Fragments (English)
“That is our lives!” I raised my voice painfully. “Fragments – all we have left of our family, of ourselves, of our Judaism – are only fragments.” Tears filled my eyes and Arik pulled me towards him and held me in his arms.
“No, Anna,” he protested vehemently. “We have each other, we have Lise who fulfilled the dream, we have a country to go to, and we have our religion in which we can find comfort.” His voice softened as he added gently, “The only thing we don’t have is parents.”
Arik, Lise and Anna survived the Holocaust by fleeing on the “Kindertransport” – the children’s transport – to England, leaving their parents behind.
In a final desperate attempt just before the outbreak of WWII, thousands of parents in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Austria tried to send their children to safer shores. Of all the countries in the world, only England opened her gates, thereby saving the lives of almost 10,000 children, the vast majority Jewish.
This is the story of 17-year-old Arik, 16-year-old Lise and 15-year-old Anna.
The book is based on the experiences of my mother, the late author and poet Karen Gershon (née Kate Lowenthal, Anna in the book), and her sisters.