Experience and anniversary of the Klindertransport

When Bertha Leverton had the idea of organising the 50th anniversary Reunion of Kindertransport (RoK) in 1989, few Kinder identified themselves as such or knew the story of how the Kindertransport came about. The first two-day reunion, attended by approximately 1,000 people, was a powerful event in which many met relatives and friends they had not seen or heard of for 50 years. For many, this was an epiphany that triggered a journey to discover themselves and their roots. In attending the event myself, I realised how much I didn’t know about my own story as a Kind – through my defence against taking it in. I was staggered to learn that almost 10,000 of us came to England between Kristallnacht and the outbreak of war and that I knew many personally without knowing they were Kinder. At a seminar on bereavement led by my colleague, Judith Elkan, one of these Kinder talked with her about the losses involved for the Kinder including family, friends, language and country in uprooting and exile. Judith and I decided to offer groups for former Kinder to explore their experiences. The groups were sponsored by LINK Psychotherapy Trust. Because of this and other work we had done on the Kindertransport experience, we were each asked to facilitate a group at the Reunion of Kindertransport in 1999, to which Kinder were encouraged to bring their offspring. Our workshops were designated for Children of Kindertransportees. Judith and I found that three generations of the Kindertransport had come and begun a dialogue between the generations. Enthusiasm had been generated to continue this dialogue. We decided to offer another series of group meetings, again sponsored by LINK Psychotherapy Trust, this time for intergenerational dialogue. We have had four of these meetings so far. Some have attended all foiu: meetings and there has been at least one new person at each, so anyone interested is welcome even if they have not joined in before. Those who have contributed to this project have gained validation of their experiences by having them listened to in a ‘safe’ and sharing environment and have found this, and hearing other’s experiences, enriching. It is a place where thoughts and feelings the RoK and other events have triggered can be explored. It is urgent for some people: time is running out for breaking the silence between the first and second generation that has deprived them both of sharing their experiences through fear of damaging each other. Some second generation members, struggling in the face of the enormity of what happened to their parents, are using this group in an to attempt to put their own experience into words and have it heard by the first generation members. The process of mourning and massive losses, that had to be “buried in the attic’ of the minds of the Kinder, is loosened in this dialogue and moved towards resolution, and this has a healing effect. Themes such as ambivalence about Jewishness and Britishness, personal identity and feelings of being different are given space in this group. One member expressed the difficulty of ‘letting go’, a sort of hanging on to pain as a defence against depression. To say this shows that she was already letting go. Another felt that psychological meanings of her own experience were emerging from the dialogue. Another was curious for further dialogue to explore what had been transmitted to the second generation and how this worked, and whether the third generation was affected.