Children's Exodus - A History of the Kindertransport

As the Holocaust loomed on the horizon, Britain rushed to evacuate nearly 10,000 Jewish children from the Nazi occupied territories in the months leading up to the outbreak of the Second World War. Through the unprecedented cooperation of religious and governmental organizations, the Kindertransport spared these children from the terror of the Third Reich and provided them with host families throughout Britain. 'Children's Exodus' offers an in-depth look at the people and politics behind the various chains of rescue as well as the personal narratives of the children who left everything behind in hopes of finding safety. _x000D__x000D_For the children who faced prosecution at the hands of the Nazis, the road to England took many forms. Vera K. Fast's account includes a diverse array of narratives which offer inspiring tales of endurance and survival in the face of extermination. Separated from their heritage and history, child refugees were forced to look inward for answers to lingering questions about their own religious identity as they struggled to adapt to their foreign surroundings. Drawing on unpublished interviews, journals, and articles, author Vera K. Fast examines the religious and political tensions that emerged throughout the migration and at times threatened to bring operations to a halt. _x000D__x000D_'Children's Exodus' explores the aftermath of the Refugee Children Movement as well as the subsequent attempts to reunite the fragmented Jewish community. The recently released records of Rabbi Schonfeld provide rare insight into the Othodox Jewish response to the Kindertransport movement. His papers document the search for the thousands of 'hidden Jews' who remained scattered throughout Europe in the years following the war as well as his controversial methods for bringing them to England. The book also provides a unique assessment of the second wave of the Kindertransport, which took place in 1945, to rescue the young survivors of the Holocaust._x000D__x000D_Vera K. Fast captures the life-affirming stories of child refugees with vivid detail and examines the motivations - religious or otherwise - of the organizations that orchestrated one of the greatest rescue missions of all time.