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Kindertransport was a great program, though was very selective and tended to be a lengthy process. Applications of perfectly healthy children were much more likely to be accepted; those with disabilites or other issues were almost automatically rejected from the program. Children who required higher financial responsibility were much more likely to be rejected from Kindertransport. The children were required to be under the age of 17 and their parents had to be willing to send them away. Oftentimes, this would mean one child from a household would leave their parents and other siblings behind. Rarely, siblings may have been able to make the trip together, though they would be separated upon arrival in the United Kingdom. Families, sponsors, and British organizations funded the trips and hospitality for these children.
While it is not directly stated which children would be accepted into Kindertransport, it was a very strict program and targeted to rescue those who were most vulnerable yet least financially burdening.
The Loewensteins were a family from Germany who enrolled their child, Henry, into the Kindertransport program. This was recommended to him by a teacher at his school; she explained that there was a committee that would sponsor sending one boy to England. It is not disclosed how the teacher chose Henry to be the boy sent. His mother immediately applied for Henry to be sent to England under Kindertransport. After a few weeks, the family was informed of his acceptance. Following months of processing paperwork, a travel date was set for Henry Loewenstein: June 5, 1939.
Image caption: The last family portrait of the Loewensteins in Germany. Taken in May 1939, shortly before Henry's departure. From the University of Denver.
The family was well aware that this was saving Henry's life, but grieved letting their son and sibling leave forever. They hoped the separation would not last long, but the intensity of the war shattered those dreams for eight long years. They had infrequent communication through the Red Cross. Henry spent a few months in a refugee camp before being moved to the countryside when the war broke out. He was eventually placed in home where he stayed for the rest of the war.
Unlike many families, the Loewensteins were able to reunite in 1947. In most cases, the children never saw their families again, often because the rest of the family had passed during the Holocaust.
Below are some documents and images related to the Loewensteins experience with Kindertransport.
Image captions:
Travel instructions for Henry Loewenstein (Top Left)
Henry Loewenstein and sister Karin Steinberg (Bottom Left)
Letter guaranteeing Henry Loewenstein's place on the Kindertransport (Right)
All images from the University of Denver
Many other families had experiences very similar to that of the Loewensteins. While each situation was slightly different, the journey was relatively the same for each of the children saved by Kindertransport. The selection was strict, allowing around 10,000 children in Britain by the end of the humanitarian movement. Accepted applicants endured a lengthy process of paperwork before being assigned a travel date. On that day, they were expected to pack up their things and board the train with many other children, departing to Britain. Reunification of families after the war was rare as most families did not have many members survive.
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