Synopses & Reviews
Sent across the ocean by their parents and taken in by foster parents and distant relatives, approximately 1,000 children, ranging in age from fourteen months to sixteen years, landed in the United States and out of Hitler's reach between 1934 and 1945. Seventy years after the first ship brought a handful of these children to American shores, the general public and many of the children themselves remain unaware of these rescues, and the fact that they were accomplished despite powerful forces in and outside the government that did not want them to occur. This is the first published account, told in the words of the children and their rescuers, to detail this unknown part of America's response to the Holocaust. It will challenge the belief that Americans did nothing to directly and actively save Holocaust victims.
Judith Tydor Baumel, Holocaust scholar and sister of two rescued children, provides an introduction explaining why, when, how, and where the rescues were carried out, who the heroes and heroines were, and which individuals and organizations placed almost insurmountable obstacles in their path. This account presents both recollections and experiences recorded at the time of the rescued children, their descendants, and their rescuers. The story demonstrates what a small group of determined people can do to change the course of history.
Review
[A] moving and insightful book, that gives a voice to this hidden chapter of our history. A voice I have been hearing my whole life since my Aunt was one of the 'One Thousand Children.' Her story and the story of other ordinary people in extraordinary situations, that you have brilliantly captured, has inspired me and should everyone else who reads this important chronicle.Tommy Schlamme, Director, "The West Wing"
Review
[T]he messages contained here should be read by anyone interested in the human condition.Carlton Jackson (Daily News)
Review
While Britains efforts to save young people of Jewish heritage from the Nazis have been documented, both in print and on film, this book presents the memories of those whose Kindertransport experiences led them to America by the One Thousand Children project. The book consists primarily of excerpts from memoirs and letters written by the children whose parents sent them from Germany and Austria, often by circuitous routes, to Jewish foster families across the United States. They present moving first-hand, child-centered views of life in the small towns of central Europe in the 1930s, the terror of Kristallnacht, the tearing apart of families for the sake of young lives, and life in wartime America as a young refugee....This is a valuable addition to high school Holocaust collections. Recommended.Library Media Connection
Review
[A] poignant book....It comes alive in this first anthology of memoirs of the only unaccompanied children rescued by America from the Holocaust. It describes in detail the youngsters, their rescuers and the acceptance and generosity of the strangers who took them in. It is a story of hope and triumph spanning three continents, two oceans and 12 years. It is important because it offers the words of the children from personal diaries and letters.The Jerusalem Post
Synopsis
The unknown story of the successful American rescue of approximately 1,000 children from the Holocaust is told in the words of the children and their rescuers.
Synopsis
Sent across the ocean by their parents and taken in by foster parents and distant relatives, approximately 1,000 children, ranging in age from fourteen months to sixteen years, landed in the United States and out of Hitler's reach between 1934 and 1945. Judith Tydor Baumel, Holocaust scholar and sister of two rescued children, provides an introduction explaining why, when, how, and where the rescues were carried out, who the heroes and heroines were, and which individuals and organizations placed almost insurmountable obstacles in their path.
Synopsis
Sent across the ocean by their parents and taken in by foster parents and distant relatives, approximately 1,000 children, ranging in age from fourteen months to sixteen years, landed in the United States and out of Hitler's reach between 1934 and 1945. Judith Tydor Baumel, Holocaust scholar and sister of two rescued children, provides an introduction explaining why, when, how, and where the rescues were carried out, who the heroes and heroines were, and which individuals and organizations placed almost insurmountable obstacles in their path.
About the Author
PHILIP K. JASON is Professor Emeritus of English, United States Naval Academy and Director of the Naples Center Writing Program at Florida Gulf Coast University. He is the author of numerous books, including the Encyclopedia of American War Literature (2001).IRIS POSNER is the President and co-founder of One Thousand Children (R), Inc. (OTC).
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction by Judith Tydor Baumel
In Short by Henry Schuster, Trudy Kirchhausen Turkel, and Jack Steinberger
Trepidations by Manfred Steinfeld, Kurt Admon, Martin Birn, and Henny Wenkart
Paths of Escape by Ruth Safrin Finkelstein, Lea Wasserman Schwarz, Camilla Maas, Michel Margosis, Richard Schifter, Henny Wenkart, Morris C. Troper, Albert Einstein, and Howard Wriggins
Coming to America by Manfred Goldwein, Ilse Hamburger Phillips, Ruth Schnitzer, Lea Wasserman Schwarz, and Walter Kron
Transitions by Henry Birnbrey, Charles Juliusburg, Martin Birn, Bill Graham, Gabrielle Kaufmann Koppel, and Thea Lindauer
Becoming an American by Phyllis Mattson, Ruth Schnitzer, Bill Graham, and Arnold Isaak
Full Circle by Charles Juliusburg, Arnold Isaak, Ben Hirsh, Fern Schumer Chapman, Rose Marie Phillips Wagman, and Phyllis Mattson
Afterword by Richard Schifter