Descendants to recreate iconic photograph

IN MID-AUGUST 1945, hundreds of young Jews, survivors of the Nazi Holocaust, posed for three remarkable photographs in front of an iconic memorial in the centre of Prague.

Those standing in front of the Jan Hus memorial in Prague’s Old Town Square were to become known as “The Boys”. The photographs of them were taken just before they boarded Royal Air Force transport planes for a new life in Britain.

Ten RAF aircraft flew on August 14 from Prague to Crosby-on-Eden, near the Lake District, with the first batch of children and their adult escorts.

This May, under the auspices of the 45 Aid Society, some of those in the original pictures — and scores of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren — will once again gather in Prague to recreate the historic pictures.

After the war ended, Britain agreed to take in 1,000 orphaned child survivors of the concentration camps. Only 732 could be found — mainly Polish, Hungarian and Czech children — some of whom were liberated from the Czech camp, Theresienstadt. The young Jews, ranging in age from toddlers to teenagers, were flown to special hostels set up across the UK for rehabilitation and recovery.

The group launched the 45 Aid Society in 1963 to raise money for charitable causes and to give back to society.

Now the 45 Aid’s second and third generation have organised a weekend trip to celebrate the contribution the young orphans made to British society.

To date around 200 people — including five survivors — have signed up for the event. Sam Laskier, who now lives in Manchester, is in one of the original pictures and will travel to Prague with his family. They will be joined by ambassadors to the Czech Republic from Germany, Israel and Britain.

Events over the weekend include a visit to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where a memorial service will be held and kaddish recited by the son of one of the Boys, now a chazan in Vancouver.