Kindertransport - the last farewell

Kindertransport - The Last Farewell is the title of a bronze sculpture by the sculptor Frank Meisler on Dag-Hammarskjöld-Platz in front of the south exit of Hamburg Dammtor train station , which he designed together with his long-time colleague, the sculptor Arie Ovadia.

The sculpture is reminiscent of the Kindertransporte of German children who were considered Jewish under the Nuremberg Laws . They were brought to Great Britain from the German Reich or from countries threatened by it and, among other things, departed from Dammtor train station. In the period from December 1938 to September 1, 1939, around 1,000 children traveled from Hamburg to Great Britain.

The monument

The fully privately funded sculpture of bronze was in May 2015 by the Lord Mayor Olaf Scholz inaugurated. The life-size group of sculptures depicts the moment when two children say goodbye to a platform while a young woman and four other children remain behind. "... at the Dammtor, the focus is on the bitter moment of saying goodbye to others who have not or not yet managed to leave the country". The groups facing away from each other are symbolic of the children emigrating to England as well as the children who were deported to concentration camps on the Deutsche Reichsbahn trains . The Jewish star on the young woman's clothing and the accompanying notes that the children wear around their necks are clearly defined .

A panel attached to the front of the base bears the inscription Kindertransport / Der last Abschied / The final parting / Sculptors: Frank Meisler, Arie Ovadia .
The side panel gives the names of the initiators and sponsors:

The sculpture was created thanks to the commitment of Lisa Bechner, KTO Germany and sponsors:

This Sculpture was created thanks to the efforts of Ms. Lisa Bechner, KTO Germany and the generous contributions of:

Michael Krichevsky - In memory of his parents Hasiy & Shmuel * Tel Aviv

Donated by Alex Usach, Ukraine

In Memory of all those that perished the Moshal Family

Lothar Gruza - In Memory of his parents Chaim & Cesia Gruza * Israel

Igor Fleyshmakher - In Honor of his parents Mark & ​​Musya * New York

ZEIT Foundation Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius

David Segal - In Honor of his father Markus Segal * New York, USA

Donated by Pavel Furks * Moscow, Russia

Our existence is our victory - In memory of our grandfather Wolf Jägermann

Donated by Igor & Julia Zimenkov

Donated by Alexander & Larisa Volfovich

In memory of the Kindertransport Association of Jewish Refugees, London

Corresponding monuments

Corresponding sculptures by Meisler can be found at other Kindertransport train stations :

• London : On the initiative of Prince Charles , the Kindertransport memorial has been in existence since 2006 - The Arrival at Liverpool Street Station in London , where the Jewish children arrived.
• Berlin : The monument with the title Trains to Life - Trains to Death: 1938–1939 was inaugurated in 2008 at Berlin Friedrichstrasse station in Berlin . In 1938 the first Kindertransport drove from Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin via Rotterdam or via the Port of Hamburg to London.
• Gdansk : The plastic Kindertransport - The Departure made of bronze was placed in front of the Gdańsk Główny train station in 2009 at the request of the Gdańsk Mayor Paweł Adamowicz .
• Hook of Holland : In 2011 the memorial for the rescued Jewish children was erected.

Meisler's groups of sculptures, which have since become the European route of the Kindertransporte , show similarities and different design details.

Web links

Commons : Kindertransport - The Last Farewell  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Memorial Hamburg: Kindertransport - The last farewell . Retrieved December 4, 2016
2. ↑ Hamburg Police: New memorial in Hamburg's culture of remembrance . Retrieved December 4, 2016
3. ↑ Hamburger Wochenblatt, St. Georg: The sad farewells ( memento of the original from December 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Die Welt: Memorial commemorates humanitarian Kindertransporte , May 7, 2015. Accessed December 4, 2016
5. ↑ Hamburg's cultural map: Kindertransporte 1938–1939 . Retrieved December 5, 2016
6. ^ Die Welt: Kindertransporte 1938–1939 . Retrieved December 4, 2016

Coordinates: 53 ° 33 ′ 39.6 ″  N , 9 ° 59 ′ 20.2 ″  E