Key Relationships in Kindertransport

Family relationships lie at the core of Diane Samuels’ Kindertransport. Eva’s separation from Helga changes their relationship permanently. Lil gives Eva a home in England and becomes a second mother to her. As an adult, Evelyn struggles to tell Faith about her childhood. Lil connects the two generations because she knows about the history that Evelyn has kept hidden. Through these relationships, Samuels explores motherhood, separation, identity, memory and responsibility.

For more exam practice, visit our full collection of Kindertransport past exam questions.

Helga and Eva/Evelyn

Helga and Eva have a close, loving relationship and strong family ties. In the opening scene, Helga teaches Eva how to sew on a button, checks her suitcase and gives her instructions for the journey to England. Helga tells her: “You have to be able to manage on your own.”

Helga knows that Eva will have to cope without her parents. She speaks firmly because she wants Eva to survive and understand what is expected of her. However young Eva wants to stay with her parents and does not understand why they cannot protect her.

Helga replies:“Only by sending you away.” Helga believes that the Kindertransport offers Eva the best chance of safety. Her decision comes from love, though it causes pain for both mother and daughter. Eva expects Helga and Werner to follow her to England. She writes letters, looks for possible work for them and continues to imagine their reunion.

When Helga visits England after the war, Eva has become Evelyn. She speaks English, has been adopted by Lil and regards England as her home. Helga wants her to move to New York so that they can live together again. But Evelyn refuses. She still loves Helga, but she also carries anger and grief from the years they spent apart.

She tells her:“I never wanted to live without you and you made me…” The hanging sentence gives an insight as to how difficult it is for Evelyn to explain her feelings. Although Helga’s decision ensured her survival, their separation left lasting pain.

Why this relationship matters

This relationship can support questions about:

• mothers and daughters
• separation
• survival
• protection
• abandonment
• identity
• home and belonging

A strong response needs to consider their relationship at the beginning and near the end of the play. This allows you to explain how separation changes both women.

Lil and Eva/Evelyn

Lil gives Eva a home after she arrives in England. Their first meetings are sometimes awkward because Eva speaks little English and Lil speaks no German. However, Lil welcomes Eva with food, humour and practical help. She helps her write letters and look for work that might allow Helga and Werner to enter Britain.

Eva worries that Lil may send her away if she causes trouble. After admitting that she has visited large houses to ask for jobs for her parents, she begs Lil to let her stay. Lil replies:“Of course I’m not going to throw you out.” Lil reassures Eva that she has a secure place in the household even if she is ‘naughty’. This is especially important because Eva has already lost her parents and home.

As Eva grows older, Lil continues to support her. She defends Eva when the guard questions her at Manchester station and remains with her as the possibility of reunion with her parents begins to disappear. Lil and her husband later adopt Eva. Eva learns English, becomes Evelyn and builds a permanent life in Britain.

Their relationship also contains tension. Adult Evelyn sometimes blames Lil for the distance between herself and Helga. She also connects her life in England with the loss of her German language and parts of her Jewish identity.

Lil understands the pain Evelyn carries. In the attic scenes, she tries to protect Evelyn from Faith’s questions and prevent the argument from becoming more distressing.

Why this relationship matters

This relationship can support questions about:

• foster motherhood
• safety and support
• cultural differences
• identity
• loyalty
• adaptation
• Eva’s development

Lil provides Eva with stability and affection, although Eva’s life with Lil also takes her further from the family and identity she knew in Germany.

Evelyn and Faith

Evelyn and Faith’s relationship drives the present-day scenes. At the beginning of the play, Faith is preparing to move out of the family home. Evelyn encourages her to make decisions about the belongings in the attic. Their conversation reveals tension between Faith’s wish for independence and Evelyn’s fear of another separation.

Their relationship changes when Faith finds letters, photographs and other objects connected with Eva Schlesinger. She eventually learns that that Eva is her mother’s childhood identity. Faith wants to understand her family history. She asks about Helga, Werner, Germany and her Jewish background. Evelyn tries to stop the discussion because these memories remain painful.

