The group transport of children to England from Germany, Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia came to be known as the Kindertransport. Between December 1938 and September 1939, approximately 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children arrived in England. The first Kindertransport arrived at Harwich on December 2, 1938, bringing 196 children from a Berlin Jewish orphanage torched by Nazis during the night of November 9th. Officially the Kindertransports were ended when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. A Kindertransport of approximately 60 children which was all set to depart from a Prague train station, was halted due to the outbreak of the war, stranding the children. The latest Kindertransport known to reach England bearing 80 children, was the freighter Bodegraven which left Holland on May 14, 1940, raked by machinegun fire from German war planes. 

Many organizations and individuals assisted in settling the Kinder, notably Lord Gorell, who headed the Refugee Children s Movement at the request of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the B nai B rith, the Chief Rabbi s Religious Emergency Council headed by Rabbi Solomon Schonfeld, various youth movements, the Y.M.C.A., the Society of Friends and many other Jewish and non-Jewish organizations. Private gifts of money, bedding, and clothing were received as well as offers of foster homes and houses for possible group homes. 

The children were mainly chosen by the emigration departments of Jewish central organizations in those countries. In Czechoslovakia, however, the task of selection was placed on a few people, notably Bill Barazetti and Miss Warminer, who actually handled the rescue operation from a room in a hotel in Prague, coordinating in London with Nicholas Winton who was locating sponsors and handling paperwork. In Vienna, lists of children were forwarded to London for selection. Ultiniately, the selection was determined by logistics and whether a sponsor (including an agency) was found. 

Children of the Kindertransport were dispersed to many parts of the British Isles. Many were initially housed in reception camps (such as Dovercourt) or hostels, and later sent to foster homes, farms or group homes. Those over 14, unless they were fortunate enough to be sponsored by individuals and sent to boarding schools or taken into foster care, were frequently absorbed into the country s labor force after a few weeks of training, mainly in agriculture or domestic service. Many families, Jewish and non-Jewish, opened their homes to these penniless children, and thus, thanks to those efforts by countries, individuals, and organizations, at least 10,000 lives were spared. 

The children grew up to lead useful and successful lives, some to become British citizens, serving in the armed services in World War II, others eventually emigrating to other countries, primarily the United States and Israel. 

In a letter read at the first major reunion of Kinder in England in 1989, Baroness Thatcher, the then-Prime Minister of England, wrote, "I am pleased and proud that the Government of the time offered you refuge and help, following the dreadful persecution you suffered in Germany and Central Europe. You came to us as homeless children and grew up to enrich the life of this country with your courage and fortitude." 

Moving human interest stories abound: how children, some as young as two months, left their parents on railway platforms to make the long journeys in sealed trains with other children across Germany to the Hoek van Holland and then by overnight boat to Harwich, and finally to various destinations throughout Great Britain; how they spent the war years in a foreign country rapidly learning a foreign language and trying to assimilate; and eventually, in many cases, becoming successful far beyond their dreams. 

Life was not always easy, especially in the early weeks and months. Most children spoke little or no English. Throughout the war years the children worried about the families they had left behind, wondering whether they would ever see them again. In most cases their worst fears proved to be well-founded: all family members had perished. Not all the children felt comfortable in foster care, and in some cases, well-meaning but unsuitable couples became foster parents to the young refugee children. Those children who went to work often found life very hard. 

Now participants in the Kindertransport are no longer young; many are 70 or older and eager to tell the story of an event that so profoundly changed their lives. The Kindertransport Association (KTA) allows these children, who refer to themselves and other members as Kinder, to meet and talk and tell and record their stories for posterity as a part of the story of the Holocaust, to give mutual assistance where needed and, in thankfulness for having escaped the Nazi gas chambers, to explore opportunities for aiding other refugee children of any race or religion. The organization is on record as being grateful to all those who had the children s survival, as well as their welfare, at heart. The inhumanity and degradation that they escaped is immeasurable; the successful rescue operation in which so many participated was nothing short of spectacular.