New details reveal how thousands of Jewish children fled the Nazis during WWII

An example of some of the documents that were discovered in the Israeli archives.
-Credit:Nottingham Trent University


Thousands of Jewish people who fled Nazi Germany as children will, for the first time, learn details of their journeys to freedom thanks to the discovery of historic documents by academics from Nottingham Trent University ( NTU ). Records which were used by border officials in Holland - to allow Jewish children to pass through the Netherlands on trains to the UK as part of the historic Kindertransport - have been discovered in archives in Israel.

Until now, it had been believed such records no longer existed, leaving those rescued by the Kindertransport without any precise knowledge of how they reached safety prior to World War II. The records, which are copies of original files held in Holland, list the names of almost all the children who fled to the UK and Holland on the Kindertransport – up to 9,000 children – on more than 90 trains between December 1938 and August 1939.

It is believed that the records were created by the Dutch Jewish Children Committee to ensure safety of passage for children travelling from Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Austria and even Italy. They include details of the children’s names, home addresses, dates of birth, parents’ names, chaperones’ names, Kindertransport numbers and departure dates.

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The documents were discovered in the archives at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel, by NTU alumna Dr Amy Williams, a freelance research fellow. Dr Williams is now working with NTU Emeritus Professor Bill Niven to piece together the facts and make the lists available to the public.

“Since I started my research into the Kindertransport ten years ago, I was told repeatedly that the lists of children travelling to Britain and Holland did not exist,” said Dr Williams, who completed a history PhD in the School of Arts and Humanities at NTU.

Dr Amy Williams discovered the documents in the archives.
Dr Amy Williams discovered the documents in the archives. -Credit:Nottingham Trent University

“But I have found them here - these are the lists of the Kindertransportees. These lists will allow thousands of people to reconstruct their family units and understand more about their grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ lives before the horror ensued.

“Many of the Kindertransportees who are still alive today, who were so young that they cannot recall their journeys, will for the first time learn how they fled the war to start new lives in the UK and Holland.”

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As part of the same project, Dr Williams is also making available separate records she discovered in the archives of the Leo Baeck Institute New York for children who left Gdansk in Poland. These documents contain the names of several hundred children for the Kindertransport from Poland, though sadly some of the children never made it onto their train.

Dr Williams has also just began working through the Austrian lists to the UK, France, Belgium, Australia, and other nations held at the new National Library of Israel. Professor Niven said: “These documents are of huge historical significance and will help answer questions that many Jewish people have carried for their entire lives.

“It’s the first time that many people will know that they were definitely on a Kindertransport, where it travelled through, the names of those who accompanied them and other minor details that no one has ever seen before.

One of the tags that the kindertransportees were given
One of the tags that the kindertransportees were given -Credit:Nottingham Trent University

“It may be possible for people to trace where they lived, how many children were on their train, and the names of the children they sat next to. For some children it gives the address that they were going to. For those people who were on the Kindertransport but have since passed away, it will allow their children, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren to learn more about their family origins and the historic train journey that gave them freedom.”

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Surviving Kindertransportee Hanna Zack Miley, 92, who now lives Arizona in the USA, said: “I am still feeling the reverberations of seeing my details on the Kindertransport list. Reclaiming the past is an ongoing journey for me. My first reaction was a feeling of authentication - this actually did happen, I was really there. I’m embracing more deeply both the losses and the deliverance, the saving of my life.

“I am comforted by a fresh sense of belonging to the kinder and our shared history. I think Dr Williams has gifted us with a sense of dignity, in the honouring of our story. Already the discovery of the lists has led to a Zoom meeting with two of Doris Aronowitz’ sons. Her name was next to mine on the list. I think it’s only the beginning.”

It is hoped that all the documents will be made available to the public through organisations such as the Association of Jewish Refugees and World Jewish Relief to allow survivors and their families to learn about their past.

Until then, if anyone would like to check whether they or their ancestors are named are lists please email amy.williams2011@my.ntu.ac.uk.