During their argument, Evelyn declares: “One prick, Faith and I might bleed forever.” Evelyn compares her memories to a wound. She fears that speaking openly will release emotions she has kept under control for many years.

Faith, meanwhile, feels that Evelyn has denied her access to part of her own identity. She wants to know where she comes from and why the family kept the truth from her. Evelyn eventually shares some information about Helga and Werner. She also allows Faith to take objects from the attic. Their conversation begins to bring the family history into the open, though Evelyn’s pain remains unresolved.

Why this relationship matters

This relationship can support questions about:

• mothers and daughters
• memory
• secrecy
• truth
• identity
• independence
• control
• the effects of the past on later generations

A thoughtful response might consider the feelings of both characters. Faith wants answers, while Evelyn fears what those answers will uncover.

The Symbolism in Kindertransport article explains how Samuels uses the attic, letters and photographs within their conflict.

Lil and Faith

Lil is Faith’s grandmother and an important link to Evelyn’s past. Faith turns to Lil after finding Eva’s belongings. Lil knows the truth about Evelyn’s childhood and understands why Evelyn has avoided discussing it.

At first, Lil tries to stop Faith from opening the boxes and asking questions. She worries about the effect this will have on Evelyn. However, Faith continues to press her for answers, and Lil eventually explains that Eva and Evelyn are the same person.

Lil tells her: “She’s still your mum, Faith.” Lil wants Faith to understand that learning about Eva does not erase the mother she already knows. Evelyn has changed her name and hidden parts of her history, but she remains Faith’s mother. Lil sometimes becomes angry with Faith because she believes that Faith is pushing Evelyn too far. Faith, however, trusts Lil and knows that she can provide answers. Through their conversations, Samuels gradually reveals information about Evelyn’s childhood, adoption and family history.

Why this relationship matters

This relationship can support questions about:

• grandparents and grandchildren
• family loyalty
• secrecy
• truth
• protection
• Faith’s search for identity

Lil connects Faith with events that took place before she was born. She also tries to protect Evelyn, which places her between mother and daughter.

Comparing Helga and Lil as mothers

Helga and Lil both love Eva and want her to survive. Helga sends Eva away from Nazi Germany because she believes this will save her life. Lil gives Eva a home in England and helps her adjust to a new country. Helga remains connected with Eva’s German family, Jewish identity and early childhood while Lil becomes part of Eva’s English life and supports her as she becomes Evelyn.

When Helga arrives in England, Evelyn feels caught between them. She cannot return easily to the life Helga remembers, and Helga cannot recover the years she has lost with her daughter.

A comparison between Helga and Lil may focus on:

• motherhood
• love and protection
• sacrifice
• responsibility
• belonging
• Eva’s changing identity

Both women make important decisions for Eva, and those decisions continue to affect her as an adult.

How Samuels presents relationships

Samuels develops relationships through dialogue, stage movement, silence and repeated actions.

Helga teaches Eva to sew before the Kindertransport. Later, Lil fixes Eva’s hem in England. By repeating this action, Samuels connects the two women who act as Eva’s mothers. Pauses and unfinished sentences also reveal feelings that the characters struggle to express. Evelyn’s unfinished statement to Helga communicates anger and grief, while her arguments with Faith show how difficult it is for her to discuss the past.

Samuels also places past and present on stage together. The audience may see Helga and Eva alongside Evelyn and Faith. This allows the audience to compare relationships across generations and recognise how earlier events continue to affect the family.

Read Language, Form and Structure in Kindertransport for more on time shifts and simultaneous staging.

Why relationships matter in the exam

A relationship question may ask you to explore:

• how a relationship changes
• conflict between two characters
• love, loyalty or responsibility
• mothers and daughters
• the effects of separation
• how the past affects the present

Choose moments from different parts of the play and explain what the characters say and do. Include points on Samuels’ use of dialogue, staging, pauses or objects where relevant.

Use Essential Quotes from Kindertransport to select evidence and How to Write a Strong Kindertransport Essay for Edexcel IGCSE to develop your response.