey, we were frightened at the border when the Nazis got on the train but a big cheer went up when we crossed into Holland. I was looking forward to seeing the sea which I had never seen. Going on board the ship I was put into a cabin, but the girl I was to share with wanted to stay with a friend, so I was left all alone. There were two bunks and I chose the lower one. I remember this being very neat with the top sheet tucked in very tight and a blanket folded at the foot of the bed. Being used to a feather bed, a duvet, I didn't know whether to get between the sheets or to lie on top of them and cover myself with the blanket. I decided to get between the sheets but as the top one was so tight, I was scared of tearing it so I got out again and stayed on top, covering myself with a blanket. I fell asleep and was woken by a steward with a hot drink. I didn't know what it was, certainly not coffee or lemon tea, I took one sip and poured it down the wash basin. That was my first taste of an English cup of tea! My taste has since changed. We left the ship and I never did get to see the sea. We were then on the train to London and I only remember the porters at the station throwing sweets into the train for the children and then we left. Next I was sitting in a huge hall full of children and sipping some water. Then my name was called. My grandparents who were already in London, came to see me at the station, keeping a promise that they would do so. I was so happy to see them but was just not allowed to stay with them for very long. I had to continue my journey to Cambridge, where I was to live with an English family. By now the excitement of the journey had worn off and I wanted to go home. However, this was not to be. I remember LSS (Liverpool Street Station) as a huge black hole. Father survived, mother died in Auschwitz. Memories are very hard to bring back. It's hard to remember.'

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3883; DPB

RelatedImageFile
EPH_003882.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
21/11/2008 05:51:32

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
slim-bodied metal pen (L 13cm).

Access
Access by prior appointment

IndexEvent
Kindertransport 1938-1939, Evacuation

Theme
Holocaust
Great Britain 1919-1939

CoLStatus
Ready

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3885

ItemName
passport cover, red leather

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Green, Bea (née Siegel)

IndexPlaces
DE & Munich

FullSummary
This passport cover was bought for Bea Green (née Siegel) by her parents when she was given the opportunity to go on the Kindertransport: ''When the opportunity to go on the Kindertransport came up I got a passport. It was not difficult for me to get it, it really depended on the authorities of each town. When I got my passport my parents bought me the leather cover. My brother Peter Siegel left to the UK 3 months before me. My parents, Maria Beate and Michael Siegel remained in Munich, they could not get visas out of Germany. Since some relatives had emigrated to Peru, my parents started to take Spanish lessons in the hope that it would be helpful. They had a young Peruvian student as their teacher who had come to Munich to study the Nazi movement. One day the teacher came very worried, he explained that he owed money to the landlord and to many other people. My father told him that he had very little money himself, but that he could pay him five lessons in advance. The teacher, puzzled, asked him why were they taking Spanish lessons. My parents told him that they wanted to go to Peru but could not get visas. The teacher told them that his uncle was the Minister of Interior and that he could provide as many visas as they wanted. After few postal exchanges, the visas arrived by September 1940. My parents then boarded the Trans-Siberian Railway train through Manchuria, China, Japan and once there, they boarded a ship in Kobe to Peru. There were 6 Trans-Siberian Railway trains and 6 ships from Kobe to South America, taking refugees out of Europe. It travelled with the curtains down throughout the trip. And it is heart-rending the fact that even in the most remote places the train stopped, there were always a small group of people, usually Jewish, greeting the refugees and offering them food and drinks. My mother kept a diary of the journey.' When Bea arrived in England she was sent to stay with a family near Sevenoaks, Kent. For more information about Bea's experiences see: 'I Came Alone : the stories of the Kindertransports', - edited by Bertha Leverton and Shmuel Lowensohn (1990), pp. 128-130.

RelatedImageFile
eph_003885.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3887

ItemName
dress, knitted wool, doll's (with matching cap and mittens)

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Kohn-Wertheimer, Helga

IndexPlaces
AT & Vienna

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Helga Kohn-Wertheimer brought this doll's dress with her when she was evacuated from Austria to the United Kingdom on a Kindertransport in the late 1930s.

