When we ask ourselves today “what is the Kindertransport” we often impose our limited present day understanding onto this historical term and event. The Kindertransport has long been regarded as the rescue of mainly Jewish children from Nazism to Britain after Kristallnacht and before the outbreak of the Second World War.

More recently there has been a shift in Kindertransport studies leading to a greater focus upon the different national and transnational histories and memories of this international movement. Thus, we are now more aware that the Kindertransport programme between 1938 and 1940 was not just a journey to Britain but also to many other nations. But while “the Kindertransport” is the established term for that programme, there is a danger of overlooking the fact that there were other transports of children.

To fully understand the history of the children’s transports we need to go back to the archives. We need to review contemporary documents to understand how the term Kindertransport was used at the time by the refugee organisations and the Nazis themselves. We also need to reflect upon how the Kinder, institutions, the public, and politicians have interpreted and reinterpreted the term years later. We also need to consider the different expressions used at the time for the transports because these impact upon the telling of national histories and memories.

Moreover, the final key element to consider is the difference between the actual transports of children and how they had originally been envisaged as this influences the meaning and symbolism of the Kindertransport today. Rethinking the history of children’s transports will help us to understand this historical event as we approach the 90th anniversary in 2028.

The term “Kindertransport” is a general term meaning “children’s transport” and was used before the Nazis came to power. The term was often used to refer to children going on a group holiday. The first use of the term in relation to relocating children comes on 8th November 1934 when a group of German-Jewish children arrived in America. Their chances of getting into higher education in Germany were restricted so their families sent them to be educated abroad. There is a note in the American files which states that the refugee organistaions must ensure that no transport should be sent without an adult escort. Therefore, the children would not travel completely alone without any adult........

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