A child of the Kindertransport has shared the experiences of her childhood, and how they influenced her work as a Holocaust educator.
The Kindertransport was an organised rescue programme to relocate Jewish children from mainland Europe, with over 10,000 children evacuated in the months leading up to the start of the Second World War.
Ruth Barnett MBE, a former teacher and psychotherapist, was evacuated from Berlin at the age of four in 1939, with her elder brother, leaving her parents behind.
Barnett said: “I suffered a lot of dislocation in my early life.”
Her brother Martin and she spent their early years moving around the south of England, placed in several foster families and a boarding school for bombed-out children during World War II.
Barnett explained that her parents wanted them to be brought up Christian to protect them from antisemitism.
She described her experience of being repatriated back to Germany by her parents against her will at the age of 14, and her attempt to get back to England as the worst year of her life.
Barnett began dedicating her retirement to speaking about the importance of Holocaust education, partnering with organisations such as the Holocaust Education Trust and Yet Again.
Recently, Barnett, amongst other Holocaust survivors, including Dorit Oliver-Wolff BEM have petitioned to meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of the Genocide Amendment vote.
Watch the full video below.
