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We fund Holocaust education, combat antisemitism, and produce leading resources to advance research for future generations
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Home to the UK’s largest community of descendants, we warmly welcome all with a connection to, or interest in, this history: descendants, researchers, and those committed to remembrance, justice and education
Join Us TodayDrawing on powerful material from AJR Refugee Voices and AJR My Story, the below exhibition highlights personal testimonies, photographs and documents from Jewish refugees who fled Nazi persecution and rebuilt their lives in Britain. The exhibition theme will change throughout the year, offering fresh perspectives from our unique testimony archive.
This collection illuminates the experiences of children rescued by the Kindertransport. The Kindertransport was a rescue effort between 1938 and 1939 that brought around 10,000 mostly Jewish children from Nazi-controlled territories to safety in Britain after the rise of Nazi persecution.
27
Members over 100 years of age
+300
Holocaust testimony videos
4
Visits from the King to the AJR
“It was so interesting and incredibly useful listening to Holocaust educators from around the world sharing ideas, challenges, and new ways to reach the next generation in what is now a very different time and world. The insights and conversations have reinforced just how vital it is that we continue to adapt, learn, and find new ways to ensure the lessons of the past remain alive and relevant.”
“Thank you for visiting us yesterday. We thought the meeting went brilliantly. We are so lucky to have a social worker as gentle, understanding and caring as you. We really appreciate all the support and advice you give us.”
“Thank you so much for putting on such an amazing event. I’ve found documents about my grandparents that I hadn’t seen before, including my dad’s name on a Kindertransport list. I can’t tell you how much it means to me and my family and thank everyone at the AJR for all you do.”
“My client arrived on the Kindertransport as a small child. Her husband passed away many years ago, and she does not have children. I visit her each week and we talk about current affairs over coffee and cake, and quite often we go out for lunch together. She recently told me that she had forgotten that I was her volunteer and referred to me as her friend! That’s why I love being a volunteer for the AJR.”
1,857
AJR Members of whom +600 are 1st generation, of which 30 are over 100 years old
+£8m
Directly allocated to members for homecare and other support services
69,599
Minutes of face-to-face volunteer support in the last 12 months
Exclusive Online Talk for AJR Members
23 October 2026
By Michelle Rosenberg – Jewish News PM Andy
23 October 2026
By Daniel Kebede & Gabriella Swerling – Daily
23 October 2026
Michael Newman OBE – Chief Executive, AJR said:
Myth busting: Kindertransport
‘Did all the children survive?.’
The Bell Report’s findings hit particularly close to home for AJR, which represents Holocaust refugees, survivors and the UK’s largest community of their descendants. For families whose lives were indelibly shaped by antisemitism, seeing Jewish children face such hatred in Britain today is particularly painful.
See AJR’s statement on the Bell Report.
“My name is Charles Parker. My birth certificate says Charles Lewin.”
Escaping Berlin just before WWII, Charles’s father fled to Kent’s Kitchener Camp. To join the British Army, he was forced to drop his Jewish surname to protect himself and his family.
From camp cellist to playing for troops with ENSA, he eventually built a new life with his family in South Wales. A moving look at the hidden sacrifices of WWII refugees.
“The logical but horrendous conclusion to prejudice and racism is genocide.”
Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke BEM reflects on why she continues to share her story with future generations. Beyond honoring the millions of lives lost whose entire families were wiped out, she highlights the vital importance of seeing people as individuals rather than succumbing to mob mentality. Crucially, she warns that unaddressed prejudice and hatred carry a devastating ultimate outcome, reminding us all that standing against racism in any form is essential to preventing future genocides.
Charlotte was born in Vienna, Austria in February 1935. Following the Anschluss in 1938 her father was arrested and the family sent to live in the ghetto but they were fortunate to get sponsorship from an English farmer and be able to leave Austria together in May 1939. Many members of the extended family were not so fortunate and perished in the camps. Sadly, Charlotte’s parents both suffered from ill-health so growing-up was a difficult time for her, and she herself suffered from anxiety as a young mother. Charlotte and David have been married for 57 happy years.
Read Charlotte’s fully story in the My Story section on the AJR website.
“He never told me anything about it...”
Rachel Meller shares her father Joseph’s incredible journey, from fleeing Vienna to Kitchener Camp in 1939, to internment, and ultimately to safety. A powerful reminder of resilience and the hidden stories preserved in old papers and family histories
Myth busting: Kindertransport
‘Was the Kindertransport free?.’
In the months leading up to the outbreak of WWII, a 9-year-old Gerta Neumark managed to escape Vienna along with her two older brothers. However their mother, and dozens of family members across Austria and Poland, would be murdered in the Holocaust.
Gerta’s grandson, Oliver Marsh, considers what lessons could still be learned from stories like these, in a world that hasn’t always heeded them.
The AJR is home to the UK’s largest community of Holocaust refugees and their descendants, welcoming anyone with a connection to – or interest in – this history, from researchers to those committed to remembrance and education.
By supporting the AJR, you help preserve the legacy of Holocaust refugees and survivors and ensure future generations learn from their stories. Through funding Holocaust education, combating antisemitism, and supporting our research, AJR plays a vital role in keeping this history alive.
