Kindertransport Memory Quilt Exhibit

At the outset of this year's Holocaust Remembrance Week (or Days of Remembrance), I want to draw attention to the Kindertransport Memory Quilt Exhibit of the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

There (and online) you can find several quilts with squares created by Kindertransport survivors. Each square offers a window into the individual experience of someone who escaped the Holocaust thanks to the Kindertransport refugee program.

My mother created this square (Quilt 2, Square 4) in memory of her brother, Siegbert. With the help of their families, the two teens managed to escape Germany together via a Kindertransport train, but their fates turned out to be very different. By clicking on the link and listening to the audio, you can get an idea of the sad fates of Siegbert and his parents.

It strikes me that one lesson to be learned from the story is that the mere existence of a refugee program is not a guarantee that everything will work out well for those assisted by it. Indeed, when a situation demands that a refugee program is needed, I think it must be likely that already a terrible amount of damage has already been set in motion.

Quilt Square by Liese Babette Fischer

Thanksgiving Giving

There are a lot of things I consider worthy of thanks, including the charities I normally draw your attention to at this time of year.

There's also the Kindertransport Association (KTA), which is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the child refugee effort that became known as the Kindertransport. Let's do what we can to make sure there are fewer and fewer crises that require such efforts, and do what we can to make any such efforts successful.

Photo: David Marc Fischer