Reunion of Kindertransport documents

This collection is the second of two deposits made with the library concerning the reunion of the former children of the Kindertransports. It represents the bulk of the material in the possession of Bertha Leverton, founder and primary administrator of the Reunion of the Kindertransport (ROK) organization. The collection concerns her work planning reunions; writing and editing monthly newsletters; acting as a liaison to Kinder and those interested in the Kindertransport; conducting educational lectures on the history of the Kindertransport; and generally promoting its story. Most of these documents are in the form of letters, unpublished memoirs, and newspaper articles; the collection also includes a number of audio and video tapes, as well as photographs. Additional materials concerning the ROK are held with the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) in London, where the organization was housed. The archive contains a wealth of correspondence between Bertha Leverton and the Kinder. Organized chronologically, these letters range from 1985 through 2002 and are housed in a single box. Effort was made to subdivide the correspondence between that which relates to the ROK and to Bertha Leverton's educational activities. This is admittedly somewhat of an arbitrary division. The ROK spawned a number of related memorial projects apart from the reunions, of which Bertha's educational talks were but one.

The letters are generally of an organizational nature regarding preparations for the reunions and other questions. They not only reflect the history and growth of the ROK organization generally, but also the intimate, even at times familial feel to the group, personified in their connection with Bertha Leverton. While the ROK would eventually grow to take on additional volunteer help, it was always primarily run by Bertha Leverton. As such, she took it upon herself to personally correspond with the Kinder as part of her organizational role.

2. Memoirs -- The collection holds 166 memoirs, predominantly unpublished and ranging from a few paragraphs included in a letter to independently published booklets with color photo reproductions. Memoirs are organized alphabetically by the current name of the Kind. Any previous names, place of birth, and/or place of departure are also noted for each entry. [Note: Most of the Kinder's names changed to some degree, sometimes slightly, other times dramatically. Name change does not necessarily denote marriage, although it may. The circumstances of name changes are not always known.] A brief sketch of the contents of the material is also included.

Perhaps most significantly, Bertha Leverton solicited biographical information from the Kinder to be included in a collection of autobiographical accounts. Much of this material was submitted to her in letter form. Because of this, correspondence which is of primarily autobiographical nature or which clearly responded to Bertha's request was separated from the general correspondence and housed as memoirs. Researchers who are keen to thoroughly review ALL biographical material in the archive are urged to consult both the correspondence and the collected memoirs for the fullest picture.Kindertransport more generally. Articles primarily derive from British newspapers, although a number of publications from the U.S., Germany, Israel and elsewhere are also included.pan>

3. Photographs --

The archive has been organized into four major categories, ranging from the most seminal materials to the life and function of the ROK organization to the least.

The fourth and final grouping (1368/4) concerns material not directly related to the activities of the ROK. Most of these materials relate to the Holocaust generally, but not the Kindertransport specifically, and include letters, books, pamphlets, news articles and ephemera.