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3888 -EPH 3895; Docs; Photos; DPB

RelatedImageFile
EPH_003887.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport
YH_ToysGames

UncatTransferDate
30/10/2009 05:50:45

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
small doll's dress in knitted green wool with orange decoration at the hem and round the neck and sleeves. There is also a matching green and orange hat and striped mittens.

Access
On loan

IndexPlace
Vienna, Austria

IndexEvent
Kindertransport 1938-1939, Evacuation

Theme
Holocaust
Great Britain 1919-1939

CoLStatus
Ready

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3888

ItemName
dress, knitted wool, doll's

IndexPeople
Kohn-Wertheimer, Helga

IndexPlaces
AT & Vienna

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Helga Kohn-Wertheimer brought this doll's dress with her when she was evacuated from Austria on a Kindertransport.

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3887, EPH 3889 - EPH 3895; Docs; Photos; DPB

RelatedImageFile
eph_003888.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport
YH_ToysGames

UncatTransferDate
30/10/2009 05:50:45

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
Small crocheted doll's dress in cream wool with one button at the back.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3889

ItemName
dress, knitted wool, doll's (with matching cap)

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Kohn-Wertheimer, Helga

IndexPlaces
AT & Vienna

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Helga Kohn-Wertheimer brought this doll's dress with her when she was evacuated from Austria on a Kindertransport.

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3887 - EPH 3888, EPH 3890 - EPH 3895; Docs; Photos; DPB

RelatedImageFile
eph_003889.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport
YH_ToysGames

UncatTransferDate
30/10/2009 05:50:45

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
small doll's woollen dress, knitted in a blue and pink striped pattern with 5 buttons at the front. There is also a matching blue and pink bonnet.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3890

ItemName
dress, knitted wool, doll's (with matching cap and vest)

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Kohn-Wertheimer, Helga

IndexPlaces
AT & Vienna

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Helga Kohn-Wertheimer brought this doll's dress with her when she was evacuated from Austria on a Kindertransport.

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3887 - EPH 3889, EPH 3891 - EPH 3895; Docs; Photos; DPB

RelatedImageFile
eph_003890.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport
YH_ToysGames

UncatTransferDate
30/10/2009 05:50:45

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
small doll's woollen dress, knitted in a blue and red striped pattern with 3 blue buttons down the front a blue woolen tie at the waist. There is also a blue vest with red trimmed hem, neck and cuffs and a red cap with blue trim.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3891

ItemName
dress, cotton, doll's

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Kohn-Wertheimer, Helga

IndexPlaces
AT & Vienna

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Helga Kohn-Wertheimer brought this doll's dress with her when she was evacuated from Austria on a Kindertransport.

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3887 - EPH 3890, EPH 3892 - EPH 3895; Docs; Photos; DPB

RelatedImageFile
eph_003891.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport
YH_ToysGames

UncatTransferDate
30/10/2009 05:50:45

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
small doll's cotton dress embroidered with red, blue and orange flowers. The dress, which has a collar, is fitted with three metal fasteners at the rear.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3892

ItemName
dress, silk, doll's

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Kohn-Wertheimer, Helga

IndexPlaces
AT & Vienna

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Helga Kohn-Wertheimer brought this doll's dress with her when she was evacuated from Austria on a Kindertransport.

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3887 - EPH 3891, EPH 3893 - EPH 3895; Docs; Photos; DPB

RelatedImageFile
eph_003892.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport
YH_ToysGames

UncatTransferDate
30/10/2009 05:50:45

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
small doll's dress in pale blue silk, with crocheted pink flowers (with green centres) around the hem and (three) at the top. The dress is fastened at the back with three buttons.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3894

ItemName
coat, wool, doll's (sailor-style)

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Kohn-Wertheimer, Helga

IndexPlaces
AT & Vienna

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Helga Kohn-Wertheimer brought this doll's sailor coat with her when she was evacuated from Austria on a Kindertransport.

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3887 - EPH 3893, EPH 3895; Docs; Photos; DPB

RelatedImageFile
eph_003894.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport
YH_ToysGames

UncatTransferDate
30/10/2009 05:50:45

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
small doll's sailor-style coat in blue wool with short sleeves and a long yoke. The coat is fastened by 3 brass buttons each bearing an anchor with a crown above.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3898

ItemName
spectacles, child's (with case)
glasses, child's (with case)

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Ullman, John

IndexPlaces
DE

FullSummary
John Ullman brought these glasses with him when he was evacuated from Germany on one of the Kindertransports. He was six years old when he arrived in England. John Ullman died on 22nd March 2001.

