The Children Who Cheated the Nazis

'Sue Read's film tells the story of the 10,000 children who came to Britain to escape the Holocaust in soft tones and gentle rhythms, but somehow that heightens the horror.' - John Lyttle, The Daily Express. London.'I was very taken by 'The Children Who Cheated The Nazis,' and doubt if I can improve on the words of those who have taken part' - Nancy Banks-Smith, The Guardian. London.'I was very impressed with 'The Children Who Cheated The Nazis', both as a film and as an educational...
More Description

'Sue Read's film tells the story of the 10,000 children who came to Britain to escape the Holocaust in soft tones and gentle rhythms, but somehow that heightens the horror.' - John Lyttle, The Daily Express. London.'I was very taken by 'The Children Who Cheated The Nazis,' and doubt if I can improve on the words of those who have taken part' - Nancy Banks-Smith, The Guardian. London.'I was very impressed with 'The Children Who Cheated The Nazis', both as a film and as an educational resource.' - German Jewish Institute at the University of Sussex, England.This transcript is from the broadcast TV documentary 'The Children Who Cheated the Nazis.'This is the unbelievable story of 10,000 German, Austrian, and Czechoslovakian mainly Jewish children who in 1938 shortly before World War 2 was declared fled to England. It was a time of fear across Europe when these small, terrified children some as young as 1 year were forced to flee their homes without their parents. Their journeys became known as The Kindertransport, which was the largest escape of children from Nazi occupied territory. The traumatised children travelled in trains where Nazi soldiers searched their bags and papers, forcing some of them to return to Germany and certain death. We hear first-hand about the basket with 2 tiny babies in it that was pushed onto the train as it left the station. The babies had no papers. Despite their ages the children became their carers. What would the Nazis do when they found the basket? The children arrived in a foreign country they didn't know, where people spoke a language they didn't understand, to live with total strangers. Through personal, often emotional interviews we discover what happened to them. Some experienced loving foster families, others tell of beatings and being so hungry they ate dog's biscuits.For most of these children it was their first separation from their parents, it was also the last time they would ever see them again. They talk of their emotional scars and what they did with their lives. These are the original CHILDREN WHO CHEATED THE NAZIS. This transcript is taken directly from the documentary film featuring 17 interviews with Kindertransport children plus interviews with a rescuer, 2 of their parents and 2 foster families.The narration of the film is by Lord Attenborough (Oscar winning director of 'Cry Freedom' and 'Gandhi') He is featured in the film because his family took in two Kindertransport children.