In the months leading up to the outbreak of World War Two, Britain rushed to evacuate nearly 10,000 Jewish children from the Nazi occupied territories. Through the unprecedented cooperation of religious and governmental organizations, the Kindertransport spared thousands of Jewish children from the terror of the Third Reich and provided them with host families in Britain. Children’s Exodus offers an in-depth look at the people and politics behind the various chains of rescue as well as the personal narratives of the children who left everything behind in the hope of finding safety. Drawing on unpublished interviews, journals, and articles, Vera K. Fast examines the religious and political tensions that emerged throughout the migration and at times threatened to bring operations to a halt. Children’s Exodus captures the life-affirming stories of child refugees with vivid detail and examines the motivations -- religious or otherwise -- of the people that orchestrated one of the greatest rescue missions of all time.

Vera Fast is a retired Historian/Archivist living in Manitoba. She also assisted in the book God's Galloping Girl: The Peace River Diaries of Monica Storrs, 1929-1931.

Vera K. Fast's profile page

""This is a thoroughly engaging and moving history of events which until now have been treated only partially, superficially, or largely biographically.  It is a comprehensive historical overview and analysis of a remarkable, early chapter in the history of the Holocaust."" -- Lionel Steiman, Former Professor of History, University of Manitoba

""Vera K. Fast presents a well-rounded account of the Kindertransport movement. Her extensive research in British archival sources ensures that her views are solidly grounded and her substantial use of first-person accounts by Kindertransport participants gives the reader a good understanding of what it felt like to be uprooted.  Particularly noteworthy are the author's discussion of the different viewpoints within the rescue community and the Jewish community that enriched but also complicated the task of rescuing the children from the Continent.  Her account of the personal experiences of the Kindertransport children are fascinating for themselves and for their relevance to the twenty-first century world in which there are many child refugees."" -- Daniel Stone, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Winnipeg and Vice-President of the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada

""As a Jewish child being persecuted by the Nazi government in Germany in the 1930s, I was fortunate that my parents put me on a Kindertransport to Great Britain.  Vera K. Fast has written a comprehensive and well researched book leading up to and chronicling this historical rescue mission.  I highly recommend it as serious reading of another aspect of the history of the Holocaust."" -- Margaret Heller Goldberger, Chair of the Speakers Bureau of the Kindertransport Association and Member of the Board of Governors of B'nai B'rith International

""Vera Fast, an archivist and historian, provides a balanced and sensitive treatment of the Kindertransport, from the viewpoints of both children and organizers."" -- Carla King, Irish Times
 ""[This] is an essential read for Kinder, as well as the general public, to gain a fuller understanding of the Kindertransport. The book is well-researched, with ample source references, a large up-to-date bibliography and an ample index. Where individuals have been interviewed...the author has used as few words as possible and thus avoided the common pitfalls of lengthy stories...in summary I can only again recommend this book as a must read."" -- Bernd Koschland, Kindertransport Newsletter