By Phil Emberley
For the first time in Ottawa, For the Child, an exhibit commemorating the Kindertransport, will be on display at City Hall, October 17th to 31st. The Kindertransport was a major undertaking prior to the start of World War II, to evacuate more than 10,000 Jewish children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia.
While public awareness has grown about the Kinderstransport, especially as the courageous efforts of people like Sir Nicholas Winton have come to light, the impact on the children themselves has only recently been explored.
The exhibit, organized by the Vienna Memorial Museum, includes 30 photographs of objects the children took with them on their journey over 80 years ago. Each shows an original suitcase containing objects carried by a child as they travelled into an unknown future. In many instances, the objects represent the last physical contact a child had with their parents.
The title in German, Für das Kind, is taken directly from a small group of objects contained within the suitcase belonging to Pauline Worner (nee Makowski), namely three children’s coat hangers printed respectively with the words, Für Liebe Kind, Dem Braven Kind, and Für das Kind. (See photos below.)
As the child of a Kindertransport kind, I strongly encourage everyone to explore this exhibit. The story is both uplifting and heartbreaking, as many of these children would never be reunited with their parents; at the same time, many went on to lead extraordinary lives. There are numerous parallels to current events, wherein innocent children are being displaced due to war. The opening night of the exhibit will feature descendants of Kindertransport children who will share their family stories.
The exhibit is hosted in cooperation with the Embassy of Austria and the British High Commission, with the generous sponsorship and assistance of Mayor Jim Watson in providing a venue for the event.
The children’s coat hangers, donated by Pauline Worner, one of the children on the Kindertransport from Vienna, Austria.
Phil Emberley
Susan,
Thank you for your important comment. It’s hard to fathom what these children experienced. Not only were many harassed and persecuted as the Nazi regime took hold, but then they had the heartbreaking realization that they would never see their parents again. My father was eternally traumatized by this. As he approached death at the age of 80, he took out two photos of his parents and gave them a prominent spot in his bedroom, as he believed that he would soon be reunited with them. It would be wonderful to see a copy of the article that you mention. Phil Emberley
Susan
My mother Hildegard was one of the children rescued by the Kindertransport. She left Hamburg Germany in January 16th,1939 on the S.S. Manhattan. It arrived in Southhampton 3 days later on January 19th, 1939. My mother was 17 years old and never saw her parents again. Matthias Schirmer, a current German radio journalist, interviewed my mother (through me), and a few other Kindertransport children, and produced a lengthy article on this particular voyage of the S. S. Manhattan. I have a copy of this article.