Nov
16
Caring for Holocaust Refugees and Survivors
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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Educating Future Generations
We fund Holocaust education, combat antisemitism, and produce leading resources to advance research for future generations
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Remembering Our History
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 TodayStories from Our Holocaust Testimony Archives
Drawing 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.
88 Years Since Kristallnacht
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
Upcoming Events
Nov
19
An evening with Jennifer Rinkoff
An evening with Jennifer Rinkoff discussing The Jewish Bakery: 100 Family Recipes from East London’s Oldest Jewish Bakery Book:
- Finchley Church End Library
- 19 November at 7:30pm
- Find out more
Latest News
11 November 2026
“Memoriam”: New London Play about Holocaust Testimony is a Must See for 2nd and 3rd Generation Descendants
Written by Isaac Rosen, Marketing and Communications Manager
11 November 2026
Austrian Newspaper, KURIER, Covers the Powerful Moment when Holocaust Refugee Gabriele Keenaghan Had Her Austrian Citizenship Returned by the Austrian Ambassador the UK
AJR member and Kindertransport refugee Gabriele Keenaghan had
11 November 2026
Kindertransport refugee has Austrian citizenship returned on her 100th birthday
88 years after Kristallnacht, Gabriele Keenaghan, who fled
On 10 November, the AJR community gathered at Belsize Square Synagogue to mark 88 years since Kristallnacht, remembering the victims of Nazi persecution and honouring the voices of those who witnessed it.
We were privileged to hear the moving testimony of 98-year-old AJR member Inge Gershfield, who recalled witnessing a synagogue burning in Berlin, and to celebrate a particularly poignant milestone as Kindertransport refugee Gabriele Keenaghan BEM marked her 100th birthday and had her Austrian citizenship formally returned.
Joined by Holocaust refugees, survivors, descendants and distinguished guests, we came together in remembrance, reflection and recognition of the responsibility we share to preserve these stories for future generations.
Today Gabriele Keenaghan turned 100 and had a decades-long dream come true; to have her Austrian Citizenship reinstated after she had it taken from her during the war, coming over to Britain on the Kindertransport.
Mazel Tov to Gabriele on her citizenship!
May the memories of all the victims of the Holocaust forever be a blessing. Today, on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, we recite the mourner’s Kaddish in their honour 🕯️
Today, Holocaust survivors lit candles to commemorate the anniversary of Kristallnacht - the night of the broken glass.
Through their stories we are reminded of the importance of remembrance and Jewish resilience.
”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!
