Nazi forces invade and swiftly defeat Polish forces using the "Blitzkrieg"--a rapid and combined forces attack. Within days, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II.
Unaccompanied, the children on this transport leave Berlin on a train to Rotterdam, Netherlands. From Rotterdam they travel by ship across the English Channel to Harwich, where they board another train bound for London.
The Loewensteins receive notification from the Hampstead Garden Suburb Care Committee for Refugee Children confirming Henry's place on the Kindertransport.
German and Austrian Jews are required to surrender their passports. Those Jews who receive permission to emigrate are granted a passport marked with the letter "J" for Jude, which expires 30 days after their departure from the Reich.
The U.S., Canada, and Cuba deny entrance to over 900 refugees aboard the St. Louis, though they possess Cuban visas. The passengers--nearly all Jewish--are forced to return to Europe. Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Holland accept the refugees, though many are later deported and murdered when the Nazis occupy Belgium, France, and Holland.