20250811 – Settela•Com

Summary — September 1947 Dutch cinema news on circa 500 Jewish children , displaced children from East Europe, who many of them lost parents in the Nazi camps, arriving from Prague by train in the Netherlands, where they will stay for up to 3 years, and trained for their future task in Palestine.

Dutch cinema news reports the arrival of a steam train carrying approximately 500 Jewish children in Holland, Monday, September 22, 1947 — filmed here during a stopover at Nijmegen station.
Displaced children from Eastern Europe, many of whom lost their parents in the Nazi camps. Through collaboration with the International Refugee Organization (IRO) and the Joint American Distribution Committee, they were selected in Romania from members of the eight Zionist youth organizations in Romania: Aguda, B’nei Akiba, Gordonja, Dror Igoed, Dror Haboniem, Hanoar Hatzioni, Hashomer Hatzair, and Betar. For orphans who lost both parents, the political preference of the deceased parents was estimated.
The children were first concentrated in Prague.

On Saturday evening, September 20, 1947, they began their train journey from Prague (Prague-Bubny), bound for the children’s village “Ilaniah” specially established for them in the “Het Apeldoornse Bos” building complex near Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. They arrived there on Monday evening, September 22, 1947.

Notes

1) Sign on train :
Repatriation train • Prague Bubny Station (Repatriačni vlak • (Dílny Praha Bubny)

2) Transcript (translated from dutch)

This train arriving in Nijmegen [Netherlands], brings 450 Jewish children from Eastern Europe to our country, most of whose parents died in the gas chambers of the German concentration camps.

They also lived in camps after the war, together with thousands of others, and most of them show that.

Our government has allowed these children, all between the ages of 6 and 14, to stay in the Netherlands for 3 years, in Apeldoorn, where they will be trained for their future task in Palestine.

Jewish organizations ensure that the children get something to eat and drink after the tiring journey.

And that turns out to be well received.

3) NL – Transcript (dutch , original)

Deze trein die in Nijmegen arriveert, brengt naar ons land 450 Joodse kinderen uit Oost-Europa wier ouders voor het merendeel de dood vonden in de gaskamers der Duitse concentratiekampen.

Ze hebben ook na de oorlog tesamen met nog duizenden anderen in kampen geleefd, en de meesten van hen is dat wel aan te zien.

Onze regering heeft toegestaan dat deze kinderen, allen tussen 6 en 14 jaar, gedurende 3 jaar in Nederland verblijven, in Apeldoorn, waar ze opgeleid zullen worden voor hun toekomstige taak in Palestina.

Joodse organisaties zorgen ervoor, dat de kinderen na de vermoeiende reis wat te eten en te drinken krijgen.

En dat blijkt goed in de smaak te vallen.

Tags #children #train #Jewish #displaced #DP #orphan #Palestine #Aliyah #Holland #Ilaniah #Romania #Apeldoorn #Nijmegen #school #zionism #training #education #emigration #holocaust #news #history #ww2

Updates

20250818 Minor text edit , with addition : For orphans who lost both parents, the political preference of the deceased parents was estimated.

20250820 correction description text source date (45>47)

Credits

Source: Dutch cinema news Polygoon-Profilti (Producer | 22 September 1947) courtesy of Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (Open Images).