Objects

This page is for photographs of objects brought out of Europe to Britain in 1939

We are looking for images of ‘ordinary’ items – that are often extraordinary simply because of the context.

Sadly, many of the Jewish refugees had suitcases of items stolen from Kitchener, which were taken when they joined up with the Pioneer Corps – it was said by British Army soldiers. Has anyone any narratives from Kitchener relatives about this? They had to leave many of their personal and family belongings at the camp – many of which ‘went missing’, for whatever reason.

The men’s cases and trunks had often been carefully and lovingly packed by mothers and wives whom they would never see again.

These items would have been all that families believed they had managed to salvage, and in this context, even seemingly everyday items would have been immeasurably precious.

If you have images of items you would like to share with the Kitchener camp project, please get in touch in the usual way.