Embedded Files
Coventry suffered greatly during World War II particularly in the blitz of November 1940 which destroyed the old cathedral and much of the City centre. On the continent of Europe, there was also great darkness: with the rise to power of the Nazi party in Germany, those who were disliked by the Nazi's faced increasing oppression from the Nuremburg Laws of 1933 through to the outbreak of war in 1939. This brought great suffering to several groups of people including those who were disabled, Romani people, people who were homosexual, those like the Communists who held different political views, Jehovah's Witnesses, and, on the largest scale of all, the Jewish people.
The Kinder Transport rescued nearly 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi Germany in the days leading up to World War II. Fifty of those children came to families in and around Coventry. Learn more about their stories here.
Maureen Berger speaks about her parents escape from Austria at this time on the Coventry Jewish Voices page here.
David Rosenberg tells here, his story of escape from Belgium to France, and then through the Pyrenees to Spain, before eventually reaching Britain.
Through World War II a total of 6 million Jewish people lost their lives in The Holocaust of World War II as the Nazi's sought to eliminate all Jewish people from the lands they controlled. This included the families of most of the Kinder Transport children who came to Coventry, and many, many relatives of Coventry's Jewish community.
Regina Franks lived through the horrors of Nazi Concentration Camps and came to live in Coventry after World War II. Read about her life here.
After the War, Coventry Jewish MP, Maurice Edelman, speaks about his life changing experience visiting the Struthof Concentration Camp, and how it inspired him that his 'job as a politician, to do what lies in my power to defend the sacred rights of human personality'. Hear Maurice speaking of this life changing moment at this link.
UK Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January every year provides the opportunity for us to remember those lost in The Holocaust and other atrocities around the world since. Coventry has a world leading role in Peace and Reconciliation inspired by the response to the Coventry Blitz - 'Father Forgive'. The national commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day was held in Coventry in 2009.
We each have a vital part to play in speaking positively about those who are different from ourselves, learning the value of each community's contributions to the rich and diverse life of our City, growing understanding and building tolerance, so that every community, whether long established, or new to our City, can live together with respect and joy.
See these Links for further information:
Coventry Kinder Transport child Hanna Miley Jan 2023 keynote speech to the Arizona House of Representatives
The National Holocaust Centre and Museum, Nottingham
The UK Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
Yad Vashem. The World Holocaust Remembrance Centre
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