Kindertransport, 1938-1948

The Kindertransport 

The Kindertransport was a British scheme to rescue Jewish children from Nazi-occupied regions Europe. The first group of ‘Kinder’ (children) arrived in December 1938. By then, conditions for Jewish communities had rapidly deteriorated under Nazi rule, marked by intimidation, segregation, and escalating violence. Parliament debated the crisis on 21 November 1938 and agreed to temporarily allow refugee children into Britain. The British Jewish community and the Society of Friends (the Quakers) advocated for rescuing vulnerable children and bringing them to Britain. Passport restrictions were waived, and refugee workers in Europe and Britain began arranging transport and visas for children up to the age of 17. No single central organisation was responsible for coordinating the effort, and the main groups involved were: 

• The Jewish Refugee Committee 
• Central British Fund for German Jewry, re-named Central Council for Jewish Refugees in 1939 
• Movement for the Care of Children from Germany, re-named Refugee Children’s Movement in 1939 
• Society of Friends (the Quakers) 
• Children’s Inter-aid committee (which involved the Save the Children Fund) 
• British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia 

The material in this series offers a valuable insight into the British government's involvement in the Kindertransport with records from The National Archives. However, it does not include the operational records of the project, nor does it constitute a comprehensive or systematic list of all the children rescued, since the Kindertransport was not a centrally organised scheme, but an emergency measure to allow unaccompanied Jewish children under the age of 17 to enter the UK. The most complete list of Kinder available today has been compiled by the Association of Jewish Refugees and is accessible through the ‘Making New Lives’ website. 

Each child required a British guarantor to cover the £50 cost of the return trip (equivalent to around £2,000 today). The Movement for the Care of Children in Germany, later known as the Refugee Children’s Movement, took responsibility for those without a guarantor. Many children were taken in by relatives or family friends, while others lived in hostels, lodgings, or holiday camps. Before leaving their parents, children were dressed in their best clothes and allowed one piece of hand luggage and a suitcase. Some families attempted to smuggle valuables among their children’s belongings. On arrival, the children underwent medical inspections and were deloused. 

The Kindertransport ended in September 1939 with the outbreak of war. Several factors contributed to the closure of the scheme: the Refugee Children’s Movement was running out of funds, unemployment was rising in Britain, and fears of admitting ‘enemy aliens’ during a time of war grew. However, the records continue beyond the children’s arrival. During the war, many Kinder were monitored, with details recorded about their financial support and religious upbringing. In 1943, the Guardianship (Refugee Children) Bill was passed. The bill was written to mandate that all the refugee children were assigned a guardian in the UK. Until then, their parents were considered the legal guardians but unfortunately for many, their fate was unknown or they had not survived. For the children in the care of the Refugee Children’s Movement, Lord Gorell was named as their guardian in England and their ‘tutor’ for children residing in Scotland. The ultimate hope had been to reunite the Kinder with their families after the war. For most, this was tragically impossible in the wake of the Holocaust. Some children remained in Britain and found employment, others emigrated to the USA or other countries, and a few returned to their countries of birth. 

The records in this series 

There are different types of government records available within this series: 

• War Cabinet (CAB) – Includes records relating to the drafting of the 1943 Guardianship (Refugee Children) Bill and a copy of the drafted bill.  
• Foreign Office (FO) – Includes reports and correspondence which deal with the Jews in Danzig and emigration of children from Danzig and expulsion of Jews from occupied Poland, reports of the work of refugee workers in Poland and Germany including the Society of Friends (Quakers), dispatches from the Embassy in Rome regarding the position of Jews in Italy, letters regarding the entry of refugee children into the UK, and proposals to send some refugee children to the US, among others.  
• Home Office (HO) – Includes correspondence about the refugee children’s education and traineeships, papers from the Aliens Department, discussion of the plight of the German Jews and financial assistance for the refugees from the government, organisations and private sources (such as the Baldwin Fund); reports of the rates of maintenance paid by the government for children boarded out with schools, families, lodgings or other institutions; guardianship of refugee children; list of children in the care of the Czechoslovak Refugee Trust Fund, and  lists of refugee children applying for the Girl Guides warrants.  
• Education (ED) – Includes correspondence about refugee children continuing into higher education or technical training and its funding.  
• Health (MH) – Includes reports on the refugee camp at Dovercourt including menus, descriptions of accommodation and activities organised for the children, concerns over religious upbringing, inspection visits to Dovercourt, and documents about the medical condition of refugee children from Germany. 
• Security Service (KV) – Miscellaneous papers from the Enemy Aliens’ Tribunal 1939-1942. 

A full list of the archive references included in this series can be downloaded below.