The outright support and love that Christadelphians felt for the Jewish people clearly dictated a course of action. Abraham's natural descendants could not be ignored. They had to be helped through their time of trouble in Germany and the Third Reich.
Thus, the Christadelphians, led by Bro. R Alan Overton, became heavily involved in the Kindertransport––the British response to Kristallnacht. From late 1938 to mid 1939, 10,000 children from the German Reich were willingly given by their parents and brought to Britain and the UK, for the purpose of finding some type of respite for them. The Christadelphians set up hostels for them, found them places to live, and housed a number of them within Christadelphian homes.
For more details on the Kindertransport, see the video below.
The following are some primary (and a couple of secondary) sources that attest to Christadelphian involvement in this endeavor.
The Hostel for Jewish Refugee Boys
After overcoming many difficulties, a house has been secured and is now being altered to meet the needs of its new use. The wardens have been appointed and are in attendance supervising the alterations. The Jewish Committee who are co-operating with the scheme, desire to open the Hostel for the Passover. We hope to give full particulars next month.
The following letter has been sent to bro. E. W. Newman, who is acting as Treasurer to the Hostel:
15th March, 1940.
Dear bro. Newman,--
I am sending the enclosed cheque for £500 to you as treasurer of the Hostel which is being opened by the joint efforts of the Birmingham Central and Coventry ecclesias, with the contributions of others sent to the office of The Christadelphian. This amount includes the anonymous gift of £350, to which previous reference has been made in The Christadelphian. Several ecclesias are sending regular contributions, and I will pass on to you such amounts at intervals to be arranged.
With greetings,
Faithfully your brother,
John Carter.
Bro. E. W. Newman, 68 Gillhurst Road, Harborne, Birmingham.
- The Christadelphian, April 1st, 1940
"Among the non-Jewish organisations responsible for hostels, the Christadelphians were to the fore. With their faith rooted in Jewish law, the Christadelphians had a long-standing interest in cooperative ventures, contributing generously to attempts to re-establish the Jewish people in Palestine. When the exodus of children from Germany and Austria began, they were among the first to respond.
A refugee mother and her two teenage sons were the founder residents of one of the earliest Christadelphian hostels - Little Thorn, on the Hilton Road in Rugby. Here a small group of Jewish boys were given a home and were trained for careers in leather manufacture, cabinet-making, and engineering. The hostel also became a focal point for refugees to gather and socialise at week ends.
Also in the Midlands, Elpis Lodge ('Abode of Hope') opened in April 1940 at 117 Gough Road, Edgbaston. Managed by Birmingham Jewry, the running of the hostel was funded by the Birmingham and Coventry Christadelphian Ecclesias." Barry Turner; And the Policeman Smiled; pg. 163
"I was able to correspond with my parents via the Red Cross, but as the months went by this became increasingly difficult and there were long periods when I heard nothing from Vienna. The last communication I had was in 1942. I do not know exactly what happened to my dear parents — where they were taken to and what miseries they had to endure in their last days and this alone gives me much grief. I ascertained after the war that they were taken to Izbica concentration camp where they perished.
Some of the 'unadopted' children were not cared for by Jews and I was sent to live in a hostel in Birmingham, which was set up and financed by Christadelphians." Shmuel Lowensohn; I Came Alone; pg. 201
"He was then sent to a hostel for refugee boys near Rugby, run by a shopkeeper, Mr Overton, a truly remarkable man. As a practising Christadelphian he had striven tirelessly even prior to the occupation of Czechoslovakia to convince the British government that Jews in occupied territories were in great danger and that something must be done to save the children, first from Germany and Austria, then later Czechoslovakia. He lobbied members of Parliament and gathered a circle of supporters to form a pressure group. Many years later, when Honza visited Mr Overton, he brought down from the loft his proudest possession - a cardboard box with over two hundred labels - name tags that the children had worn round their necks when they arrived in England and came into his care; each tag represented a life that he had saved..." Vera Gissing; Pearls of Childhood; pg. 87
Great, you've made it through some of the ways that Christadelphians helped Jews during the Holocaust.
Now, move on to see some of the conflicting principles with this involvement.