Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport

by Mark Jonathan Harris and Deborah Oppenheimer

Book Overview

The companion to the Academy Award(r) winning feature documentary from Warner Bros. For nine months before the outbreak of World War II, Britain conducted an extraordinary rescue mission. It opened... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0747550921
• ISBN13: 9780747550921
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Pub Ltd
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 10.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A lesson for all of us

Imagine being 10 years old and having your parents put you on a train to a foreign country! The stories told in Into the Arms of Strangers are heartbreaking AND inspiring. 9 out of 10 of the 10,000 children who were part of the Kindertransport never saw their parents again, but they survived WWII because hundreds of British opened their arms and hearts to them when they arrived as refugees. The experiences of the Kinder are an important lessons for the world, especially in light of recent human rights violations in places like Yugoslavia, Chechnya, and Africa. We should look toward the unselfish example set by the British people as a model of compassion and action during a time of need. Although it is sometimes difficult to keep track of the individual stories which are told in a timeline fashion, the short summaries at the end of the book help you go back and tie up loose ends. It is amazing that the Kindertransport stories did not come to public attention until just a few years ago. They are an important part of the whole Holocaust story. The companion DVD is a great teaching tool for middle and high school.

Unbelievable

I can't get this book out of my head. It has managed to invade my thoughts on a daily basis and show up in my dreams at night. It is shocking and appalling that such an event could occur - parents having to say goodbye to their little children. I have children of my own, and reading this book made me almost ill with sadness and horror. The heartache and misery endured by the Jewish people is beyond comprehension - it utterly boggles the mind.First-person narrative history is perhaps the most interesting history to read; the individual accounts are so emotional that you want to reach into the page and lend comfort. This is an excellent book that deserves a special place in the holocaust library. It should also be read in schools.

A tear-jerker!

This was an illuminating and evocative book. Anyone interested in this topic should also read "Escape Via Siberia" and "The Uprooted" by Dorit Whiteman. Whiteman's books -- which expertly weave gripping personal accounts with historical context -- explore how survivors of the kindertransport and other Holocaust horrors coped with the legacy of their harrowing ordeals as adults. Whiteman is an expert in the field and some of her material was used in the movie, "Into the Arms of Strangers."

Gutwrenching and fascinating

I'm a passionate reader of Holocaust books. I just happened to see this when I was in a bookstore one day - once I started it, I had trouble putting it down, and when I put it down, I had trouble not thinking about it. The stories are absolutely gutwrenching and are an insightful look into what children who are put through horrific circumstances think and feel, and how they survive. Anyone who is interested in the Holocaust, or in child psychology, should read this book.I also agree with the other reviewers that it is inspiring to learn about giving, caring people who were willing to put themselves out in order to save children they'd never laid eyes on.

An excellent read on a sometimes forgotten Holocaust topic

I read the novel of Into the Arms of Strangers before I saw the documentary of it. Both were great, but the book so even better because more information could be given in a full novel, than an 100 mintue film. The Kindertransport was mostly made up of children from all ages who lived in Germany, Austria Czechoslovakia, and Polish immigrants living in Germany. Germany witnessed the nightmare of Hitler first in the early to mid 1930's, then Austria in the spring of 1938, and finally Czechoslovakia in late 1938. The parents of these children had no choice but to send their children away so they could have a chance to live. For some of these children, they never saw their parents again because they died in the camps, but some were lucky enough to meet up with them in various parts of the United Kingdom where they had lived for many years after the war was over. Especially interesting because one of the co-authors, Deborah Oppenheimer's mother was a kinder from Germany. I recomend this highly because so many times this topic is not taught and not made aware enough, and people don't understand how this operation helped saved thousands of children from the horrors of the Holocaust.