Educational Resources

This Digital Resource Library was created by the Jewish Museum London learning team. The Library brings together objects, video and audio that relate to the Jewish experience in Wales from collections across the country and is specifically designed for teachers and students.

Photograph (Object)

Copyright/attribution: Jewish Museum London

What do you see?

We can see some boys laying on a hill. We can also see that some of the boys are wearing small hats. Look closely what can you see?

What do we know?

This is a photograph of some refugee boys taken at Gwrych Castle in North Wales. These boys escaped Nazi Germany during the 1930s and 1940s and came to Wales as refugees.

Gwrych Castle was built in the early 1800s and was designed to look similar to other medieval European castles. During World War II, Gwrych castle served as a temporary home for Jewish child refugees as part of an effort from the British Government to rehabilitate and house the children who were escaping Nazi Germany. The castle acted as a hostel where the children were able to spend time playing games, going on hikes and recovering from the war. Between 1939 and 1941 around 200 – 300 Jewish children were housed in Gwrych castle.

What do we wonder?

We might wonder how old these boys are? We might wonder how long their journey was to arrive in Wales? What do you wonder?

Discussion Questions

What was the Kindertransport?

Why is it important to remember the legacy of Gwrych castle?