This week marks the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. On 9-10 November 1938, increased anti-semitism under the Nazis erupted into violence and murder. 91 Jews were killed, 30,000 Jewish men were taken to concentration camps, and 267 synagogues were destroyed, along with Jewish schools, businesses and homes.
The Kindertransport was organised as a response to the events of Kristallnacht. Within days, the Home Secretary agreed to issue travel documents based on group lists, in order to speed up immigration. Jewish and non-Jewish organisations agreed to fund the £50 guarantee required for each child to enter the country, and homes were arranged for the children.
Between 1 December 1938 and 1 September 1939, around 10000 unaccompanied Jewish children left Germany, Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia and came to Britain.
Many arrived at Liverpool Street station, including Frank Meisler, who arrived in August 1939, aged fourteen. Days after his departure, his parents were arrested and they were murdered at Auschwitz. Meisler sculpted this memorial to the Kindertransport, which was unveiled at Liverpool Street in 2006. He also sculpted the memorials at the entrance to train stations in Gdansk, Hamburg, Berlin and the Hook of Holland to mark the journey taken by many of the children.
