The Centropa Kindertransport Collection
After the pogrom of November 9th, 1938, some 10,000 Jewish children were taken by their parents to train stations in cities like Frankfurt, Danzig, Breslau, Berlin, Prague and Vienna. They would find refuge in the United Kingdom while most of their parents did not survive.
At war’s end in 1945, few of those “Kinder” wanted to return to the cities of the birth. But a few did, and we offer three poignant stories from Centropa’s Vienna interview archive.
Kitty Suschny: From Vienna to Manchester
Kitty’s father died of a heart attack well before the Germans marched into Austria. After the Anschluss her brother fled and Kitty’s mother took her to the station. “Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’m the widow of an army officer.”
Lilli Tauber: From Wiener Neustadt to Cockley Cley
Lilli was living in a small town when suddenly, all her non-Jewish friends started avoiding her. Then came November 9th. Lilli’s parents desperately looked for a way to save their daughter.
Sophie Engler: From Vienna to a village in Scotland
Sophie was born into a wealthy family that would soon lose everything, including the lives of her family. Just nine-years-old when her mother brought her to the train station, Sophie could only hope she’d see her mother again.
Narrated by Jilly Bond
