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The Kindertransport

What Really Happened

Andrea Hammel

$103.95

Hardback

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English
Polity Press
18 March 2024
In 1938 and 1939, some 10,000 children and young people fled to the UK to escape Nazi persecution. Known as the ‘Kindertransport’, this effort has long been hailed as a wartime success story – but there are uncomfortable truths at its heart.

The Kindertransport was a complex visa waiver scheme, and its organizers did not necessarily act with altruism. The British government required a guarantee to indemnify itself against any expenses, and refused to admit the child refugees’ parents. The selection criteria prioritized those who were likely to make the best contribution to society, rather than the most urgent cases. And some children and young people were placed in unsuitable homes, where many arrangements irrevocably broke down.

Written with striking empathy and insight, Andrea Hammel’s expert analysis casts new light on what really happened during the Kindertransport. Revelatory and impassioned, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of migration and refugees, and offers thought-provoking lessons for how we might make life easier for children fleeing conflict today.

By:  
Imprint:   Polity Press
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 218mm,  Width: 142mm,  Spine: 20mm
Weight:   340g
ISBN:   9781509553761
ISBN 10:   1509553762
Pages:   169
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
1. Myth 2. Persecution 3. Escape 4. Organisation 5. Placements 6. War 7. Death 8. Together/Apart 9. Life 10. Memory

Andrea Hammel is Professor of German and the Director of the Centre for the Movement of People at Aberystwyth University.

Reviews for The Kindertransport: What Really Happened

‘Andrea Hammel’s overview of the Kindertransport is a remarkable achievement. With compassion and sensitivity, the author has managed to convey the full complexities of the scheme and has put at the forefront the experiences of these Jewish refugee children which ranged from love and understanding to economic and sexual abuse.’ Tony Kushner, Parkes Institute, University of Southampton ‘An impressively well researched account that is at once fascinating and deeply moving. Hammel skilfully balances compassion and insight to lay bare the detail of the Kindertransport in a remarkably detailed and nuanced way. It is sure to become a definitive text on the subject.’ James Bulgin, Head of Public History, Imperial War Museums


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