The Last Train From Prague
Tim Mulroy tells the story of his father Hans and his aunt Hana who were twins.
Hans and Hana were born in Czechoslovakia in 1928.
They escaped to Britain in summer 1939 on the last Kindertransport from Prague, organised by Nicholas Winton.
Hans and Hana lived with their parents Felix and Irma, and their older sister Greta, in an apartment in the city of Pilsen. The family were not devout jews, but they visited the Synagogue occasionally. Hans, Hana and Greta had a happy childhood, enjoying school, with regular visits to their grandparents and holidays in the countryside of Bohemia.
Life changed for the family after the invasion of the Sudetenland by Hitler’s army. The parents knew that Pilsen would soon be invaded, and so the family needed to escape. They were aware of the persecution of the Jews in Germany and Austria, but to leave Czechoslovakia required a visa for another country.
At that time, it was impossible for adults to obtain a visa, but for children there were opportunities to travel to safety via Kindertransports. The parents applied to the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia, and Hans and Hana arrived in Britain on the 2nd of August 1939. Their sister was scheduled to arrive in Britain one month later. Tragically WW2 was declared as the train was waiting at Prague station and Greta was unable to join her brother and sister.
In 1942 Greta and the parents were transported to Terezin and ultimately were murdered in the Sobibor death camp in Poland.
The children’s journey and their life in Britain is told using testimony from Hana, and the details of what happened to the rest of the family has been found in Holocaust databases in the United States, the Czech Republic and Israel.
The presentation is suitable for year 9 students and above.
The Last Train From Prague
Tim Mulroy tells the story of his father Hans and his aunt Hana who were twins.
Hans and Hana were born in Czechoslovakia in 1928.
They escaped to Britain in summer 1939 on the last Kindertransport from Prague, organised by Nicholas Winton.
Hans and Hana lived with their parents Felix and Irma, and their older sister Greta, in an apartment in the city of Pilsen. The family were not devout jews, but they visited the Synagogue occasionally. Hans, Hana and Greta had a happy childhood, enjoying school, with regular visits to their grandparents and holidays in the countryside of Bohemia.
Life changed for the family after the invasion of the Sudetenland by Hitler’s army. The parents knew that Pilsen would soon be invaded, and so the family needed to escape. They were aware of the persecution of the Jews in Germany and Austria, but to leave Czechoslovakia required a visa for another country.
At that time, it was impossible for adults to obtain a visa, but for children there were opportunities to travel to safety via Kindertransports. The parents applied to the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia, and Hans and Hana arrived in Britain on the 2nd of August 1939. Their sister was scheduled to arrive in Britain one month later. Tragically WW2 was declared as the train was waiting at Prague station and Greta was unable to join her brother and sister.
In 1942 Greta and the parents were transported to Terezin and ultimately were murdered in the Sobibor death camp in Poland.
The children’s journey and their life in Britain is told using testimony from Hana, and the details of what happened to the rest of the family has been found in Holocaust databases in the United States, the Czech Republic and Israel.
The presentation is suitable for year 9 students and above.
