The Kindertransport Memory Quilts books are available at a reduced fee for schools and educational institutes. (minimum quantity of 30 books per order) Contact Gail Rosenbloom Kaplan at gkap855@aol.com.
The rescue of children from Nazi Germany and from Nazi occupied Austria and the Czech lands in sealed trains before the outbreak of the Second World War, in September 1939, has become known as the Kindertransport, and the rescued children as Kinder. The concept was to provide Kinder with avenues other than oral histories to express and share their experiences. Thus Kindertransport Memory Quilt book was born.
Kirsten Grosz, wife of one of the Kinder had a passion for quilt making and thought it would be a perfect way to honor the Kinder. The quilt would consist of blocks made by Kinder describing their experiences of the Kindertransport. With each block, the Kinder were asked to write a short essay about their life at the time of the Kindertransport. The blocks were collected and assembled into a complete collection.
Getting this project started required getting the word out that this novel project existed and convincing the Kinder that anyone is capable of contributing. Information on how to participate in this venture was published in the KTA newsletter and in the Reunion of Kindertransport (ROK) newsletter in England.
We hope the quilts will not only “talk” about the Kinder but will also remind us that there were many people in England who reached out and took in these refugee Kinder.
