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07/06/2019
Mazel tov!
The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) would like to wish a hearty mazel tov to our members Ernest Simon, George Vulkan, Bob and Ann Kirk, Gabrielle Keenaghan, Walter Kammerling and Ruzena Levy who have been included in The Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2019. These inspirational people have all dedicated their lives to Holocaust remembrance, sharing their stories with thousands of schoolchildren and other organisations. AJR Chief Executive Michael Newman said, “It is pleasing to see that the incredible work that Holocaust survivors and refugees are carrying out appreciated and recognized in this way.” We are particularly pleased about the honour for Ernest Simon. Ernest is a member of AJR but also gives his time as a volunteer, visiting other members who are lonely and in need of social interaction with someone of a similar background. Ernest has been a member of AJR’s Austrian Fund committee for well over ten...
28/05/2019
Putting the record straight
We were pleased to have our letter printed in the Jewish Telegraph of 24 May, 2019 in which we, along with World Jewish Relief and Jewish Care, put the record straight regarding Otto Schiff and the Kindertransport. Click here to read a pdf version: Letter Jewish Telegraph May 2019
30/04/2019
Blue plaque to Sir Ernst Chain unveiled
L-to-R-Frank Harding (AJR), Prof. Alice Gast (President Imperial College), Judy Chain (daughter), Benny Chain (son) AJR unveiled a commemorative plaque in honour of Nobel Prize winning Jewish émigré Professor Sir Ernst Chain on 9 April at Imperial College, London. Born in Berlin in 1906, Ernst Chain received his degree in chemistry from Friedrich Wilhelm University in 1930 but fled Germany immediately after the Nazis came to power, arriving in England in April 1933. Together with Alexander Fleming and Howard Florey, Ernst Chain was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1945 in recognition of the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect on various infectious diseases. Ernst Chain arrived at Imperial in 1961 and is remembered for his foresight around the importance of biochemistry - a vision that helped the College evolve its originally modest plans for the subject into the founding of a new Department and...
25/04/2019
Remembering & Rethinking: The international forum on the Kindertransport at 80
The Rt Hon. James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government with Kinder and members of the AJR senior team Marking the 80th anniversary year of the Kindertransport, more than 200 people took part in Remembering & Rethinking: The international forum on the Kindertransport at 80, on 15th and 16th April 2019 at Lancaster House in London. This landmark event was organised by the AJR and co-hosted by the UK special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues, The Rt Hon. The Lord Pickles. Sponsors included the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and the embassies of Austria and Germany. A central theme of the forum was rethinking the historical narrative. A range of academic scholars were given a platform to share their essential but often-overlooked research. Historians Dr Louise London and Professor Paul Weindling both looked...
08/04/2019
Remembering & Rethinking 15-16 April 2019, Lancaster House, London The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), in partnership with the UK special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues, The Rt Hon. The Lord Pickles, will host Remembering & Rethinking: The international forum on the Kindertransport at 80 in London from 15-16 April 2019 to mark the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport. The forum will combine commemoration, learning and practical action in relation to contemporary refugee issues. PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME (subject to change) Monday 15th April 08.45 – 09:30 Registration and coffee 09.30 – 09.45 Welcome & introduction, Michael Newman, Chief Executive, The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) 09.45 – 11.15 The Kindertransport in context – policy and memory (Chair: Alex Maws, AJR) Teaching, Learning, and Remembering the Kindertransport, Dr Andy Pearce, Centre for Holocaust Education, University College London British policy and the immigration of unaccompanied refugee children, Dr Louise London, Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism, Birkbeck...