Child Survivors’ Association of Great Britain-AJR
Founded in 1995, the CSAGB-AJR is a self-support group for child survivors of the Holocaust and their partners. Membership is open to those of Jewish heritage who lived under Nazi occupation during the period September 1939 – 1945 and who were sixteen years and under at the end of World War II. Our membership includes children who survived in ghettos, in hiding, on the run and in camps. They were born in places as far apart as Antwerp, Berlin, Krakow and beyond. In 2007 the CSAGB became a special interest group of the AJR.
European Association of Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust
The CSAGB-AJR is a member of the European Association which includes large groups based in areas formerly behind the Iron Curtain. The President of this organisation represents our interests on the Claims Conference. Together with the President of the World Federation, he was instrumental in getting the German Government agree to award Child Survivors a nominal sum of 2500 Euros as restitution for our Holocaust experiences.
World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Descendants
The CSAGB-AJR is kept informed about activities of the World Federation. Its annual conference is often attended by CSA members.
Events
In addition to offering our membership emotional support, we run a series of activities throughout the year. These include Purim and Chanuka meetings. With the help of the AJR, some 20 members made their way to Luton Hoo on June 4th 2017 for a very enjoyable tea party in a lovely setting.
From time to time, the CSAGB-AJR is contacted by organisations or individuals interested in making contact with Child Survivors. Several of our members were interviewed by a senior researcher at the University of Swansea and another from the University of Kent. A number of members speak regularly at the National Holocaust Centre and Museum in Laxton, Nottinghamshire, and through the offices of the Holocaust Educational Trust, at schools and to groups around the country. Some of us also give our testimony abroad.
20th anniversary celebration
120 members and guests attended a special reception to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Child Survivors Association of Great Britain on Thursday 12th June 2014 in the State Rooms, House of Commons, by kind permission of Mr Speaker, The Rt Hon John Bercow MP.
Newsletter
Members receive the regular Newsletter which, for those living outside the London area, forms the link with the CSAGB-AJR. In addition to book reviews, topics have included reports on the Conferences abroad and about financial reparations. Several members have submitted articles relating to their own family backgrounds and personal researches. We have also had permission to reprint a variety of articles from other Journals relevant to Child Survivors’ experiences.
We Remember
What was devised as a Yiskor book of remembrance and originally published as “ZACHOR”, was updated and extended and published in 2011 as “WE REMEMBER.” This anthology of memoirs consists of thirty chapters, each chapter written in their own words by a different Child Survivor. It was relaunched at the Wiener Library in February 2012.
Coming from different nationalities, differing cultural, educational and social backgrounds, and families who practised a variety of religious observances including those who barely identified themselves as Jews, our voices are all individual. Together these memoirs cover much of children’s Holocaust experiences.
The Author and Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore writes: “These remarkable, heart-breaking stories of children in the Holocaust are an important historical record of the tragedy of the Holocaust, a tribute to their humanity and will to survive, a memorial to lost families and vanished Jewish communities – and a fascinating read. I recommend this book strongly.”
Over 8,000 copies have been sold and it is now in its third edition. Copies are available to buy through the CSAGB-AJR. The order form can be downloaded here.
