They don’t br make suitcases br like that br any more. br br Time was, br when voyage meant br train, steamship br distances unbridgeable br waiting for a thinning mail br weeks, then months, br then nothing br br Time was, br when this case br was made br solid, leather br heavy stitching br with protective edges br at the corners. br br Children’s train, br across the Reich br stops br and starts again… br br Holland br a lighted gangplank br night ferry to gray misted br sea-gulled Harwich br again the rails br reaching flat across br East Anglia, br to London br br In my bedroom, br the suitcase br a silent witness br with two labels br “Masaryk Station, Praha” br “Royal Scot, London-Glasgow br br Leather suitcase br from a far-off country br Czechoslovakia br containing all the love br parents could pack br for a five year old br off on a journey br for life. br --------- br br From the end of 1938 until the outbreak of War in Sept.1939, about 10,000, mostly Jewish children (unaccompanied by parents or adults) were brought from Nazi-controlled Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia to Great Britain under the Kindertransport scheme. But for the Kindertransport, few, if any, of these would have survived the War.