Kindertransports
Created by Cooper L., Matt D., Finn R. & Alex W.
The rescue of thousands of children from Europe to safety, organized by brave people who believed in saving lives (1939-1940)
The Journey
Artist Statement
The Kindertransports was an operation led by Sir Nicolas Winton during the Holocaust that secretly brought Jewish children from dangerous-Nazi ruled countries to Great Britain. It lasted from 1938-1940, and saved approximately 10,000 children from the horrors of the Nazis. Winton saved 669 of those children. Sir Nicholas Winton was a Christian man from England who organized and led the Kindertransports.
Our concept for our artifact was to show the journey of the Kindertransports. As the children got closer to Great Britain, we gave the effect and feeling of hope and safety to the audience. A specific experience of the Kindertransports is from a woman named Vera Gissing, a survivor of the Holocaust who was saved by Sir Nicholas Winton. She mentioned in a testimonial that as she got closer to Great Britain she got very excited for what was to come but was also sad leaving her family and fearful of what might happen. Also, we incorporated the effect of evil and contrasted it with the Nazis attempting to grab the children to deport them into death camps. Our viewers should feel the same sense of hope that the children felt when they arrived at Great Britain, because of the new future they had ahead, but also feel the Despair of the Nazis.
While our artifact creates a powerful emotional experience for our viewer, it also communicates an important message about resistance and humanity. Sir Nicholas Winton helped humanity by rescuing children from the cruelty of the Holocaust. As well as how the children showed resistance leaving their families to escape the terrifying danger the Nazis brought.
Some symbols represented in our artifact are the Devil’s hand coming out of the mountain, and the Star of David. The Devil’s hand is right on top of the mountain showing how terrifying the Nazis were and representing the idea the Nazis had of "annihilating” all Jews in Europe. The Star of David represents all the kids who were saved by the Kindertransports, and the Jewish people in Europe who were being killed and chased by the Nazis. We learned about many symbols and flags, and thought these would be perfect for our specific artifact because they both show the fear and hope the kids experienced during their journey on the Kindertransports.
We utilized many materials for the project and took a while to decide which materials to use and how to include them. We 3D printed the large hand, Sir Nicholas Winton, and the children, we used cardboard for the base of the mountain, clay for the outside of the mountain, wood for the ground and train tracks, spray paint for the hand and ground, and rocks for covering the mountain to make it very realistic, we printed out the flags, and used small fairy led lights on the side of the train tracks, and we used cotton balls for Great Britain. We had to make some difficult decisions while building, including how to make the mountain, we could not 3D print it, so we brainstormed a lot and decided to take a small cardboard box and use duct tape and clay to form a small mountain, then we covered it with real rocks. Finding these rocks was another difficulty, we had to spend lots of time in the cold walking around campus picking up rocks, and then we needed to wash them in the sink. Something we thought would be very cool for our artifact was using rocks where the Nazis were, showing danger and darkness, and cotton balls in Great Britain showing light and safety for the children.
The elements of art we used were form, because the hand is bolting out of the mountain showing how it powerfully symbolizes the horrors that the kids saw. And value, because as the train tracks go along and get closer to Great Britain the lights get brighter so it can really show how the kids got more hope as they went along. The principles of designs we used were emphasis and proportion. We showed emphasis by the red Devil’s hand coming out of the mountain showing how frightening the Nazis were and that they were trying to capture any Jews in Europe and the red is different from any other colors on our design because we want to show a sign of power. And proportion, because the red hand and mountain are giant which show the power the Nazis had and the children are tiny showing how they were weak and were terrified because of the Nazi power, and they had no power. The elements of arts, and principles of design enhance the symbolic meaning and emotional impact of our piece by showing power and darkness representing the Nazis and hope and brightness for the children.
Our memorial matters because it shows the horrors that the kids felt from the Nazis but also their hope as they went farther along the train towards Great Britain. Our viewers understand the kindertransports as a whole and the difficulties the children had to face leaving their parents and never seeing them again.
