Stage 2a – Historical Background (Source Work)
Participants will: learn about the historical circumstances concerning the “Kindertransport”, reflect the differences between child and adult refugees and analyse the complex situation of those children, their feelings, hopes and dreams.
Stage Stage 2b – Reflection.
Participants will reflect the very different sources given to them for the Kindertransport and for Europe’s refugee crisis of 2015.
The facilitator explains that in order to see whether or not the arguments and distinctions made in stage 1 are true (for example, whether it is, in fact, easier to be a child refugee rather than an adult refugee), a specific case will be closely examined, that of the Kindertransport, an organised rescue effort to save Jewish refugee children from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia in the eve of World War 2. About 10,000 of them travelled to Great Britain without their parents (being, de facto, unaccompanied minors).
In small groups, participants discuss the experience of child refugees based on various testimonies of children of the Kindertransport.
The participants received very different sources: On one hand information on the Kindertransport, including testimonies of rescued children, on the other hand information on the media coverage of the current refugee crisis. Discuss the following question: What might be the reasons that we don’t have / don’t hear testimonies of today’s (child) refugees?
Each group receives
a) background information on the situation of German, Austrian and Czechoslovak Jews, as well as on the Kindertransport including a list of keywords and
b) testimonies including the following aspects: farewell on the platform; pre-history and post-history; positive experience and negative experience of being a child refugee.
