The AJR is the exclusive charity supporting a unique community united by a shared history and a commitment to preserving the memory of the Holocaust
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We fund Holocaust education, combat antisemitism, and produce leading resources to advance research for future generations
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Home to the UK’s largest community of descendants, we warmly welcome all with a connection to, or interest in, this history: descendants, researchers, and those committed to remembrance, justice and education
Join Us TodayDrawing on powerful material from AJR Refugee Voices and AJR My Story, the below exhibition highlights personal testimonies, photographs and documents from Jewish refugees who fled Nazi persecution and rebuilt their lives in Britain. The exhibition theme will change throughout the year, offering fresh perspectives from our unique testimony archive.
This collection illuminates the experiences of survivors and refugees who bore witness to Kristallnacht – “The Night of Broken Glass” – a series of widespread, state-sponsored pogroms against Jewish people, property, and businesses on November 9–10 88 years ago. Kristallnacht was a turning point in the Nazification of Europe, where antisemitism shifted from the fringes of National Socialist ideology to the heart of political and cultural sentiment. For the AJR members who remember it, Kristallnacht was a shattering of innocence as much as the glass for which it is named – the beginning of the end of life as they knew it.
27
Members over 100 years of age
+300
Holocaust testimony videos
4
Visits from the King to the AJR
“It was so interesting and incredibly useful listening to Holocaust educators from around the world sharing ideas, challenges, and new ways to reach the next generation in what is now a very different time and world. The insights and conversations have reinforced just how vital it is that we continue to adapt, learn, and find new ways to ensure the lessons of the past remain alive and relevant.”
“Thank you for visiting us yesterday. We thought the meeting went brilliantly. We are so lucky to have a social worker as gentle, understanding and caring as you. We really appreciate all the support and advice you give us.”
“Thank you so much for putting on such an amazing event. I’ve found documents about my grandparents that I hadn’t seen before, including my dad’s name on a Kindertransport list. I can’t tell you how much it means to me and my family and thank everyone at the AJR for all you do.”
“My client arrived on the Kindertransport as a small child. Her husband passed away many years ago, and she does not have children. I visit her each week and we talk about current affairs over coffee and cake, and quite often we go out for lunch together. She recently told me that she had forgotten that I was her volunteer and referred to me as her friend! That’s why I love being a volunteer for the AJR.”
1,857
AJR Members of whom +600 are 1st generation, of which 30 are over 100 years old
+£8m
Directly allocated to members for homecare and other support services
69,599
Minutes of face-to-face volunteer support in the last 12 months
Online talk to hear about Jewish Life in Wales
6 November 2026
Inge Gershfield was 10 years old when she
6 November 2026
Written by Debra Barnes, Head of Next Generations
”I’m probably one of the few people alive who can still remember Berlin before the war.”
Holocaust survivor Peter Summerfield BEM recalls his harrowing childhood memory of witnessing the burning of synagogues during Kristallnacht in Berlin.
At just five years old, Peter witnessed the terrifying destruction firsthand on his way to school, and shares how his father was kept safe from persecution during this brutal period after being hidden in a cellar by a brave local caretaker.
A defining turning point in the history of Jewish refugees in Britain.
Across two horrific nights in November 1938, orchestrated Nazi violence targeted Jewish communities on an unprecedented scale - burning synagogues, looting businesses, and terrorising families in their homes and on the streets.
The immediate aftermath changed everything. With tens of thousands sent to concentration camps, the desperate race to escape began. It was in the direct wake of this brutality that the Kindertransport was established, providing a lifeline for around 10,000 children who found refuge in Britain.
Before finding refuge on the Kindertransport, many children endured horrors that are rarely spoken about.
Following the violent state-sponsored pogroms of Kristallnacht (Reichspogromnacht) on 9–10 November 1938, thousands of Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues were looted and destroyed. But for many future Kinder, the terror went even further: some were directly arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps like Buchenwald and Dachau.
Arriving by train in Weimar, young children were forced to march 7 kilometres up to Buchenwald. Alongside severe violence and deaths inside the camps, the sheer devastation led many parents and grandparents to take their own lives.
When prisoners were finally released on the condition that they emigrate immediately, these children boarded the Kindertransport carrying the weight of total family upheaval and trauma before their journey had even begun.
As we mark the anniversary of the November Pogroms, we remember their strength and continue to share the full truth of their experiences.
Dancing into his 100th year! Holocaust survivor Maurice Peltz showing us all what resilience, gratitude, and pure joy look like as he celebrates a century of life. Happy 100th Birthday, Maurice!
Honouring bravery, sacrifice, and shared heritage.
Every year, the @ajex_uk Annual Parade brings together generations to pay tribute to the Jewish servicemen and women who stood forward to defend freedom.
For the AJR community, this commemoration holds deep personal resonance. Thousands of Jewish refugees who fled Nazi oppression to Britain went on to enlist in the British Armed Forces—returning to Europe to fight against the regime that tore their worlds apart.
Marching together ensures the profound contributions and stories of these refugee volunteers are never forgotten.
📍 Event Details:
🗓️ Sunday 15th November 2026, 2:00 PM 📍 The Cenotaph, Whitehall (Assembly at Horse Guards Parade)
🔗 March with the AJR contingent - register by 5 November via ajex.org.uk or get in touch with the AJR team.
“My mother baked a loaf of bread where she put her engagement ring, her mother’s engagement ring, my father’s wedding ring...”
Out of 64 extended family members lost in the Holocaust, these rings are all that remain of Renate Collins’s family.
Before being deported, Renate’s mother baked her engagement ring, her mother’s engagement ring, and her husband’s wedding ring into a loaf of bread. A brave doctor who escaped the camps carried that loaf across war torn Europe and delivered the concealed rings to Renate in London after the war. Renate still wears her grandmother’s ring today as a testament to memory, survival and maternal devotion.
Some stories are best shared around the table.
For centuries, cholent has brought families together - a dish rich in history, tradition and meaning.
In this special conversation, Holocaust survivor Jackie Young sits down with Alissa Tomoshkina to explore the significance of food, the memories it carries, and the importance of passing these stories on to younger generations.
“If you don’t put her on this train, she’ll never go.”
Renate Collins BEM was just five years old when she was placed on the last successful Kindertransport train out of Prague on June 30, 1939. Suffering from chickenpox and a 104 degree fever, her mother hesitated to send her until a doctor warned that if she didn’t board this train, she would never leave.
The next scheduled train in September 1939 was stopped when war broke out; none of the children on board survived. In this testimony, Renate reflects on her mother’s painful decision and the scene at the platform as parents stood held back by guards while saying their final goodbyes.
The AJR is home to the UK’s largest community of Holocaust refugees and their descendants, welcoming anyone with a connection to – or interest in – this history, from researchers to those committed to remembrance and education.
By supporting the AJR, you help preserve the legacy of Holocaust refugees and survivors and ensure future generations learn from their stories. Through funding Holocaust education, combating antisemitism, and supporting our research, AJR plays a vital role in keeping this history alive.
