Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)

The story of the child refugees who were transported to Britain to escape the Nazi Holocaust.

Director:

Mark Jonathan Harris

Writer:

Mark Jonathan Harris

Stars:

Judi Dench, Lory Cahn, Kurt Fuchel

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judi Dench	...	Narrator
Lory Cahn	...	Herself
Kurt Fuchel	...	Himself
Eva Hayman	...	Herself
Ursula Rosenfeld	...	Herself
Lorraine Allard	...	Herself
Jack Hellman	...	Himself
Lore Segal	...	Herself
Robert Sugar	...	Himself
Hedy Epstein	...	Herself
Norbert Wollheim	...	Himself
Nicholas Winton	...	Himself
Franzi Groszmann	...	Herself
Alexander Gordon	...	Himself
Bertha Leverton	...	Herself

Storyline

In 1938 and 1939, about 10,000 children, most of them Jews, were sent by their parents from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia to the safety of England where foster families took most of them in for the duration of the war. Years later, eleven kinder, one child's mother, an English foster mother, a survivor of Auschwitz who didn't go to England, and two of the kindertransport organizers remember: the days before the Nazis, the mid-to-late 1930s as Jews were ostracized, saying farewell to family, traveling to England, meeting their foster families, writing home, fearing the worst, coping, and trying to find families after the war ended. 1,500,000 children dead; 10,000 saved.

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Plot Keywords:

england | jew | 1930s | kindertransport | refugee | 

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Taglines:

In the nine months prior to World War II, 10,000 innocent children left behind their families, their homes, their childhood, and took the journey...

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Genres:

Documentary | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. (german)

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

24 November 2000 (UK)

Also Known As:

Dans des bras étrangers

Filming Locations:

Waddesdon Manor, Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$32,037 (USA) (15 September 2000)

Gross:

$374,555 (USA) (15 December 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sabine Films, Skywalker, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering the Kindertransports (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär"
Traditional
Performed by Kinderchor des NDR

User Reviews

A Truly Profound Experience.

Watching "Into the Arms of Strangers" was truly a profound experience for me. I am still struggling to put into words all the feelings it evoked in me.

This is the harrowing, compelling true story of Jewish children living in Hitler's Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia who were sent to live in England without their parents. It is told by the children who are now in their sixties and seventies, and it is accompanied by wartime newsreels from both England and Germany. The German footage is especially scary, because it looks much like the English footage, except the wholesome, smiling, patriotic citizens on display are all giving the Nazi salute.

It is hard to imagine being a young child and being taken away not just from your parents, but from your country, your language, and your culture. That really tore me up.

Anyone who sees this movie and doesn't cry is not a human being, but a thing of stone. 10 out of 10.