I Came Alone by Bertha Leverton and Shmuel Lowensohn

This is a set of accounts of people who arrived in the UK via the Kindertransport or had some connection with it in some way. Much of my research has led me to the thousands of such accounts. Only a few are in the form of letters or diaries written at the time – most are told through the mist of memory and toned by present day considerations.

Nevertheless, they are all useful and they are most certainly interesting.

I found several instances of similarities with the story of my mother-in-law, Renate Edler.  There was even another Renate who had an Uncle Rudi!

Several of the Kinder, as she did, also ended up living in North Finchley. Several also came across form Nuremberg in January 1939 as she did. We aren’t sure whether she came over on an organised Kindertransport or whether it was some sort of private arrangement.

Most of the Kinder in this book are very Jewish, but there are a few examples of “Mischling” children.

There are a few touches of humour, too. One young German girl gets very confused about the difference between marmalade and jam – the German for jam is “Marmalade”.   

I hope I manage to get some humour into my text.

There are also some examples of parents of the Kinder getting jobs and settling in the UK – just as Kathe Edler did. I still have to verify the facts about all of this. I need another stroke of luck like I had yesterday with Clara Lehrs.