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

The secret smuggling of 9,300 Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Germany in the late 1930s.

Director:

Mark Jonathan Harris

Writer:

Mark Jonathan Harris

Stars:

Judi Dench, Lory Cahn, Kurt Fuchel

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judi Dench	...	Narrator (voice)
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

For nine months prior to World War II, in an act of mercy unequalled anywhere else before the war, Britain conducted an extraordinary rescue mission, opening its doors to over 10,000 Jewish and other children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. These children, or Kinder (sing. Kind), as they came to be known, were taken into foster homes and hostels in Britain, expecting eventually to be reunited with their parents. The majority of them never saw their families again.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | england | jew | kindertransport | 1930s | 

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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 USA:

$32,037, 17 September 2000

Gross USA:

$374,555

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?

Quotes

Nicholas Winton: We did have the feeling that the position was much more urgent than anybody in London thought.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

Alle Vögel sind schon da
Traditional
Performed by Kinderchor des Ndr (as Kinderchor des NDR)

User Reviews

Testament of youth

The Testament of holocaust survivors is always worth hearing, lest we forget the depths to which humanity proved it was capable of sinking. In fact, the scale of the tragedy is almost incomprehensible to a privileged modern mind, hence the appeal of stories like 'Schindler's List', which focus on a few who were luckier than most: they give us an insight into the horror, without totally disconnecting from our own, more fortunate, experience. 'Into the Arms of Strangers' likewise tells a more human story than the bleakest truths, namely that of Jewish children taken in by Britain before the war. It's not a bad film, and yet to me it was not the most powerful account of the holocaust I've seen in spite of its human scale. Perhaps this is because the worst fate suffered by the rescued - the death of the families they left behind - was a burden gradually assumed, not directly witnessed, and the survivor's stories are thus that little bit more polished and analytical than in the most compelling documentary - whereas perceptions of events are static (and thus retain their quality of immediacy), our interpretations of our feelings are influenced by what happens afterwards, and even our own stories become slightly second-hand over time. Or perhaps this impression is merely created by the film-makers' slightly heavy-handed use of background music and images. In spite of the above, this is still a highly poignant and important film. We who live today should count, and guard, our blessings.