In brief
Researcher Amy Williams's recent find at Yad Vashem sheds light on the nearly 10,000 Jewish children who embarked on the Kindertransport from Germany to Britain between 1938 and 1939, including personal stories like that of Hanna Zack Miley, who lost her parents on that fateful journey.
In July 1939, a small girl named Hanna Zack Miley boarded a train in Cologne, Germany, unaware that she was about to embark on a journey that would alter her life forever. At just 7 years old, Hanna was among nearly 10,000 Jewish children who were sent to Britain as part of the Kindertransport, a rescue effort that took place between December 1938 and September 1939, designed to save minors from the impending horrors of Nazi persecution.Hanna's recollections from that day remain vivid. “They told me it was a nice trip and I believed it,” she reminisced. “I think they were trying to make it easy for me. I was the apple of their eye." The sharp contrast between her parents' hopeful reassurances and the profound sadness evident in their tearful goodbye was a realization that would haunt her for life; it was the last time she ever saw them.Now at the age of 93, Hanna lives in Phoenix, Arizona, carrying with her the memories of a childhood abruptly stolen by war. The memories of the Kindertransport, however, have slowly started to resurface thanks to contemporary efforts in historical research. In a significant breakthrough last fall, analyst Amy Williams uncovered a cache of documents during her work at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial. This treasure trove included names and other vital information about the children and their chaperones, providing a crucial window into this largely overlooked segment of Holocaust history.Despite the passage of time, these documents promise to restore faces and stories to the numbers often cited in discussions about the Holocaust and the Kindertransport. As researchers continue to explore the archives, they hope to reconstruct a more comprehensive picture of the emotional and physical journeys made by these children—the brave little souls forced to leave their families in search of safety across the borders of Europe. Through their stories, we honor not only their struggles but also their resilience amidst overwhelming odds.
