amyrpk, Beloved Bird et al - Question - Page 2

[Pom]

Did I mention my spelling stinks -- especially when I'm posting quickly? SOrry 'bout that...thanks Amy for correcting!

[Tracy]

i'm not hijacking this thread......just a note.
tonight on hbo they ran, "in the arms of strangers." oh, my god, so painful, I don't know .... such brave family, children....

[merpk]

trabot, I don't have HBO, so what exactly ware you talking about?

& the thread was kinda stalled anyway, so there's nothing to hijack ...

- Amy

[Tracy]

In 1938, jewish families in germany, austria and czechslovakia, pulled strings, working with social workers, to send their children out of harms way. the writing was on the wall, hitler annexed austria, had stormed into czech, it was just after crystal night, it was clear, if you were jewish you were about to be in trouble, so they tried what they could and the British Government allowed 10,000 children to be sent to England. They left the arms of their parents to go to the arms of strangers.
Many of them never saw their parents again. Some did. Some ended up with families in england who used them for servants. Some found loving families.
This was their documentary. It was very moving. Very. They told their stories so beautifully.

[crazy_eights]

My neighbor in Israel was one of those kids. She was from Austria and her parents sent her and her brother on a "kindertransport" to England. She was one of the few whose parents survived the war. They went to France and got stuck there, so they stayed, eventually survived in hiding. She said she had contact with them until 1941, I believe, and she didn't hear from them until 1946. She was 5 when she was sent to England and 14 when she was reunited with her parents. I can't imagine. This woman went to a "kindertransport" reunion in Israel a few years ago and she was the only one whose parents survived the war.

[Tracy]

one of the men in the movie had a similiar experience. He was from austria. His mother knew what was coming, she could feel it and was very much an activist type. before 38 she got a servant's visa to england. then she went to england and her son stayed home with his father. After crystal night she got her son on kindertransport. he came to england and she met him but she was a maid in a big huge castle and you were't allowed children so she sent him to refugee house in ireland. She then went back to austria. the war broke out and he lost contact with her. She and his father later got out and hid in france with resistance groups. He later found them five years later.

one sweet story was a little boy went to baron rothschild's castle and knocked on the door and told the butler he wanted to see the baron. wait, maybe he was a lord...anyway, he went to see him and he was brought to the study and rothschild asked what he wanted and mind you this boy was about ten. and the boy said I want you to help get my mom and dad out of austria. And rothschild said, "can they work on a chicken farm." and he said, "Yes." and he said, "I'll get them."

so many stories...

one of the ladies on it lives in Isreal now. she is extra sensitive to refugees because of her kindersport experience.