Elsa Shamash, b.1927
Elsa Shamash was born and spent her early years in Charlottenburg, Germany with her father, mother and older brother. As a Jewish child living in Nazi Germany, she experienced antisemitism from neighbours, classmates and teachers. After Kristallnacht, her parents tried their best to flee but it was not until the day of her brother’s Bar Mitzvah that they found out that both children had a place on the Kindertransport. On March 2 1939, Elsa and her brother left for England on the Kindertransport. They spent time in a Boarding School in Broadstairs until being reunited with their parents in Cambridge. Elsa now spends much of her time supporting refugees in England and sharing her story with schools.
Elsa Shamash’s legacy is continued here by Michael Woodland, Charleigh Gibson, Isobel Ducille and Esther Humphries.
