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Sarah A. Murphy
January 7, 1939
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The Children Of The Holocaust
The holocaust was a horrific event especially for children due to separation from their families for safe keeping or when they were sent with their families to a concentration camp. During the Holocaust, in order to protect their children from the Germans and the bombings, parents would put their youngsters onto the Kindertransport where they were removed from the cities and resettled in small villages where they were taken in by a foster family. Also during this time, people were sent to concentration camps where the living conditions were poor, food was scarce and death was lurking around every corner. ER KIND T SPOR TRAN
Kids embarking on Kinder transport train
England’s Kindertransport was created in an attempt to keep children safe from the bombings in Germany. The first Kindertransport arrived in Harwich, on December 2, of 1938. 196 children from a Berlin Jewish orphanage that had been burned down by the Nazi’s in early November were boarded onto a train to be sent to the country. The children had to be within the ages of 3 and 17 and were not allowed to be accompanied by their parents. Upon arrival, children wore tags and waited at the railway station for a foster family to retrieve them and take them to their new home. Kindertransport.org states that “The Kindertransports saved around 10,000 children, most of them Jewish” Sadly, only 20% of the kids ever saw their parents again. For those Jewish children not rescued through efforts like the Kindertransport,
Map of kindertransport route
CON CEN TRA TION CAM PS
Kids in required blue and white striped uniforms
For those Jewish children not rescued through efforts like the Kindertransport, imprisonment in concentration camps was the usual outcome. Families were forced onto trains not knowing where they were going or what would happen to them. Upon arrival, according to the article "A Closer Look at Auschwitz, the Infamous Death Camp." “Families, who had disembarked together, were quickly and brutally split up.” Also, “The Nazis often carried out “children’s actions” to reduce the number of “useless eaters” Around six to eleven percent of Jewish children survived compared to the thirty three percent of the adults. After disembarking the train, the young, the elderly, pregnant women, or the unfit promptly sent to the gas chambers. Only six to eleven percent of Jewish children survived the Holocaust.
Death Walk
In conclusion, whether you were a child sent out of the country for safety or a child transported to a concentration camp, you would endure similar feelings of emotional insecurity. Examples of these would include separations from loved ones, fear of facing the unknown, and overwhelming panic.
Cited Information Sources: "Kindertransport History." Kindertransport Association | History. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2017. Rosenberg, Jennifer. "A Closer Look at Auschwitz, the Infamous Death Camp."ThoughtS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2017. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 05 June 2017. Cited Picture Sources: http://holocaustonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/kindertransport.gif https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/4b/76/26/4b7626c8708a12ab9676ccc19e12723d.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Child_survivors_of_Auschwitz.jpeg/220pxChild_survivors_of_Auschwitz.jpeg http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/6b55abe9756a42afbc3a3a7aa70f4332/nuremberg-1929-nazi-party-day-ss-troopscarrying-nazi-party-standards-gf24jg.jpg