What was the Kindertransport rescue mission?

Answer 1

Events leading up to the Kindertransport:

• After Hitler mastered power in Germany in 1933, his Nazi party started the destruction of Jews. Because of this action, thousands of Jews fled the country but the emigration slowed for getting Visas were almost impossible to get.
• Because of the matter that Jews were being held captive in Hitler's Reich, President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States suggested a conference on July 6, 1938 with thirty one other counties to deal with the "refugee problem".
• Most countries refused to let in the new immigrants and the members could only agree to meet later.
• However, after November 9, 1938, more commonly known as the Night of The Broken Glass almost all thirty one counties refused to let in Jewish immigrants. Terrified that Hitler and his Nazi army would strike there next. After that, most Jewish families struggled to find a country that would let them in.

Answer 2

After the Kristallnacht ('Night of the Broken Glass') on 9-10 November 1938, the British government relaxed some of its restrictions on Immigration from Germany. In particular, unaccompanied Jewish children (under the age of 17) were admitted to Britain. Some of the children were transported to the port of Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands on specially chartered trains (or carriages of trains) which were referred to as Kindertransporte (literally children's transports). Then they continued by ship to Harwich. The first such group of children arrived in England on 2 December 1938, amid much publicity in the British media. These 'transports' continued until the outbreak of war, though a few continued, sporadically, till May 1940. On 14 May 1940 a Dutch ship carrying 80 Jewish children to Liverpool was machine-gunned by Nazi aircraft. The Nazi regime allowed each child to take only one suitcase of luggage, 10 Reichsmarks and no toys or books (!) out of Germany. Moreover, the media were strictly forbidden to write about or publish photos of tearful farewell scenes. In all, about 10,000 Jewish children from Germany, Austria, the Czech lands were saved in this way. Originally, it was assumed or at least hoped that the children would be reunited with their parents, possibly in Palestine.