Essay Questions

How and why did the kindertransport take place?

The kindertransport, German for children's transport, took place thanks to the policies of the United Kingdom. In the nine months before the start of World War II, after the devastation from the "night of broken glass," British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and that country's parliament allowed unaccompanied Jewish children to move to Great Britain and be placed into foster care. Families paid for their children, who numbered over 10,000, to immigrate to the United Kingdom and gave 50 GBP in advance to give to the British government so that they could return to their old country.

Why did the Nazis despise the Jewish people?

For much of his life, Adolf Hitler, who was the leader of the Nazi party, was an antisemite. He hated the Jewish people partly due to his upbringing, life experiences, and his association with Vienna, where many people were antisemites. And Hitler blamed the Jewish people for Germany's defeat in World War I.

Antisemitism is one of the critical tenants of the Nazi party. Hitler claimed that Germany would only prosper if the Jewish people were removed from his country. He used Germany's economic turmoil to come to power, earn the support of the German people, and help his economically suffering country.