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Did you know that the medieval town of Sandwich, Kent, played a part in one of Britain’s most remarkable refugee rescue stories?
In 1939, nearly 4,000 Jewish men fleeing Nazi persecution found temporary safety at nearby Kitchener Camp. Many later volunteered to serve in the British armed forces during the Second World War.
Today, their story is remembered through an AJR Blue Plaque, ensuring this extraordinary chapter of history is never forgotten.
📍Sandwich, Kent
“If Hitler had his way, none of us would be alive.”
Holocaust survivor Peter Summerfield BEM sits down with his grandson, Harry Sassoon, to talk about the vital importance of passing family history down to future generations.
While Peter reflects on his luck escaping Nazi Germany and flourishing in England, Harry shares his dedication to transcribing and preserving his grandfather’s testimony ensuring these powerful memories are never forgotten.
“And his death meant my life.”
Eva Clarke, nee Eva Nathan, was born on the 29th of April 1945 in Mauthausen Concentration Camp, five days before the liberation of the camps by the American army. Eva shares a heartbreaking paradox of survival in the camps.
Becoming pregnant in a concentration camp was considered by the Nazis to be a crime punishable by death. Eva’s mother fell pregnant secretly, giving birth to a son, Yishai, who tragically died of pneumonia just two months later. When her mother was later deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, arriving without a living infant saved her from immediate execution in the gas chambers. Though she was already secretly pregnant with Eva, it didn’t yet show, allowing them both to survive one of history’s darkest chapters.
“The smell of challah was gorgeous.”
In the latest episode of our cooking series, nutritionist Jodie Brandman joins first generation Holocaust survivor Hedy Gavurin to make challah and share an unforgettable story of resilience.
On 27th August 1939, just days before war was declared, Hedy and her family escaped Germany on the very last train out. Though their journey was fraught with unimaginable danger, they eventually reached safety in the UK, a country Hedy remains deeply grateful to today.
As Jodie and Hedy shape the dough, Hedy reflects on her mother’s weekly Shabbat baking and how sensory memories can instantly transport us back to the warmth of a loved one’s kitchen.
At the AJR, we are dedicated to ensuring these stories and the traditions behind them are remembered and cherished for generations to come.
Tommy was born in Prague in 1935. After his mother tragically died days after giving birth, his father handed the newborn over to grandparents to bring up. As war approached Tommy was found a place on a Kindertransport and arrived in England in April 1939, just before his fourth birthday. He was the youngest child on this particular transport organised by Nicholas Winton. Tommy was taken in by the Smiths, who he would call Auntie and Uncle and stayed happily with them until his father suddenly re-appeared, months before Tommy’s 13th birthday. Tommy later joined the British Military.
Read Tommy’s fully story in the My Story section on the AJR website.
“Testimonies are often called emotional histories because you can understand how somebody responded to something.”
Dr. Bea Lewkowicz OBE reflects on the immense value of listening to survivor testimonies. While textbook history tells us the events, oral histories reveal the human emotion, the choices made, and the personal realities of living through them.
Beyond individual experiences, these accounts highlight the broader rescue efforts, including how the 70,000 German Jewish refugees who arrived in Britain built support systems like the AJR and The Wiener Holocaust Library.
“It was forbidden to go to cinemas.”
Eva Clarke, nee Eva Nathan, was born on the 29th of April 1945 in Mauthausen Concentration Camp, five days before the liberation of the camps by the American army.
Eva recounts the terrifying moment her mother risked execution just to experience a brief moment of normalcy. Because Jewish people were strictly forbidden from entering cinemas, hiding her yellow star was a life-or-death gamble. When the Gestapo suddenly raided the theater and began checking ID papers row by row, she was left frozen in terror, surviving only because the officers miraculously stopped and left the building just one row before reaching her.
“This is the original passport which got all four of us out of Germany… Four days before the war.”
Holocaust survivor Peter Summerfield BEM shows two original documents that saved his family’s lives during their escape from Nazi Germany in 1939.
He shares his mother’s Kennkarte, the identity card stamped with a prominent ‘J’ that Jewish citizens were forced to carry and the single family passport that allowed them to enter England on 27 August 1939, just days before World War II broke out.
