Tuesday
May112010
Züge in das Leben – Züge in den Tod (trains to life - trains to death)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 
They do not know how lucky they are. I do know how lucky I am.On one of our many exploratory missions in Berlin, the kids and I happened across this sculpture by Frank Meisler. At the time, I wasn't fully aware of its significance, but the caption mentioning "Initiative Berliner Kinderskulptur" (Berlin Children's Sculpture Initiative) caught my interest. The kids posed for a picture with the children in the sculpture and we continued on our way. I later did some research on the significance of the sculpture.
Most people know that millions were killed during the Holocaust. That includes up to 1.5 million children, including 1.2 million Jewish children. Those children, who faced a horrific fate, are represented by the group of five children on the opposite end of the sculpture from where my children are standing (that side of the sculpture can be seen better in the picture on this page). But not many people are aware that around 10,000 primarily Jewish children were sent from Austria and Germany to host families in Britain starting in 1938. Those children are represented by the two children standing next to mine on the sculpture. The first train of the Kindertransporte left from the Friedrichstrasse station in Berlin, where this statue now stands.
As a parent, I cannot imagine the pain. I cannot imagine having to choose between being separated from my child and sending them off to an unknown family in an unknown country to an unknown fate or keeping them close by my side and doing my best to protect them from any threat that comes our way. I cannot imagine the pain of realizing at some point that I'd made the wrong choice. I cannot imagine the pain of realizing that I would never see my children again. I cannot imagine, but I understand how lucky I am that I don't have to make those choices.
My children do not yet understand how lucky they are. But they will learn. In an age appropriate fashion, we will teach our children about the children who are not as lucky as they are. That will include those suffering from famine, war, natural disasters, slavery and the most horrific human initiated violence and genocide. They will learn, so that they can help. They will learn, so that they appreciate their privilege. They will learn, so that history does not repeat itself or at least not on their watch. They will learn, so that they can demonstrate empathy and compassion, rather than the arrogant entitlement that so often accompanies privilege. They will learn because it is damn important.
Reader Comments (21)
I believe this is the subject of the film Into the Arms of Strangers (2000); it's supposed to be a good documentary.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0248912/
It's also available on Netflix instant view.
This is a great post!! I am not sure I have the words to truly describe how well this is said. I am in tears just thinking about those parents who sent their kids away and those parents who kept them by their side only to find out that that was worse. Oh I just cannot even imagine!!
Well said! It is so incredibly important that we teach our kids about past and present suffering of children, here in Canada and around the world.
A friend can thank these trains for her very existence :) Her paternal grandparents were both on the last (successful) Kindertransport from Prague, though they didn't meet until many years later.
The journey of those trains was recently re-enacted: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winton_Train.
An amazing achievement, for all the horror that comes of contrasting the trains of life with those of death..
My boyfriend's father was a child during the Blitzkrieg in London. For his safety, his parents sent him and his siblings to live with other families (complete strangers!) during this time. The siblings were split apart and lived with these "host" families until the bombing in London had stopped.
When he first told me this, I could not imagine sending my kids off to some strange family for who knows how long. However, that decision might be the reason why he is still alive today. In desperate times...
I cannot imagine the choices these parent had to make, either. Or the horror many of them faced.
But I can relate a little to those trains to life, although in a less horrific story. During the war in former yugoslavia, my parents hosted two children from croatia, from a city right in the fighting border zone to serbia. They came with a bus, one night in a hurry, and stayed for three months with our family. We all scooched a little, four children in one room is better than two in a war zone, right? They never knew if their parents were still alive, private phone connections weren't available, their home regions was being bombed, and they didn't speak a word of german (or english, for what it's worth). I was only 11 or 12 at the time, but I still remember all this in a very strong way. And probably I still cannot understand how it felt for those children to be with strangers, not knowing if and when they can return home. Or how it felt for the parents, letting their children get on that bus to germany for keeping them safe, and how it felt for them to meet my parents some years later. Hard topic. Thanks for this article.
One of my best friends is the daughter of a man who went to Britain as part of the Kindertransport. His parents died in Auschwitz; his siblings are spread out around the globe. Thanks for drawing attention to this.
There's a nice book for kids that I have called "The Hidden Children" (http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Children-Howard-Greenfeld/dp/0395861381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273674369&sr=8-1) that deals with this subject. b
You are right no parent should have to make such a choice.
Nolan will also be learning about the not so lucky children (and the lucky ones) when he is old enough. I think it is VERY important that our children know the history of our world.
Wow. The contrast of those two living children with the bronzed, silent representations must have been overwhelming indeed.
Thanks for posting this!
I have to say that becoming a parent has completely changed the way I see the man-made and natural horrors of the world. War, famine, genocide... they all are so much more terrifying now that I am charged with the wellbeing of people that I love more than my own life. I, too, see it as my responsibility to teach them about those histories and instill in them a sense that they must be part of the tikkun olam.
i have had to explain to my children why family members and others they know have numbers tattooed on their arms. It is not an easy discussion.
I recently paid a condolence call to a woman who was part of Kindertransporte. Her parents had escaped before the war to Brazil, and she joined them afterward. She started dating her husband, also part of Kindertransporte, in England. Her older sister was in charge and insisted that the couple be escorted on all their outings until the the younger sister turned 18. The husband's family was killed (I believe) and the young couple went to South America, the US and finally Israel.
A man I know who was also part of kindertransport said that the volcanic ash incident reminded him of the period around when the war broke out. People were desperate to get out of Europe, but it was virtually impossible. My great-grandparents escaped Germany in 1939.
A beautiful post. Thank you for sharing. During my school years, we were taught about the Holocost but I don't ever remember being taught about the Kindertransporte. Thank you for sharing :) Btw, your children are adorable.
Yes! I agree completely!
Thank you for this, I didn't know either. I don't know what I ever would have done, to have been given a choice like that.
[...] stopping at monuments, taking the time to learn and write about the stories behind them when I get back home, and talking to people about the sacrifices others had to [...]
[...] Last year, we spent the spring and summer in Berlin. My kids learned about the Holocaust and they learned about parents who sent their children away to keep them safe. At the time, I wasn’t sure how to teach them about these things, but I knew that I had to. After visiting a memorial with my children, I wrote: [...]
Nice blog post but it was incredibly disrespectful to let your kids stand on a memorial to these poor children and their parents.