Statue

Kindertransport - Meisler

Erection date: 2006

Inscription

{On a plaque on a nearby wall:}
Hope Square, dedicated to the Children of the Kindertransport, who found hope and safety in Britain through the gateway of Liverpool Street Station.
Association of Jewish Refugees, Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief, 2006.

{On a plaque behind the statues:}
Children of the Kindertransport
In gratitude to the people of Britain for saving the lives of 10,000 unaccompied mainly Jewish children who fled from Nazi persecution in 1938 and 1939.
"Whosoever rescues a single soul is credited as thought they had saved the whole world." Talmud

{To the sides of the statues are 16 bronze blocks carry place-names:}
Cologne, Hanover, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Bremen, Munich, Danzig, Breslau, Prague, Hamburg, Mannheim, Leipzig, Berlin, Vienna

{On a plaque attached to the railway track behind the statues:}
Frank Meisler, Arie Ovadia, 2006

Such a sad and touching subject, these children can't fail but bring to mind the many thousands of children who did not survive. The sculptor, Meisler, was one of the children saved.

However, it seems all statues of children must fall into one of two camps: kitschy sweet, or creepy in a 'Village of the Damned' sort of way. And, to our eyes, these land squarely in the latter group.

2022: From Jewish News: "... the philanthropist and Holocaust survivor Sir Erich Reich, ... died suddenly on Wednesday {2/11/2022}, aged 87. Sir Erich was proud to be the smallest boy depicted in the famous Kindertransport statue by Frank Meisler at Liverpool Street Station, yet he had few memories of his own journey to the UK in 1939, at the age of four."

Site: Kindertransport - Meisler (1 memorial)

EC2, Liverpool Street , Hope Square, Liverpool Street Station

There are other related statue groups by the same sculptor at a number of other stations including: the main Railway Station in Gdansk, Poland; Dammtor Bahnhof Hamburg; Friedrichstrasse Railway Station Berlin; Ferry Port Rotterdam.

This site used to be occupied by another Kindertransport sculpture, by Flor Kent. That was removed before 2006, and then reinstalled in a different form, in the lower level of the station in 2011.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Kindertransport - Meisler

Subjects commemorated i

Holocaust / Holocaust Memorial Day

Events for this day (27 January every year) are organised by The Holocaust Me...

Read More

Kindertransport

10,000 unaccompanied mainly Jewish children fled from Nazi persecution in 193...

Read More

World War 2

Sorry, we've done no research on WW2, it's just too big a subject. But do vis...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Kindertransport - Meisler

Created by i

Association of Jewish Refugees

The AJR provides an extensive range of social and welfare services, and grant...

Read More

Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief

Now known as the World Jewish Fund.  Established in 1933 as the Central Briti...

Read More

Frank Meisler

Architect and sculptor. Born Danzig. Arrived in England via the Kindertranspo...

Read More

Arie Ovadia

A sculptor who frequently works alongside Meisler.

Read More

Nearby Memorials

James Greathead statue

James Greathead statue

EC3, Cornhill

Note that part of the Greathead shield used in digging the tunnels at Bank Station was left in situ.

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
FCO - D unknown

FCO - D unknown

SW1, Horse Guards Road, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Foreign Office was completed in 1873 to the 1861 designs of Sir George Gilbert Scott, with Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt for the St James’s...

Imperial Camel Corps

Imperial Camel Corps

WC2, Victoria Embankment Gardens

The sculptor was also a member of the corps. Unveiled by Chetwode. For another London camel statue see General Gordon on a camel. And If ...

War dead | WW1
350 subjects commemorated, 3 creators
Queen Victoria at Imperial College

Queen Victoria at Imperial College

SW7, Exhibition Road, Imperial College main entrance

Victoria and Albert have a long-standing association with Imperial College due to it being in an area designated for cultural and scienti...

3 subjects commemorated, 3 creators
George II statue in Golden Square

George II statue in Golden Square

W1, Golden Square

Erected here in 1753. Previously it was at Cannons, the Duke of Chandos's house. It is said to have been made in 1724 but that seems late...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators