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Powerful Patchwork

Kindertransport memorial quilts find a new home in Farmington Hills.

Hans Weinmann of West Bloomfield

Helga Shepard of New York City, Kindertransport survivor Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig of Southfield

E

ach square tells an individual story; together, dozens of handsewn quilt blocks
bring an emotional, historic journey back to life. Three carefully constructed
quilts made up of 65 squares from the Kindertransport memorial quilt project
are now permanently housed at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills. The
panels were created by survivors of the 1938 Kindertransport
rescue operation when thousands of unaccompanied children
were sent to safety in England by train and by ship, escaping
Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. Most of their par-
ents died in the Holocaust.
"This is truly a story of the righteous who saved our children:'
said artist Gayle Kaplan of Farmington Hills.
She spearheaded the effort to bring the quilts here along with
the center's founder, Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig and Mary
Silber, both of Southfield, and Kindertransport survivor Hans
Weinmann of West Bloomfield. "This exhibit is a way of teach-
ing the next generation:' Kaplan said.
Weinmann was just 13 when he boarded a Kindertransport train
in Austria bound for England with his late brother, Ernest, who was

Melba Winer, Shirley Benyas and Lonnie Fleischer, all of West
Bloomfield, volunteers who helped make the recordings

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October 16 • 2008

16 at the time. Eventually, they were among the few who were reunited with their parents. The
family settled in Detroit in 1940.
"Things turned out well for us. Unfortunately, that was not the case for many of the
other children who ranged in age from 7 months to 17 years old," Weinmann said. "To
me, the real heroes were not the British government, which allowed the children to enter,
or the German government that allowed us to leave. The real heroes in my mind were
the parents who let the children go:'
Weinmann's quilt block, dedicated to his foster parents, reads, "In honor of Abe and
Fanny Davis who saved my life?' He was among about 400 people who attended an Oct. 5
dedication ceremony at the memorial center.
"What an honor it is for us to have this exhibit here said Selma Silverman of
Detroit, the center's administrator. "People can listen to recordings that tell the amaz-
ing story behind each quilt square. More detailed essays can also be found in the
Kindertransport books available at the museum shop"

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For more information, visit the Holocaust Memorial Center, 28123 Orchard Lake
Rd, Farmington Hills, call (248) 553-2400, or go to www.kindertransport.org .
Kindertransport books are $18 and are being sold at a reduced price for schools.

A crowd looks at the Kindertransport quilt blocks.

Kirsten Grosz of Indiana, wife of a Kindertransport
survivor who started the quilt project