THE LESSONS 80 YEARS ON
Others must get the chance I had We must do more for children in the same plight I faced
Polish children arriving in London by ship a month before Britain went to war with Germany Erich grew up with his caring foster parents Harry was 13 when he celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Friedenstempel Synagogue in Berlin in October 1938.
Eighteen days later it was destroyed in Kristallnacht – the Night of Broken Glass in which the Nazis destroyed Jewish schools, homes and shops in a terrifying explosion of violence. “The glass on the fur shop front below our apartment was smashed and the couple had committed suicide,” recalled Harry, 93, who lives in Barnet.
“My school was ransacked. The synagogue burned down.”
In February 1939 Harry’s family fled to Holland – but after the Nazi invasion in May 1940 he was put on a cargo boat with 40 children to sail to England.
Despite coming under fire from German planes, it made Liverpool four days later.
“We weren’t frightened because we LABOUR peer Lord Alf Dubs, 85, was saved by the Kindertransport and has become a fervent campaigner in Parliament for the rights of child refugees. The former MP says: “I was six when I came to Britain from Prague in the summer of 1939. On the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport, we as a country should recommit to taking more refugee children and set a target of 10,000 over 10 years as a way of taking further what happened in 1938. If we could do it 80 years ago, we can do it now. Some of these children in Europe and elsewhere are in a terrible situation. We have to do something about it. We’re a humanitarian country and we can do more. Not only is it important to get these children to safety, but experience tells us they have a lot to offer. Some say they just want to sponge off the state. That’s not my experience. A lot of the Kindertranport children have done fantastic things. Child refugees are energetic, enthusiastic and want to commit to the country. This country gave me and other Kindertransport children a fantastic welcome. I’d like to think children coming now will have the same welcome and opportunities I had. were safe, but we were worried about our parents,” Harry recalled. His died in a death camp in 1942. “My mother could have been saved, and many more, if the British government had acted more urgently,” he said. “There are children living in terrible conditions now and we should do more to save them. I’m ashamed of Europe over the refugee crisis.” Statue at Liverpool Street
TERRIBLE
Harry now and as a toddler in Germany
AQAThe White Star Line owned some of the most important vessels of the era and several large auction houses hold occasional ocean liner sales. The greatest interest is for items relating to the Titanic and the Lusitania, which was sunk in WW1. Yours is a very unusual and handsome piece. A cup and saucer from the Olympic can sell for €500 and a panel from a cabin can fetch €1,500. Yours is an exceptional item, a museum piece really, and demands insurance. It must be worth thousands but needs an in-person inspection. I own an Atari video game console, one of the earliest versions which I was given in the 1970s. It has a wood effect case and has all the paddles, joysticks and even the box which stayed in perfect condition. Is this worth anything? Robert Turner, Ramsgate, Kent Your Atari 2600 games console was a true revolution. Atari were one of the key early manufacturers of home video games and commanded the world market with their console. The earliest version is known by collectors as the “Heavy Sixer” because of its weight. A few of the early games cartridges are now rare and change hand for over €100 each. A good condition console can make up to €100 if boxed. I’d hang on to the set as it will only increase in value. ’70s console
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