Liverpool Street Station is home to the Kindertransport Memorial, a bronze sculpture to remember the Jewish child refugees who were saved during the Second World War. The 10,000 Jewish children arrived at Liverpool Street station between 1938–1939, and were given the chance of a new life in Great Britain.
This post tells you everything you need to know about the Kindertransport Memorial at Liverpool Street Station, including how to find it.
Location of the Kindertransport Memorial
There are two separate memorials at Liverpool Street Station. One is on the main concourse, to the left of the main entrance to the Underground. The second is outside Liverpool Street station, near the Liverpool Street exit. To find it, climb the stairs to the upper level and exit onto Hope Square. You will see the sculpture in the centre of the square. The exact location is shown on the map below.
About the Kindertransport Memorial
Both the Kindertransport memorials at Liverpool Street Station are bronze statues on Portland stone plinths. They each depict refugee children carrying suitcases and toys. Since the children were from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia, the memorials also have bronze markers with the names of the cities where the children came from.
The memorials were designed by Frank Meisler who was himself was a “kinder” child. He also designed similar bronze memorials which can be found at several locations in Eastern Europe including the main Railway Station of Gdansk, Friedrichstrasse Railway Station in Berlin, Hamburg Dammtor Railway Station, and at the Hook of Holland, since the children reached England via the Hoek of Holland- Harwich ferries.
The photograph below shows the memorial outside Liverpool Street Station, in Hope Square.
The below plaque can be found in Hope Square near the gateway of Liverpool Street Station. It has on it a quote from the Talmud which reads “Whosoever rescues a single soul is credited as though they had saved the whole world.”
Kindertransport Memorial in Berlin
The photographs below show the Kindertransport Memorial in Berlin, which looks similar to the one at Liverpool Street Station. This one however has an inscription on it that reads: “Trains to Life. Trains to Death.” One side depicts children boarding trains to the concentration camps, and the other side shows them boarding the Kindertransport to safety.
Kindertransport Plaque in Parliament
In the U.K., well as the memorial at Liverpool Street Station, there is also a plaque in the House of Commons to remember the Jewish children who escaped Nazi Germany through the British Kindertransport Scheme. It reads: “In deep gratitude to the people and Parliament of the United Kingdom for saving the lives of 10,000 Jewish and other children who fled to this country from Nazi persecution on the Kindertransport 1938-1939.” The plaque can be seen in the image below.
What Was the Kindertransport Scheme?
The Kindertransport Scheme was authorised by the British government to save 10,000 children under the age of 17 from persecution in Nazi-occupied territories. It offered them a chance at survival and a new life in the United Kingdom.
The operation began after the Kristallnacht pogroms (meaning “night of broken glass”) in November 1938, when Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, and homes were vandalised, looted, and destroyed, and countless Jews were arrested, killed or injured. The rescue effort carried on for nine months until the outbreak of World War II on 1st September 1939, although children continued to be rescued as late as 1940.
What Happened to the Children Once they Arrived?
Some of the children already had assigned foster homes in London before they left Eastern Europe. Those without prearranged sponsors were sent to temporary host families, boarding schools, hostels or holiday camps, until a permanent home could be found.
Many organisations helped to settle the children (both Jewish and non-Jewish). Some of them included B’nai B’rith, the Refugee Children’s Movement, the YMCA, the Quakers, and the Chief Rabbi’s Religious Emergency Council.
The Kinder Children Today
The Kindertransport not only saved the lives of thousands of children, but it also profoundly shaped their futures. Upon arriving in the UK, many faced the daunting challenge of adapting to a new country, culture, and language. Despite these obstacles, they persevered, building new lives for themselves with the support of foster families, schools, and community organisations.
Over the years, the Kindertransport children have made significant contributions to British society, excelling in various fields such as academia, business, the arts, and public service.
Two children who travelled on the Kindertransport have gone on to win Nobel Prizes. These include: Walter Kohn, the theoretical physicist and theoretical chemist, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1998, and Arno Penzias, the physicist and radio astronomer who discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978.
More Information about the Kindertransport
For more information about the Kindertransport, I recommend watching the BBC Newsnight documentary from 2012 (below). It was created to mark 75 years since the British government sanctioned the rescue mission to bring 10,000 Jewish children to the UK. The documentary shows interviews with some of those children who share their memories. It also contains one of the last interviews with Sir Nicholas Winton, who organized the Kindertransport.
More Spots in the UK to Learn About the Kindertransport
Below are other locations in the UK where you can learn about the Kindertransport:
- The Imperial War Museum houses objects that belonged to six of the 9,354 children who came to Britain on the Kindertransport. They include a doll, a puppet, a drawing, a jumper, an exercise book, and a pair of ice skates.
- The National Holocaust Centre and Museum in Laxton, Nottinghamshire has an exhibition called “The Journey” where you can see the original suitcases of some of the Kinder children, as well as photographs and footage of survivor testimonies.
- Although the Jewish Museum in London has now closed, you can still watch a video on the museum’s website which shows the experiences of Jewish refugee children who came to Britain on the Kindertransport.
Related Articles
For more information about the Kindertransport and the holocaust, check out the articles below.
- The Work of Frank Meisler (designer of the Kindertransport Memorial)
- Association of Jewish Refugees
- Holocaust Memorial Day
- The Kindertransport Association
This post was about the Kindertransport Memorial at Liverpool Street Station
The bronze statue at Liverpool Street Station stands as a tribute to the resilience and bravery of the children of the Kindertransport. The unaccompanied Jewish children left behind family members, many of whom were subsequently killed in concentration camps under the Nazi regime . Through the kindness of foster families and the support of World Jewish Relief, then known as The Central British Fund for German Jewry, these unaccompanied children found refuge in the United Kingdom, and became integral members of British society.