Context in Kindertransport: What Students Need to Know

Li-ling Ooi English Literature, Kindertransport, Resources 0

Understanding the context of Kindertransport helps explain why the characters make difficult choices and why the past continues to affect Evelyn’s family. Context is not assessed as a separate objective in Edexcel IGCSE English Literature Paper 2 so your main focus should remain on the play, supported by analysis of Samuels’ language, form and structure. Only use context in an essay when it helps you explain a character’s actions, a theme or a dramatic method.
For more exam practice, visit our collection of Kindertransport past exam questions..

Table of Contents

Nazi persecution of Jewish people

Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933. The Nazis introduced laws and restrictions that removed the rights of Jewish people and excluded them from many areas of public life. Jewish people lost jobs, businesses and access to education. Violence and intimidation increased. In November 1938, the Nazis carried out a widespread attack on Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues known as Kristallnacht.

This danger explains the urgency at the beginning of the play. Helga and Werner know that Eva is no longer safe in Germany. Werner has already lost his position at the bank, and the family is trying to find a way to leave Germany. Helga sends Eva away because she believes it is the only way to keep her safe: “Only by sending you away.”

Knowledge of Nazi persecution helps us understand the pressure behind Helga’s decision.

The Kindertransport

The Kindertransport was a rescue scheme that brought nearly 10,000 children from Nazi-controlled territories to Britain in 1938 and 1939. Most of the children were Jewish. They travelled without their parents and stayed with foster families, in hostels or in other forms of temporary accommodation.

The first transport arrived in Britain on 2 December 1938. Parents and guardians were not allowed to accompany the children. Eva’s journey reflects this history. Her parents send her to Britain with the hope that they will follow later. She carries a suitcase, family objects and instructions from Helga.

The name Kindertransport means “children’s transport”. The official term can sound practical and organised, while the play concentrates on the emotional experience of one child who must leave her parents and begin life in an unfamiliar country.

Separation from parents

Many children who travelled on the Kindertransport believed that the separation from their parents would be temporary. The outbreak of the Second World War and the Holocaust prevented many families from being reunited.

In the play, Eva continues to expect Helga and Werner to join her. She writes letters and searches for possible employment for them. Her actions reveal her hope that the family can return to normal.
As time passes, reunion becomes less likely. Eva gradually settles into life with Lil and becomes Evelyn.

This context helps explain why survival and abandonment exist together in the play. Eva survives because her parents send her away, but she also feels that they abandoned her.

Life with foster families in Britain

Kindertransport children had different experiences after arriving in Britain. Some formed close relationships with foster families, while others experienced loneliness, cultural difference or insecurity.

Eva must adjust to:

a new language
unfamiliar food
different religious customs
life with a new family
separation from her German identity

Lil welcomes Eva into her home and becomes an important mother figure. Their relationship gives Eva safety and stability, although Eva continues to miss her parents. As Eva grows older, she speaks more English and becomes part of Lil’s family. Her name changes to Evelyn, and England becomes her home.

The play therefore explores the personal cost of adaptation. Evelyn gains a new life in Britain while losing contact with parts of her childhood, language and family history.

Britain during the Second World War

Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939. Cities faced the threat of bombing, and many children were evacuated from urban areas.

In the play, as Lil prepares to send Eva away from Manchester for her safety, Eva reacts with fear because another journey would mean another separation from a mother figure. War also creates suspicion towards people with German connections. At Manchester station, a guard questions Eva and examines her documents. Although she fled Nazi persecution, her German background still makes her vulnerable to distrust. These scenes show that reaching Britain does not end Eva’s fear. She must continue to prove where she belongs.

The Holocaust and family loss

During the Holocaust, Nazi Germany and its allies murdered six million Jewish people. Millions of others were also persecuted and killed. Eva’s family experiences this history directly. Evelyn later reveals that Werner died in Auschwitz in 1943. Helga survives and travels to England after the war.

Helga’s visit creates a painful situation. She expects to rebuild her relationship with her daughter, while Evelyn has developed a new family and identity in England. The historical facts help explain the scale of the family’s loss. The play then examines what happens after survival: grief, anger, guilt and difficulty speaking about the past.

Jewish identity

Eva leaves Germany as a Jewish child. Her family’s religion is represented through objects, customs and language, including the Star of David and the Haggadah. In England, she encounters different food and religious practices. As an adult, Evelyn says that she was baptised and speaks about her British identity with pride.

Faith’s discovery of her Jewish background raises questions about who has the right to define a person’s identity. Evelyn wants to distance herself from a history connected with persecution. Faith, meanwhile, wants to understand the family history that has been kept from her. Context helps explain why identity becomes such a difficult and emotional subject for both women.

Diane Samuels and the play

Diane Samuels’ Kindertransport was first produced by the Soho Theatre Company in 1993. Samuels drew on accounts of people whose lives had been affected by the Kindertransport. She became interested in the guilt felt by survivors, the silence surrounding some Holocaust experiences and the anger felt by children towards parents whose decisions had saved their lives.

These influences help explain why the play continues into the 1980s. Samuels is interested in the long-term effects of Eva’s experience and the way hidden history affects Faith, the next generation.

Using context effectively

Context should always only be used to support a point about the play.

For example:
Helga sends Eva away because Nazi persecution has made Germany dangerous for Jewish families. Her declaration, “Only by sending you away,” reveals the painful contradiction within her decision: she must separate from her daughter to give her a chance of survival.

Keep the focus on Helga, the quotation and Samuels’ presentation of the relationship. The historical information explains the pressure behind the moment. Avoid just adding long paragraphs of history that do not connect directly to the question.