Whittingehame Farm School

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The Whittingehame Farm School was established as a follow-up to the Kindertransport in Whittingehame House near the village of Stenton in the area of East Lothian ( Scotland ). Like Millisle Farm , it was a refuge for the Jewish refugee children who had come to Great Britain and who could not be accommodated with families. Unlike most schools in exile , it was not founded by educators who had been expelled from the German Reich , but rather went back to the initiative of helpful British people. The school only existed for two years, from January 1939 to September 1941, before it had to close for financial reasons.

Founding history of Whittingehame Farm School

Wittingehame House belonged to the estate of the "Earl of Balfour", whose owner was Arthur Balfour . He was a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and author of the 1917 Balfour Declaration , in which Great Britain agreed to create a "national home" for the Jewish people in Palestine .

Balfour's nephew, Robert Balfour, offered his house and the extensive grounds as a school for Jewish children in January 1939. "Whittingehame Farm School Ltd.", a non-profit organization, acted as sponsor of the facility. Their intention was to develop the agricultural skills and abilities of Jewish children. This was to enable them to be useful to their British hosts first, and later to be able to use their skills and abilities in Palestine.

The school started with 69 Jewish refugee children. She relied on a variety of financial support, including from the City of Edinburgh, a women's organization called the Womens' Appeal Committee, which provided a grant of £ 2,000, Jewish supporters from Germany and individuals requested by the British government Raised £ 50 guarantee per student. Despite these difficulties, the school was able to expand its capacity to around 170 children.

Aspects of everyday school life

The school was committed to the political goals of Zionism . The focus was on preparing for emigration to Palestine.

"Their common tie is not alone the calamity that has overtaken them, but the even stronger one of hope - that one day they may assemble together not as refugees in a strange land but as proud and free citizens of the country of their dreams - Palestine . "

At that time, however, Palestine was still a long-term goal, and the near future for many of the students was initially determined by the fact that their residence permit in Great Britain was only valid until the end of the age of 17 - a further restriction on the part of the British government in this context with their consent to the Kindertransport . Therefore, and in view of the difficulties of direct emigration to Palestine at the time, the school also promoted training for agricultural activities in the British Dominions , the colonies and in South America. In addition to general training, the school should provide thorough practical and scientific training in all branches of agriculture.

The school was a co-educational establishment where it made no difference whether someone was a boy or a girl in terms of education or the handling of everyday tasks. Discipline at school was self-discipline, not externally mandated. That is why the first headmaster, whose ideas were “old school”, left school very quickly. There were fewer conflicts with his successor. The students submitted to the necessary routines of the office and field service and still had a lot of freedom. They made many contacts with the surrounding population in the sporting as well as in the cultural and musical area.

The children and their carers

The school was under British management. After the very brief tenure of the first headmaster, Charles R. Maxwell held this position for some time. He was assisted by employees who were both of British origin and refugees themselves. In addition to two people whose roles are unclear, the following people are listed as permanent employees of the school:

  • Mr Stegall: Senior Master in the early days [..]. He moved to another school and was replaced by
  • Mr William Farrington Drew: Senior House Master and teacher of English and Maths.
  • Miss Lucy Laquer: Matron (housekeeper).
  • Rabbi Joseph Hans Heinemann and Rabbi Torry Foerder: covered Hebrew studies.
  • Rev. Bernhard Cherrick: replaced Charles Maxwell as Headmaster and also gave private lessons in Judaism.
  • Mr Walters: was a Spanish teacher but taught English, as the former was not needed. [..]
  • Sidi Una-Levy: was the cook.
  • Ruth Fischel: worked in the kitchen.
  • Erich Duschinski: led a party of refugees from London to Whittingehame, became an assistant teacher and was a suitable translator as he spoke English, German, Hebrew and French.
  • Miriam Piterkowski (formerly Mia Wimpfheimer): appears to have been an assistant teacher or Madrichah (youth counselor or supervisor).
  • Mr Gibbs: taught maths and English, was a friend of Mr Walters and stayed until called up for military service.

