The webinar "Eva Paddock’s Story: Rescue from the Holocaust," hosted by the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (ENRS), provided a deeply moving exploration of the life of one of the children saved by Sir Nicholas Winton’s Kindertransport. Led by Barbara Walsh and Urszula Bijoś, the session successfully bridged the gap between raw personal testimony, rigorous historical research, and practical classroom application.
Eva Paddock’s presentation was far more than a chronological recount of the past; it was a masterclass in how personal narrative can be used to foster empathy and moral courage. As a lifelong educator and former school principal, Eva echoed the sentiment that “a world not told ceases to exist,” turning her survival into a vital tool for contemporary media literacy and ethical education.
The Kindertransport: A Journey of “Body Memory” and Identity
The heart of the webinar focused on the Kindertransport operation, which brought approximately 10,000 Jewish children to safety in the UK. Eva, who was only three years old in 1939, left Prague with her sister Milena on one of the final trains to successfully reach London.
- Sensory Recollections: Eva described her early memories not as clear facts, but as “body memories” – the physical sensation of seasickness crossing the English Channel and the vivid memory of tasting bananas for the first time upon arrival at Liverpool Street Station.
- The Complexity of Rescue: One of the most poignant moments was Eva’s reflection on her relationship with her mother. She spoke candidly about the “trauma of abandonment” she felt as a child, only later understanding the immense courage it took for her parents to send their children into the unknown. “I thought I was dying,” her mother had later recalled of that day at the station.
- Reclaiming Roots: The webinar traced Eva’s transition from an “English schoolgirl” to a woman reclaiming her Jewish and Czech heritage, a journey culminating in her Bat Mitzvah at age 60 and the recent restoration of her Czech citizenship.
Historical Context: Numbers, Dates, and Bureaucracy
The expert contribution of Dr. Amy Williams grounded this personal story within solid historical frameworks. The researcher drew attention to aspects often overlooked:
- The Logistics of Rescue: Dr. Williams discussed the immense financial costs of the transports (amounting to thousands of pounds in today’s currency) and the complex bureaucracy that decided life and death.
- The Tragedy of the Last Train: Participants were reminded of the children scheduled to leave Prague on September 1, 1939. The outbreak of the war halted their transport, which meant death in extermination camps for most of them. This data served as a painful contrast to Eva’s story of survival.
Education in Practice: How to Teach the Unimaginable?
An important part of the webinar was a presentation by Stephan Rauschenbach, a teacher from Germany, who used Eva’s story in his classroom. His approach was based on active learning methods:
- Poetry and Art: Students analyzed Eva’s poetry and created their own illustrations (collages, drawings). This allowed them to translate abstract historical facts into the language of emotions and symbols.
- Analyzing Exclusion: Stefan showed how the story of the numbered labels hung around the necks of transport children resonates with modern mechanisms of segregation and bullying, turning history into a tool to fight intolerance in schools.
The Ethics of Witnessing: Do Not Be a Bystander
The webinar concluded with an appeal for an active civic stance. Eva Paddock argued that the lesson of the Holocaust is simple: each of us has the power to break the chain of evil.
Each one of us can make a difference. It doesn’t need a big group of people to stop bad things from happening. If you see someone bullying your friend, you step in. You say – stop that. You don’t simply watch. You don’t become a bystander. You must participate in making change and supporting all the people in your life – appealed Eva.
The discussion also covered contemporary refugee crises, including the fate of children from Ukraine. This demonstrated that the mechanisms of history are still present, and our responsibility as educators and witnesses never expires. The ENRS webinar once again proved that history told through the prism of the individual has the greatest power to build a common European culture of remembrance.
Watch the recordings:
