ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question: How did Eddy Behrendt, the founder of the KTA, find Kinder for the first meeting, and where did they come from?
The Kindertransport (German for “children’s transport”) was an organized rescue effort that brought nearly 10,000 unaccompanied, predominantly Jewish children to Great Britain from Nazi-controlled territories between 1938 and 1940. It successfully saved thousands of lives, though most of the children never saw their parents again.
The Kindertransport Association, which was founded in 1989, is a not-for profit organization with a three-fold mission:
–to connect those who, many years ago, were directly involved in the Kindertransports, and their families and descendants;
–to educate and inform about the Kindertransports as an important part of Holocaust history;
–to support and advocate for child refugees and children in need today.
Melissa Hacker, the Executive Director of the KTA, is the daughter of a Kindertransport survivor from Vienna, Austria. Melissa was the first Second Generation member to serve as President of the Kindertransport Association, from 2013 to 2023. This week she is speaking with us about the history of the organization and its many activities.
