Little Holocaust Survivors ─ And the English School That Saved Them

As Europe prepared for war, the newly-founded Stoatley Rough School began to shelter hundreds of traumatized Jewish children fleeing (usually alone) from Nazi persecution. Little Holocaust Survivors, based on dozens of original interviews, tells their stories, and the stories of the teachers and benefactors who created this refuge in a country house on a hillside in Surrey, donated by its philanthropic owner. Struggling against constant money problems, war-time deprivation, the occasional suspicion of locals and unfamiliarity with the English language, teachers and pupils endeavoured to hold their educational establishment together. As the Luftwaffe bombed London forty miles away, the inhabitants of Stoatley Rough did their best to focus on the values of equality, tolerance, music appreciation and hard work.

Barbara Wolfenden is an independent scholar.