Kindertransport

Jennifer Craig-Norton sets out to challenge celebratory narratives of the Kindertransport that have dominated popular memory as well as literature on the subject. This volume reveals that in fact many children experienced difficulties with settlement: they were treated inconsistently by refugee agencies, their parents had complicated reasons for giving them up, and their caregivers had a variety of motives for taking them in. According to these accounts, the Kindertransport was a straightforward act of rescue and salvation, with little room for a deeper, more complex analysis.

Against the grain of many other narratives, Craig-Norton emphasizes the use of newly discovered archival sources, which include the correspondence of refugee agencies, carers, Kinder and their parents and juxtaposes this material with testimonial accounts to show readers a more nuanced and complete picture of