RelatedImageFile
eph_003898.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
A child's pair of round tortoise-shell rimmed glasses. The lenses have been chipped in places. The glasses are in a well-used black cardboard case (most of the black covering has been worn away).

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3899

ItemName
coin, fifty Reichspfennig, German (1928)

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Wuga, Ingrid (née Wolff)

IndexPlaces
DE & Dormunt

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Ingrid Wuga (née Wolff) brought this 50 pfennig coin with her when she was evacuated from Germany on one of the Kindertransport. It was she described: 'One of three coins hidden inside the hem of my dress. These precious little coins have been in my jewellery case for about 60 years. Every time I see them, they bring back very mixed feelings, and memories. I came to Ashby-de-la-Zouch, to a kind family Mr and Mrs Dixon, on Kindertransport. I was always very grateful that they were prepared to give me refuge.
One day, visiting the Dixons on my half day from work, I was greeted with consternation by Mrs Dixon. A big trunk from my parents had arrived full of clothes for me. Mrs Dixon had unpacked it and found three little coins, they were in my school skirt. 'Did I not know that I was only allowed to bring 10f that I had already brought?' I was not so upset that I had 'smuggled' 10 pfennings, but that I was not allowed to unpack the trunk, my mother had lovingly packed for me.'

RelatedImageFile
eph_003899.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
03/12/2008 05:51:24

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

Access
On loan to

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3900

ItemName
coat hanger, child's

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Sharasy, Hanna Elsa ((Shamash) nee Karplus)

IndexPlaces
DE & Berlin

FullSummary
Hanna Elsa Sharasy (Shamash) brought this coat hanger in her luggage when she was evacuated from Germany on a Kindertransport in March 1939: 'I was born in 1927 in Berlin - Charlottenburg, the second child of parents old enough to be my grandparents. My father was a radiologist, had his laboratory and a state registered school for radiographers on the premises. My mother helped him with the practice and looked after us, helped by a maid and till we went to school a 'Kindermadchen' as well. My father was born in Borek, Posen in 1878 (then Germany, later Poland) and the family originated since at least 1640 in Hozenplotz part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. My mother (b.1887) came from Danzig (Gdansk) then East Prussia, later a Free State, now Poland. She was one of 9 surviving children, thence I had 22 cousins on mother's side, and I was the youngest. We lived in a large flat, the front part was used as consulting rooms by my father. Though my grandparents had been religious, my parents were not, but my father had a great knowledge of and sentimental attachment to Hebrew and Judaism. I cherish the memories of wonderful Seder nights with many relatives, and being the youngest, having to ask the questions, and my cousin doing her best to give me a fit of the giggles. From 1933-36 I went to a small private school, mainly because my brother was thought to be delicate but very bright. I remember one girl I was playing with telling me one day that her parents had told her she was not to play with me any more because I was Jewish. For a little while she continued to meet me in secret. This must have been 1934 or 1935. In 1936, as my brother was due to go to secondary school, my mother went to see the Head of my father's old school, the Kolnishe Gymnasium. The head agreed to accept him, but he told my mother he would not be able to protect him, so we were both sent to the Jewish Kaliski School. Life was made as normal as possible for us. . . . Now we made new friends, and of course they were all Jewish. The Jewish schools had sports days competing against each other, and we had outings, as normal. During the summer holdiays we would go to the sea-side for a month. . . Sundays we would often go to the Grunewald, or Potsdam or Wannensee, often with Mother's youngest brother and his 3 daughters. Gradually notices would appear at the swimming pool or Lido 'Jews not welcome' and our outings were curtailed. We also felt too frightened to go to the local park, as Hitler Youth boys might throw stones. Once I was hit. Even as children we knew what was happening and urged our parents to leave. My father went to Palestine with a view of emigrating in 1936, but returned as he was there during the Easter Arab uprising, and felt there would never be peace there. We applied to go to the United States, after my mother's 4 brothers had gone there from Danzig, in 1938, but had to wait 12 years till 1959 to get our visa. My brother then went to the USA. My parents were too old, and I decided to stay with them. After Kristallnacht we desperately tried to go anywhere, Iceland, or Ecuador where my parents had friends. Finally on my brother's Barmizvah, which had to be celebrated in a hall as the Synagogue had been burnt and (with) a different Rabbi as the original one was in a concentration camp, we heard that we had a place on the Kindertransport and left on March 2nd 1939, to go to Boarding School in Broadstairs, Kent. We arrived destitute with 1 shilling and luggage we could carry (i.e. one suitcase). We waited on long benches at the Stettiner Bahnhof, saying our goodbyes. Once on the train we soon dried our tears, and when we crossed the Dutch border all cheered. . . .We took the night boat at the Hook von Holland, came to Harwich and Liverpool Street the next morning, where we were met by my uncle and aunt. My parents arrived in England, to wait for an American visa at the end of April 1939 with o1 each, and no permission to do paid or unpaid work. We were safe and never looked back. We decided a new life had started for us. Easier for us children than my 50 and 60 year old parents who were peniless after having enjoyed a high standard of living. My parents had for many years employed an English girl, a sort of au pair, to teach my brother and me to speak English, so we had a working knowledge of the language when we arrived, which made the transition easier.'

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3901; DPB

RelatedImageFile
eph_003900.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
A child's coat hanger made of wood with a metal hook. It has been covered with yellow and white checked material which has worn away in places.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3902

ItemName
boots, pair of (with clip-on skates)

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Kay, Herbert (Koniec)

IndexPlaces
CS & Bratislava

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Herbert Kay (Koniec) brought these boots and clip-on ice skates with him when he was evacuated from Czechoslovakia on one of the Kindertransports in June 1939. He is the brother of Dorothea Douglas who was also a Kinder. Herbert recalls: 'I left Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, on 28th June 1939 aged 10, with two suitcases. Among my possessions were these boots and a pair of clip-on skates which I never used because my feet were too big by winter time and there was no ice about! They remained in my possession until I unearthed them for this exhibition. As I was brushing up the boots I pondered the thought that the last time they were polished would be by my mother in 1939. The laces are original. Both my parents perished in 1942 at the hands of the Nazis. I wrote letters to my parents via Portugal until 1941 in German, Hungarian and Czech and later on in English. After the war Dorothea went back to Bratislava only to find all the letters in a neighbours house.' She brought these letters back, which by then Herbert found difficult to understand. When Herbert arrived in England he was sent to live in Glasgow with an elderly lady doctor where he was not very happy. On the outbreak of war he was sent as an evacuee to Ayrshire. There he lived with the landlady of one of the local infant school teachers: 'Their attitude towards me was in stark contrast to that of the lady doctor and we took to each other immediately. I had total freedom of the house giving me a sense of liberation and for the first time since arriving in the UK I was very happy.' (See: 'I Came Alone', p.168) In 1945, at the end of the war, steps were taken for Herbert to be returned to Czechoslovakia but as he had no relatives left there and he could no longer communicate there his foster family gave him a home and he was allowed to stay in the UK. In 1947 he became a British citizen and completed his school education. He went on to Glasgow University to study medicine. For more information about Herbert's experiences see: 'I Came Alone : the stories of the Kindertransports', edited by Bertha Leverton and Shmuel Lowensohn (1990).

RelatedIWMItems
Docs

RelatedImageFile
EPH_003902 .jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
03/12/2008 05:51:24

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
pair of brown leather boots with brown laces and a brown leather strap across the laces. A pair of clip-on ice skates are attached (by screws at the base) to the undersides of the boots.

Access
On loan to

IndexEvent
Kindertransport 1938-1939, Evacuation

Theme
British Home Front 1939-1945
Refugees
Holocaust

CoLStatus
Ready

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3901

ItemName
coat hanger, child's

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Sharasy, Hanna Elsa ((Shamash) nee Karplus)

IndexPlaces
DE & Berlin

FullSummary
Hanna Elsa Sharasy (Shamash) brought this coat hanger in her luggage when she was evacuated from Germany on a Kindertransport in March 1939: 'I was born in 1927 in Berlin - Charlottenburg, the second child of parents old enough to be my grandparents. My father was a radiologist, had his laboratory and a state registered school for radiographers on the premises. My mother helped him with the practice and looked after us, helped by a maid and till we went to school a 'Kindermadchen' as well. My father was born in Borek, Posen in 1878 (then Germany, later Poland) and the family originated since at least 1640 in Hozenplotz part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. My mother (b.1887) came from Danzig (Gdansk) then East Prussia, later a Free State, now Poland. She was one of 9 surviving children, thence I had 22 cousins on mother's side, and I was the youngest. We lived in a large flat, the front part was used as consulting rooms by my father. Though my grandparents had been religious, my parents were not, but my father had a great knowledge of and sentimental attachment to Hebrew and Judaism. I cherish the memories of wonderful Seder nights with many relatives, and being the youngest, having to ask the questions, and my cousin doing her best to give me a fit of the giggles. From 1933-36 I went to a small private school, mainly because my brother was thought to be delicate but very bright. I remember one girl I was playing with telling me one day that her parents had told her she was not to play with me any more because I was Jewish. For a little while she continued to meet me in secret. This must have been 1934 or 1935. In 1936, as my brother was due to go to secondary school, my mother went to see the Head of my father's old school, the Kolnishe Gymnasium. The head agreed to accept him, but he told my mother he would not be able to protect him, so we were both sent to the Jewish Kaliski School. Life was made as normal as possible for us. . . . Now we made new friends, and of course they were all Jewish. The Jewish schools had sports days competing against each other, and we had outings, as normal. During the summer holdiays we would go to the sea-side for a month. . . Sundays we would often go to the Grunewald, or Potsdam or Wannensee, often with Mother's youngest brother and his 3 daughters. Gradually notices would appear at the swimming pool or Lido 'Jews not welcome' and our outings were curtailed. We also felt too frightened to go to the local park, as Hitler Youth boys might throw stones. Once I was hit.
Even as children we knew what was happening and urged our parents to leave. My father went to Palestine with a view of emigrating in 1936, but returned as he was there during the Easter Arab uprising, and felt there would never be peace there. We applied to go to the United States, after my mother's 4 brothers had gone there from Danzig, in 1938, but had to wait 12 years till 1959 to get our visa. My brother then went to the USA. My parents were too old, and I decided to stay with them. After Kristallnacht we desperately tried to go anywhere, Iceland, or Ecuador where my parents had friends. Finally on my brother's Barmizvah, which had to be celebrated in a hall as the Synagogue had been burnt and (with) a different Rabbi as the original one was in a concentration camp, we heard that we had a place on the Kindertransport and left on March 2nd 1939, to go to Boarding School in Broadstairs, Kent. We arrived destitute with 1 shilling and luggage we could carry (i.e. one suitcase). We waited on long benches at the Stettiner Bahnhof, saying our goodbyes. Once on the train we soon dried our tears, and when we crossed the Dutch border all cheered. . . .We took the night boat at the Hook von Holland, came to Harwich and Liverpool Street the next morning, where we were met by my uncle and aunt. My parents arrived in England, to wait for an American visa at the end of April 1939 with o1 each, and no permission to do paid or unpaid work. We were safe and never looked back. We decided a new life had started for us. Easier for us children than my 50 and 60 year old parents who were peniless after having enjoyed a high standard of living. My parents had for many years employed an English girl, a sort of au pair, to teach my brother and me to speak English, so we had a working knowledge of the language when we arrived, which made the transition easier.'

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3900; DPB

RelatedImageFile
eph_003901.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
30/06/2006 11:14:35

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
A child's coat hanger made of wood (painted pale blue) with a metal hook.

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3907

ItemName
handbag

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Knight, Josi (née Jozefa Eberstarkova)

IndexPlaces
CS & Trstena

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Josi Knight (née Jozefa Eberstarkova) brought this handbag with her when she was evacuated from Czechoslovakia on one of the Kindertransports in June 1939. It had belonged to her mother, Sidonia Dorner. Josi recalls her experiences: 'My sisters and I, Josi, Alicia, Eli, 15½, 14 and 10 respectively, left our village called Trstena in Czechoslovakia on 28th June 1939, a day which will never be forgotten. We were frightened not knowing what lay before us, at the same time very excited to see our dear Uncle Heinz again. He came to London in 1938 with his wife from Berlin and wrote to our parents urging them to send us with the Kindertransport, which was being organised from Prague. He was much more aware of what was going on and his warning could not be ignored. Our parents travelled with us to Bratislava, where we said goodbye, fighting our emotions, saying that before long we will be together again. Unfortunately it was not to be as our parents and the rest of our family perished in the Holocaust. We were lucky - without our Uncle and Aunt we would have shared their fate. No child from my town, other than us, survived after the war. I treasured the house dress my mother made for me as well as her pinafore and handbag.'

