Following UK government guidlines the ACF London is delighted to open its doors to the public again and welcome you back with a very special exhibition about the Kindertransport to Great Britain.

Following the ‘Night of Pogroms’ (9 – 10th November 1938) and the beginning of World War II (1st September 1939), the Kindertransport to Great Britain took place from December 1938 to August 1939 and saved lives of 10.000 mostly Jewish children from Germany, Austria and former Czechoslovakia from Nazi persecution.

The youngest among them was little more than a few months, while the oldest were only 17 years old. Each child was only allowed one piece of luggage and its contents were severely restricted: no objects of value and no jewelry, no money, no musical instruments, no cameras. Even the toys were limited. The trains mostly left during the night and the parents were only informed on short notice in order to avoid long farewells.

The scenes on the platforms were heartbreaking: extremely anxious children with their small suitcases containing very few belongings to remind them of their homes and families. They were the last material memory of their parents, brothers and sisters. Two-thirds of the children never saw their parents again.

The photography project For the Child/ Für das Kind by artists Rosie Potter and Patricia Ayre presents and revisits the dramatic history of the Kindertransport. Potter and Ayre asked survivors to share the personal belongings that accompanied them as children on the Kindertransport. Very often these objects were the last physical contact the children had with their parents. The photographs presented here convey the deep emotions and trauma of the separation but also the hope of survival and start of a new future.

The exhibition FÜR DAS KIND is produced and presented together with Milli Segal, director and founder of the Museum FÜR DAS KIND.

We ask that you please notify us of your visit in advance in order to ensure social distancing measures can be followed. Please email office@acflondon.org to arrange a date and time.

Visitors must have a negative (rapid flow) covid test or be fully vaccinated. We ask you also follow social distancing, wear a mask and sanitise your hands. Please do not visit the ACF if you have Covid symptoms.

For those who are unable or not comfortable visiting the ACF in person we would like to offer the exhibition virtually. Please click HERE to visit.