Kindertransport

Playwright and author Diane Samuels spoke of her play Kindertransport and the real- life events that inspired it. Can you tell us a little about the Kindertransport story? Between 1938 and the outbreak of the Second World War, almost 10,000 children, most of them Jewish, were sent by their parents from Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria to safety in Britain. In my play nine-year old Eva (based on the actual experiences of a number of children and developed as a single fictional character) comes to Manchester where she is looked after by Lil. When Eva’s parents fail to escape Germany, she settles into English life and once the war is over changes her name, becomes adopted by her foster parents and chooses to eradicate her painful loss and background. In the play, Evelyn, now in her fifties, is confronted by her own daughter, Faith, when she finds some photos and comments from … Read more