World Jewish Relief was established in 1933 to support the needs of Jewish refugees in Nazi occupied Europe. Throughout the 1930s and 40s, we rescued and supported over 65,000 Jewish refugees and helped them establish independent lives here in the UK and abroad. In this period, we were instrumental in bringing about the Kindertransport, which rescued almost 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi persecution. This refugee week, follow this timeline to find out exactly how it came to pass.
World Jewish Relief (formerly the Central British Fund) is established to support the needs of Jews facing growing persecution and antisemitism at the hands of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party, following their rise to power. A group of philanthropic, prominent members of the British Jewish community came together to take decisive action to support the plight of German and Austrian Jews.
As anti-Jewish laws come into effect, Jewish life in Germany and Austria grows more restricted through curfews, livelihood disruption and violence. The founders of World Jewish Relief become increasingly concerned about the future of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe, and raise critical funds through the generosity of British Jewry to support Jews both in Germany, and as refugees arriving in the UK and other safe countries.
Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, was a series of Nazi organised anti-Jewish riots across Germany and Austria. An estimated 91 Jews were murdered, 30,000 arrested and 267 synagogues were destroyed. Countless shops and other Jewish businesses were destroyed and looted. This represents a devastating escalation in violence against Jews in Europe.
After Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, the idea to rescue children from the Nazis and bring them to Britain is proposed to the British Government by two of World Jewish Relief’s founders, alongside other organisations, and a delegation of prominent British Jews.
Following a 45-minute appeal by the delegation directly to the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, the British Government agrees to permit temporary admission of vulnerable Jewish children who were at risk of Nazi persecution, under the financial guarantee of the UK Jewish community.
Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the UK Jewish community, World Jewish Relief (then the Central British Fund) raises funds to cover the cost of travel for each of these children.
Within three weeks of Kristallnacht, the first 200 of these children begin their journey from Berlin to the UK. Most of these unaccompanied children travelled to Liverpool Street Station, meeting their volunteer foster parents for the first time, heralding the start of a new life.
Between December 1938 and September 1939, almost 10,000 children were brought to safety through the Kindertransport.
World Jewish Relief was responsible for rescuing and supporting around 65,000 Jewish refugees during the 1930s and 40s. This includes the Kindertransport children, who World Jewish Relief support with life-changing education, financial and psychological assistance. Extensive documentation of the assistance provided to many of these Jewish refugees remains today, and can be found in World Jewish Relief’s archives.
In the aftermath of WWII and the Holocaust, World Jewish Relief continues to support Jews to rebuild their lives across the world but especially in the UK. This includes the Kindertransport children, and survivors from the concentration camps. One such group, known to many as ‘The Boys’, is brought to the UK by World Jewish Relief and supported in their rehabilitation from the immense trauma they have suffered.
