The second production of the New Jewish Theatre’s 2007-08 Season explores a unique and little known rescue operation in World War II history. In response to the events of Nov. 9 and 10 (Kristallnacht), the British Jewish Refugee Committee appealed to members of Parliament and it was agreed to admit to England an unspecified number of children up to age 17. In total, from December 1938 to September 1939, nearly 10,000 unaccompanied children escaped Germany for the relative freedom of Britain. All hoped it would be a brief separation, for most it was a final farewell. The last train left Germany just two days before the start of the war.

Kindertransport, by Diane Samuels, tells the story of Evelyn, a British woman in her fifties, and Eva, the nine-year-old German child she used

to be.

In 1938, nine-year-old Eva Schlesinger is put aboard a train with other Jewish children and evacuated from Nazi Germany. She is taken in and raised by an English woman. Torn between her German heritage and her desire to wipe the “kindertransport” experience from her memory, Eva tries to become “English” herself.

Along with the production, the New Jewish Theatre will be offering a full spectrum of educational support on the subject. Most will be in the form of post-show talk backs. There will also be a docent-led tour of the St. Louis Holocaust Museum and Learning Center on Monday, Dec. 3 at 1:30 p.m. After the tour, there will be an opportunity to hear from a child survivor of the Holocaust about their personal experience. Participation in the tour is at no cost but does require an RSVP. The talk backs will be with experts on the subject. They will include actual Kindertransport participants now living in

St. Louis, historians, psychotherapists and other people knowledgeable on the subject. For a complete schedule of the speakers, or to RSVP for the tour, call the New Jewish Theatre at 314-442-3283.

The production is directed by Doug Finlayson and features Kari Ely, John Flack, Emily Piro, Meg Rodd, Kat Singleton and Margeau Baue Steinau. Performances are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 16. All performances are at the JCC’s Wolfson Studio Theatre, 2 Millstone Campus Drive in Creve Coeur.

Tickets are $20 – $28 and can be reserved with a credit card by calling 314-442-3283.