Holocaust Education & Remembrance

Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War

The exhibition, Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War, illuminates the story of the Kindertransport (German for “Children’s Transport”), the astonishing rescue effort that brought approximately 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi Germany to Great Britain and other countries, including Sweden, between 1938 and 1940.

This exhibition explores the difficult and often heartbreaking journeys through original artifacts and personal stories. It brings the Kindertransport to life by presenting objects that the children brought with them on their passage to England; letters between parents and children; new audio testimonies by survivors; and a series of dramatic stories that link the materials in the gallery to the broader context of the era.

The Minnesota debut of this exhibition was accompanied by The Story is Here, featuring the stories of local families in the Midwest who were personally affected by the Kindertransport.

Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War was created and organized by Yeshiva University Museum and the Leo Baeck Institute, New York|Berlin, and is being co-presented in Minnesota by the Greenberg Family Fund for Holocaust Awareness at Beth El Synagogue, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas (JCRC), and the American Swedish Institute (ASI). It was previously exhibited at the Center for Jewish History in New York and Holocaust Memorial Center in Michigan.

The exhibition was made possible by the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation, the David Berg Foundation, the Koret Foundation, the Gruss Hirsch Family Foundation, and by Anonymous. Additional support was provided by the Wolfensohn Family Foundation, Robert M. Kaufman, Temple Sholom of Scotch Plains (NJ), and by patrons and friends of Yeshiva University Museum and the Leo Baeck Institute – New York|Berlin.

We thank the following supporters for their generosity in supporting Holocaust education at the JCRC: The Beverly Foundation, The Oren and Sharron Steinfeldt Foundation, Allianz of America, Tankenoff Families Foundation, The Kelen Family Foundation, and The Fredrikson & Byron Foundation.

Registration required for all programs. Follow links for registration and payment info.

Date

Event

Details

July 22

Exhibit Opens: Kindertransport: Rescuing Children on the Brink of War

Exhibit opens to the public, through Oct. 31, 2021.

July 23

9:00 AM

Babies at the Castle

Program for babies and caregivers at ASI. Tours are approximately 30 minutes plus 15 minutes of sensory play. Designed for babies up to 15 months. Cost: $15

July 27

5:00 PM

Virtual Exhibition Tour

Explore Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War during a live, virtual tour via Zoom. Each week will feature an ASI staff member and a special guest. Participants can look forward to a distinct, highly interactive tour led by experts each month. Throughout this series, each speaker will provide a unique perspective on the exhibit’s content.

Guest host: Michael Simonson, Archivist/Public Outreach, Leo Baeck Institute at the Center for Jewish History and Ingrid Nyholm-Lange, Director of Experience at ASI, discuss the exhibition collaboration.

August 10

5:00 PM

Virtual Exhibition Tour

Guest host: Sandy Baron, daughter of a Kindertransport refugee, will share her family’s story.

August 12

7:00 – 8:30 PM

POSTPONED:

From Stockbroker to Hero: The Story of Sir Nicholas Winton and the Kindertransport, as told by his son Nick Winton

In conjunction with the exhibit, Beth El Synagogue will host an evening with Nick Winton. Winton is the son of Sir Nicholas George Winton, a British humanitarian credited with organizing the escape of 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War 2. What made 29-year-old Winton give up his skiing holiday to rescue these children from the Nazis and how did he do it? Winton’s son Nick will tell his father’s inspiring story about the life-changing events that transformed the destiny of so many.

August 12, 19, 26

1:00 – 3:00 PM

Handcraft Workshop

Knit the Green Sweater inspired by Krystyna Chiger’s Holocaust story. Students provide their own materials; please check your gauge in advance and come ready to cast on. Facilitated by Laura Ricketts. Cost: $85 ASI members, $95 non-members

September 9

10:00 AM

Afternoons at ASI: Jewish Museum Stockholm

Kindertransport in Sweden- objects and stories from the Jewish Museum in Stockholm.

September 14

5:00 PM

Virtual Exhibition Tour

Guest host: Steve Hunegs, Executive Director, Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, examines Kindertransport between 1938–39.

September 19

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

University Day

Join ASI for a day of learning with lectures by experts related to Kindertransport: Dr. Kyle Ward, Professor Minnesota State University, Mankato; Melissa Hacker, filmmaker; Beth Gendler, Executive Director of NCJW Minnesota; and Uri Berliner, Senior Business Editor at NPR.

Tickets: A virtual connection to University Day is $50. Student/educator scholarships are available.

September 28

5:00 PM

Virtual Exhibition Tour

Guest host: Special guest Laura Zelle, Director of Tolerance Minnesota, a program of JCRC. Laura and Erin Stromgren (Exhibitions Manager at ASI) will provide insights on The Story is Here, the local component for Kindertransport – Rescuing Children on the Brink of War. Together, they will explore stories within that part of the exhibition and discuss stories from exhibition development and research.

October 5

10:00 AM

Afternoons at ASI: Jewish Museum Stockholm Virtual Museum Tour

In connection with ASI’s exhibition, Kindertranstport-Rescuing Children on the Brink of War, hear from the Jewish Museum in Stockholm. Museum educator Andreas Schein will talk about “The closed-borders Sweden,” highlighting both Kindertransport as well as some of those who were never admitted into Sweden.

October 12

5:00 PM

Virtual Exhibition Tour 5

Special guest Rabbi Alexander Davis, Senior Rabbi of Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, MN. Rabbi Davis will use themes from Judaism to bring a faith-based approach to this story.

October 14

1:00 PM

Afternoons at ASI: The Transport Continues – HIAS and the Value of Rescuing the Refugee

Robert Aronson, Chair at HIAS, the nation’s oldest refugee rights organization, talks about rescuing Jews from the pogroms in Eastern Europe.

October 18

7:00 PM

Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival film: Kindertransports to Sweden by Gülseren Sengezer

This documentary is the story of four Jewish children who were sent to Sweden in 1939 as part of a “kindertransport” (“child transport”), a way for parents to evacuate their children alone to escape the Nazi regime. Those now-elderly children still live with feelings of loss, loneliness, deracination, and guilt. Tens of thousands of children were evacuated on kindertransports, 500 of them to Sweden, and most of them never saw their parents again. Some 80 years later, survivors talk about a neglected chapter in the story of Jewish suffering. The subjects are valuable witnesses, branded by processing the horror, who will soon be silent forever.

More information via Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival

October 26

5:00 PM

Virtual Exhibition Tour 6

Special guest: Byron Nordstrom, Professor Emeritus in History and Scandinavian Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College. Byron will provide a tour rooted in historical examination. He will also explore the Kindertransport experience from a Swedish perspective.

VISITING THE AMERICAN SWEDISH INSTITUTE

ASI is located at 2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55407. Advance reservations are not required, but still available. For more information, go to www.ASImn.org, or call 612-871-4907.

MUSEUM ADMISSION

Museum Admission: $12 adults, $8 seniors ages 62 +, $6 ages 6–18 and full-time students with ID.

Free for ASI members and children ages 5 and under.

HOURS — ASI, FIKA & THE MUSEUM STORE

Thursday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The ASI, FIKA and the Store are closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The full FIKA lunch menu and counter service are available from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

AMERICAN SWEDISH INSTITUTE is a museum and cultural center that is a gathering place for all people to share experiences around themes of culture, migration, the environment and the arts, informed by enduring ties to Sweden. It encompasses the historic Turnblad Mansion and the contemporary Nelson Cultural Center as well as the ASI Museum Store and the critically acclaimed FIKA Café. Founded by Swedish immigrant and newspaper publisher Swan J. Turnblad in 1929, ASI has grown to engage many audiences through innovative art exhibitions, public events, community and school programs including Story Swap with Wellstone International High School, language classes and Nordic craft and food-related workshops. The Wall Street Journal called ASI “[a] model of how a small institution can draw visitors through exciting programming.”