Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport
Encyclopedia
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport is a 2000 documentary film directed by Mark Jonathan Harris
and narrated by Judi Dench
. It tells the story of the kindertransport
, an underground railroad that saved the lives of over 10,000 Jewish children. The movie uses archival footage and interviews to recount the stories of children sent to live in England
, after fleeing from Nazi Germany
.
Alexander Gordon was also one of the refugees on HMT Dunera
, one of the most notorious events of British maritime history.
Mark Jonathan Harris
Mark Jonathan Harris is an American documentary filmmaker probably best known for his films Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport and The Long Way Home...
and narrated by Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
. It tells the story of the kindertransport
Kindertransport
Kindertransport is the name given to the rescue mission that took place nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. The United Kingdom took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Free City of Danzig...
, an underground railroad that saved the lives of over 10,000 Jewish children. The movie uses archival footage and interviews to recount the stories of children sent to live in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, after fleeing from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Interviewed subjects
The documentary relies heavily on filmed interviews in which the children of the kindertransport (now grown men and women in their 60s and 70s) recall their feelings and experiences of the kindertransport. These interview subjects include:- Lorraine Allard, kind
- Lory Cahn, kind
- Mariam Cohen, foster mother of Kurt Fuchel
- Hedy EpsteinHedy EpsteinHedy Epstein is an American political activist known for her support of the Palestinian cause through the International Solidarity Movement and for her background as a Holocaust survivor. Born in Freiburg, Germany, she immigrated to the United States in 1948, and she currently resides in St...
, kind - Kurt Fuchel, kind
- Alexander Gordon, kind
- Franzi Groszmann, mother of Lore Segal
- Eva Hayman, kind
- Jack Hellman, kind
- Bertha Leverton, kind
- Ursula Rosenfeld, kind
- Inge Sadan, kind (Bertha Leverton's sister)
- Lore SegalLore SegalLore Segal , née Lore Groszmann, is an American novelist, translator, teacher, and author of children’s books.-Personal life:...
, kind - Robert Sugar, kind
- Nicholas WintonNicholas WintonSir Nicholas George Winton, MBE is a British humanitarian who organised the rescue of 669 mostly Jewish children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War in an operation later known as the Czech Kindertransport. Winton found homes for them and arranged for their safe...
, rescuer - Norbert Woolheim, rescuer
Alexander Gordon was also one of the refugees on HMT Dunera
HMT Dunera
His Majesty's Transport Dunera was a British passenger ship built as a troop transport in the late 1930s. She also operated as a passenger liner and as an educational cruise ship. Dunera saw extensive service throughout the Second World War....
, one of the most notorious events of British maritime history.
Reactions
An overwhelming majority of American film critics responded positively to Into the Arms of Strangers writing that it both intellectually and emotionally captures this chapter of history.http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_the_arms_of_strangers_stories_of_the_kindertransport/ The film went on to win the prestigious Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film had an extremely limited theatrical release (18 theaters at its widest) and grossed $382,807 domestically.http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=intothearmsofstrangers.htmSee also
- The Children Who Cheated the NazisThe Children Who Cheated the NazisThe Children Who Cheated the Nazis is a documentary about the Kindertransport, by the director Sue Read and producer Jim Goulding. This documentary film was broadcast by Channel 4 on September 28th, 2000, and has since been broadcast in America, Israel, France, Australia, Spain and worldwide.The...
- List of Holocaust films
- 1930s
- anti-SemitismAnti-SemitismAntisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...