RelatedIWMItems
EPH 3905 - EPH 3906

RelatedImageFile
eph_003907.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
03/12/2008 05:51:24

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
Small black leather handbag with a metal clasp and opening hinge. The interior comprises one main compartment with a small pocket on each side. The bag is fitted is a black leather hand strap.

Access
On loan to

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y

DeptName
Exhibits

IDNO
EPH 3912

ItemName
serving spoon

ObjectType
Kindertransport Collection

IndexPeople
Sim, Dorrith Marianne

IndexPlaces
DE & Kassel

IndexHistPeriod
Interwar

FullSummary
Dorrith Sim (née Oppenheim) brought this serving spoon with her when she was evacuated from Germany to the United Kingdom on one of the Kindertransports in July 1939. She recalls some of her experiences: 'At one time I know we lived in a beautiful flat . . . After we left there, our accommodation became more limited and my parents explained to me that being Jewish we had to be very careful about what we did and said and where we went. A suitcase was always kept ready and packed for my father in case he would be sent away. Then came the morning I arrived at school to find it wrecked, and men removing and destroying all they could lay their hands on, A man said to me: 'you'd better go home. It will be a long time before you're back here again.' It must have been about then that my Oma and Opa went off to Canada. We were in another house again. This time living with two elderly Jewish brothers and their sister. They had a shop set up in one room because by this time we were banned from visiting the shops in town. People knew to expect trouble that night and my mother had brought some Jewish children out of a Home to stay with us. The Nazis came in that night and knocked the shop about, pulling down all the cupboards with their contents. They took away valuables from my mother and father, including the cup for swimming which my mother had been so proud of. They did not take my mother away because of the children, but they took away my father. I remember how relieved and happy my mother was when he walked back into the house in the afternoon. Then there was the task of getting me out of Germany to England. Early each morning my mother and I went to the Town Hall to see an important man called Herr Schmidt. Each day we went away empty handed and I cannot remember how often we called there until the morning when he finally produced the documents which allowed me to leave. My parents got me ready for the journey. They tried to teach me some English. All I succeeded in learning was 'I want to go to the WC' and 'I have a handkerchief in my pocket'. Among my clothes they packed a box full of precious family photos, my own cutlery set to which I still cling, and as a remembrance of them, the toilet case, cloth and soap which my father had taken with him to the First World War, where I knew both my father and my Opa had won Iron Crosses. I recall arriving at the railway station in Hamburg. I was carrying my toy dog Droll and my red leather shoulder bag. I dropped Droll underneath the train and a man climbed down and rescued him. We children boarded the train to get our places. Then I was sent off again to say farewell to my mother and father, I can see them to this day. They were standing in a corridor behind a barrier. I said my goodbyes and then walked back up the long corridor away from them into the train.'
Dorrith went on to live with foster parents in Edinburgh, Fred and Sophie Gallimore. She started the Scottish group of Kindertransport Kinder and other refugees and camp survivors. She managed the group until 1997.
See: 'I Came Alone : the stories of the Kindertransports', edited by Bertha Leverton and Shmuel Lowensohn (1990), pp. 320-321.

RelatedIWMItems
Photos

RelatedImageFile
EPH_003912.jpg

Weighting
1000
900

SubThemeTag
Kindertransport

UncatTransferDate
03/12/2008 05:51:24

URLEncodedDeptName
Exhibits

FormatDescription
large metal serving spoon (L 21.5cm).

Access
On loan

IndexPlace
Kassel, Hesse, Germany

IndexEvent
Kindertransport 1938-1939, Evacuation

Theme
Holocaust
Great Britain 1919-1939

CoLStatus
Ready

DigitalAsset
Y

IWMImageOwned
Y