Train Travel Out Of Germany On Eve Of WW2

[Taunton]

Most of the meetings with high ranking Luftwaffe personnel, including being taken up by Ernst Udet, took place when taken to the 1936 Olympics. Even more oddly, by the time he was pushed over the border, he was a member of the Edinburgh University’s air training unit, so not just any old possible conscript.

Maybe he didn't remember to tell them this ...

My own father also went, on holiday, to Germany in around 1937-8, with a former schoolfriend. Apparently it had become quite common, there was some advantageous aspect of the currency, either a special rate for such visitors, or generally the exchange rate was very favourable, as he said the cheapness was the principal attraction. He bought a camera when there, the sort where the lens pulled out on a bellows, which served for about 40 years afterwards.

 

[zwk500]

A number of us here have posted on this previously, including assembling photographs of all the bronze memorials in various city stations.

Nicholas Winton - 19 May Google icon

The Google homepage image today (Tuesday 19 May 2020) commemorates Nicholas Winton's 111th birthday. He was the organiser of the Kindertransport, which brought children out of Germany, Czechoslovakia, etc to Britain in 1938-9, just before the start of WW2. Most came via Hook-Harwich, and...

www.railforums.co.uk

The Kindertransport groups were not given special trains as such, but reserved accommodation (most likely reserved carriages) in the regular service. I did read that on such services the radio officer on the ship would telegraph ahead with load and group details once known, and the station at the port would prepare accordingly.

Leaving Cologne at Noon would get to Hook of Holland in the evening. In early 1939 the LNER steamer left Hook at 2300, and arrived at Harwich at 0600. There were three modern LNER ships, the largest on the crossing, the "Amsterdam", "Vienna", and "Prague", which ran the overnight service each way. The connecting boat train came on to arrive at Liverpool Street at 0753, typically in the long central arrival platform 10 which had a roadway alongside for all the heavy luggage. If there was a large ship load the train would be duplicated, but that would be unlikely in February.

Thank you very much for this information.

I understand (you likely know more than me) that Nicholas Winton worked principally with children leaving Prague, and having come to the attention of LNER Chairman William Whitelaw was given a credit account to obtain tickets/travel warrants on the LNER ship, and the train to London, for those travelling. Quite possibly the same applied to other parts of the organisation.

The invoices were never sent.

This is very interesting to know. My Grandfather's travel was arranged through the Red Cross itself, so possibly had a more formal arrangement for payment.

 

[mike57]

My own father also went, on holiday, to Germany in around 1937-8, with a former schoolfriend. Apparently it had become quite common, there was some advantageous aspect of the currency, either a special rate for such visitors, or generally the exchange rate was very favourable, as he said the cheapness was the principal attraction. He bought a camera when there, the sort where the lens pulled out on a bellows, which served for about 40 years afterwards.

My understanding is that right up until war was declared there was a hope in certain sections on both sides that war could be avoided, and I also believe that prior to 1939 the Nazis deliberately encorouraged various exchanges and travel to try and get the outcome they wanted and swing public opinion in the UK. As has been aired in another thread https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...o-the-railways-if-wwii-hadnt-happened.269505/ support for a war was by no means universal in the UK, In 1939 the general public had no idea of the behind the scenes horrors that the Nazis were planning.

There was also I suspect a mutual respect among professional armed forces personell on both sides at this time, it was later events that changed perceptions.

As an aside we are nearing the point where direct oral recollections are no longer possible, and even one generation removed those whose parents were involved in WW2 are getting up there in years, so although the paper trail will survive its the anecdotes and the personal touches which bring the history to life which will be lost in lot of cases.

 

[The exile]

There was also I suspect a mutual respect among professional armed forces personell on both sides at this time, it was later events that changed perceptions.

Don’t think the outbreak of war changed that. OK - not much respect on our part for the Waffen SS - but that was an attitude shared by many amongst the “old-school” German military.