We Came as Children

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One of the British responses to the Nazi pogrom of November 1938 was the World Movement for the Care of Children from Germany. By the time World War II began, almost ten thousand children had been rescued and brought to England.Now, more than a quarter of a century later, Karen Gershon has gathered the memories of those tragic days from some two hundred of the people who came as refugees and have remained in Great Britain. In this "collective autobiography" Miss Gershon presents a selection of these reminiscences: of escapes and farewells - "I remember crying bitterly and saying, 'Please Mummy, please don't send me away'"; of the journey itself and first impressions of a strange country; of experiences in foster homes and in institutions; of the acceptance, not always easy, of a new life. The final chapters record what happened to these individuals, and their attitudes today toward the past and future. The book also contains the reminiscences of English people who served in reception camps or took the small refugees in their homes.This profoundly moving volume records on of the most shocking episodes in the history of man's inhumanity to man, but it also commemorated the overpowering human compassion that led to the rescue of ten thousand innocents.