In addition, there were people from outside the school who supported their work, for example with the procurement of food or the establishment of a scout group.

Many memories of individual students are documented on the website about the school. There is also extensive photo material and a long list of alumni.

Beginning of the Second World War and internment

With the outbreak of World War II, the school, which itself was never a target of German air raids, had to deal with the dangers of armed conflicts. The students trained in first aid, caring for the injured and putting out fires. They practiced evacuating the school and trained air raids.

In 1940, with the end of the Phoney War and the growing fear of a German invasion, the way of life at school changed significantly. The older students and some of the German or Austrian staff at the school were confronted with a dramatic change in their situation completely unexpectedly. Thirty-six people from Whittingehame came to Lingfield Park Racecourse, which had been converted into a prisoner of war camp for German seafarers captured in British ports when the war broke out. Almost 500 prisoners lived in the camp, and even if there were some anti-Nazis, it was a shock for the refugees from Whittingehame to now live and dine with many who were obviously Nazis. In mid-August 1940, the British Home Secretary at the time, Herbert Stanley Morrison , ordered the Whittingehame students to be dismissed as "friendly aliens".

The end of Whittingehame Farm School

The aforementioned maximum age limit of 17 years and financial problems led to the school being closed in September 1941. Some of the children moved to Polton House near Lasswade in Midlothian . Polton House was run in a similar way to Whittingehame Farm School and the director of the facility was keen to help the children transition into normal everyday life in Great Britain. After the end of the Second World War, “Polton House” was also a refuge for boys freed from the concentration camps.

Many of the older Whittingehame students found employment in the British economy, and large numbers of the Jewish boys served in the British Army during World War II. After the war, many of the former Whittingehamers emigrated to Palestine.

literature

  • Ester Golan: From Whittingehame 1939 to Israel 1989 , probably Haifa, 1989, publisher unknown.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kindertransport-Overview ( Memento of the original from January 5, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . On the website The Garnethill Hostel for Nazi-Era Refugees 1939-1948, in Glasgow , which is dedicated to the story of another accommodation for children on the Kindertransport, the Garnethill Hostel in Glasgow , the following refuge facilities are named for Scotland as a whole: “A Quaker hostel for women and girls, located on the other side of the synagogue in Renfrew Street, from 1940-1942. This hostel accommodated fifteen people at a time, mostly adults. Whittingehame House, the former home of Arthur J Balfour in East Lothian, served as a farm training school for refugee teenagers 1939-1942. The school was run on the model of the Hachshara Kibbutz and on Youth Aliyah philosophy. Polton House, near Dalkeith in Midlothian and others at Birkenward, Skelmorlie in Ayrshire, Ernespie House (Castle Douglas), and The Priory in Selkirk. Unfortunately, no admission registers have as yet been found for these three other hostels. " @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nationalholocaustcentre.net



  2. ↑ Robert Balfour, 3rd Earl of Balfour (1902–1968)
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j East Lothian at War: Whittingehame Farm School
  4. ↑ The website says “The Council for German Jewry”; this does not allow a clear conclusion as to which Jewish organization from Germany was active here.
  5. ↑ According to the government, the Kindertransport to Great Britain should not burden the British state. Therefore, for each of the approx. 10,000 children who were brought out of the German Reich, a cost assumption by a British guarantor had to be deposited in advance. This guarantee amounted to £ 50 per student per year (around 1,500 euros based on today's value).
  6. ↑ The quote comes from a school brochure: “Your mutual bond is not just the catastrophe that hit you, but an even stronger hope - that one day you will not be a refugee in a foreign country, but as proud and free citizens of the country Dreams - Palestine - may come together. "
  7. ↑ Boys of the Holocaust Tell Their Stories (book review) . Also: A GUIDE TO THE HISTORY AND COMMUNITY OF THE JEWS IN SCOTLAND , p. 19
  8. ^ Evidence of Ester Golan in WorldCat .