Just outside Friedrichstraße train station is one of many memorials to the victims of the Nazi era in Berlin. This particular one, Trains to Life – Trains to Death, reflects on the contrasting fate of children during that period. On 1 December 1938 190 children left Friedrichstraße station for England; the first of the so-called Kindertransport. In contrast, many more children were transported by rail to Nazi death camps. For anyone visiting Berlin with an interest in World War II history, this article is part of our guide to the monuments and memorials linked to World War II and the National Socialists in the city.
- Thomas Dowson
- Last Checked and/or Updated 1 December 2023
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- Berlin
Kristallnacht of 9/10 November 1938 was a chilling warning to the world of the danger Jewish communities faced in Germany under the National Socialists. In the Netherlands and the United kingdom refugee and religious organisations petitioned their governments to pass laws that would allow the rescue of Jewish children from Germany and other countries occupied by the Nazis.
The first train carrying 190 children to England left Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse Station on 1 December 1938. In the port of Hoek van Holland (Rotterdam) these children boarded a ferry bound for Harwich, from where many would travel on to Liverpool Street Station in London.
Before the outbreak of the Second World War nine months later in 1939, over 10,000 children in Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland, most of whom were Jewish, left their parents and travelled by train and ferry to England. There these children, aged between 4 months and 17 years, were taken in by foster families or accommodated in children’s homes. Most of these children never saw their parents again, as they were murdered in the holocaust.
This rescue initiative has come to be known as Kindertransport – German for children’s transport. A programme that is an essential part of the awful history of the Holocaust.
Frank Meisler 's Memorial at Friedrichstrasse Station
Unveiled on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the first Kindertransport train, 30 November 2008, Frank Meisler’s memorial bronze sculpture contrasts the fortunes of children in Nazi German between 1938 and 1945. Meisler was himself a ‘kinder’, who travelled to England via Friedrichstrasse Station. Besides the 10,000 plus children whose lives were saved as a result of he Kindertransport programme, an estimated 2 million Jewish children were murdered by the Nazis.
In this sculpture, two groups of Jewish boys and girls, near life size, stand back to back on a platform above a single rail track. Children either boarded a train to their death, or to safety. Sadly, far, far fewer found their way to safety.
The differing fate is strikingly obvious in the detail of two groups of children. One group, five children of varying ages, are represented in a grey bronze, they look pitiful and terrified as they stand huddled together. The Star of David stands out of the clothing of one of the young girls.
They face east. In the autumn of 1941 the first deportation of Jews to the east, and Auschwitz, took place. Behind them are suitcases and a violin case as if flung to the ground, open and bare.
In contrast, the other group, a young boy and girl, are striding forward, towards the west. The Netherlands, England and safety. They carry their belongings, a suitcase and a teddy bear. They have been cast in a brighter bronze. And while they do not look joyful as children should, their facial expressions and general demeanour is quite different to that of the other group.
While living in Berlin for three years, I frequently used Friedrichstrasse Station. Throughout the year, the memorial had flowers placed on it. Whether wreaths around significant anniversaries, or single flowers added to the individual figures.
Meisler’s sculpture in Berlin is one of aseries of memorial sculptures commemorating the Kindertransport programme on what is called the Route de Kindertransport. The others include:
- Die Abreise – The departure in front of Główny station in Gdańsk, Poland.
- Kindertransport – Der letzte Abschied – The final parting, Dammtor station in Hamburg, Germany
- Hoek van Holland Channel Crossing to Life, Hook of Holland in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Safe Haven, Harwich Port, England
- Kindertransport – The Arrival, Liverpool Street station in London, England
There is also a memorial sculpture, Für Das Kind, at Westbahnhof Station in Vienna, Austria.
One Family's Account of Kindertransport & the Holocaust
While researching this memorial, and reading more about the Kindertransport rescue effort, I discovered the following blog by Tim Locke: The Ephraims and the Neumeyers: Perspectives on family stories of Görlitz, Dachau, the Kindertransport and the Holocaust.
The first was posted on 9 May 2014, which was the 75th anniversary when the author’s mother, Ruth (15) and her brother Raimund (14) last saw their parents Hans and Vera Neumeyer at Munich railway station before departing for England. This is an extraordinary blog, with numerous posts exploring the Holocaust and Kindertransport from the perspective of one family. There are photographs of Ruth’s ticket, the teddy bear she took with her, her suitcases, and her diary. Links to other resources; for example, a recording of Ruth’s recollections of her journey on the Imperial War Museum’s website.
There are numerous accounts of various members of the extended family, their histories and experiences. As well as accounts of the descendants today as they personally come face-to-face with their ancestor’s past. The latest post, published not that long before I produced this page, tells the story of seven descendants of three Dachau families (one of which was Hans and Vera Neumeyer) who had been evicted from their homes on 8 November 1938 and their return to Dachau on the 85th anniversary of that fateful event. These seven individuals exist today because the children of those three Dachau families were sent to England on the Kindertransport.
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For more sites and museums in Berlin, including more WWII sites and memorials, see our Berlin City Guide, or the A – Z list of Art, Archaeology & History Sites & Museums in Berlin, Germany.
Trains to Life - Trains to Death
Just outside Friedrichstraße train station in Berlin is the Trains to Life – Trains to Death bronze installation by the Israeli architect and sculptor Frank Meisler. The memorial depicts two groups of children that represent the contrasting fate of Jewish children during the Nazi era. On 1 December 1938, 190 children departed from Friedrichstraße station for England under the kindertransport scheme. Many more children were deported to death camps around Europe.
Archaeology Travel Writer
