2 who were there recall Kindertransport

Ellen Zilkha and Ellen Leiman, two women who, as children, were part of the Kindertransport rescue mission, spoke about their experiences and answered audience questions at Temple Hillel in North Woodmere on Nov. 10.

Nine months before the outbreak of World War II, the United Kingdom took nearly 10,000 mainly Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig, placing them in foster homes, hostels, schools and farms. Most of them were the only members of their families to survive the Holocaust.

The first Kindertransport arrived in England on Dec. 2, 1938, Barely a month after Kristallnacht — the Night of Broken Glass — when Jewish homes and business were destroyed in Germany and parts of Austria Nov. 9-10. At least 91 Jews were killed and 30,000 were incarcerated.

Pictured: Two women who were part of the Kindertransport rescue — Ellen Leiman (left) and Ellen Zilka (right), and moderator Barbara Spetalnick. Nassau Herald photo by Theresa Press.