Stamford Hill

The Boys were teenage and child-Holocaust survivors, who were brought to the UK after the war for rest and rehabilitation.

The Boys had survived the Holocaust as slave labourers in the Nazi concentration camp system, in hiding and by living alone. 

After arrival in the UK, members of the Boys spent time in the reception centres before being moved to children’s homes known as hostels. Others were sent direct to boarding school or yeshivas, and those who were sick spent time in sanatoriums.

Some of the members of the Boys were lucky enough to find relatives or were taken in by foster families but the majority were moved to hostels.

Stamford Hill was one of these hostels.

Overview

Stamford Hill is the heart of London’s Orthodox community. The property is still the headquarters of Agudas Israel, who ran the Stamford Hill hostel. Little is known about the hostel.

When the Boys were in the care of Agudas Israel, it was led by Rabbi Solomon Schonfeld, who was a key player in the Kindertransport and the care of survivors after the Holocaust, especially children. Harry Goodman, the British Secretary of Agudas, was the head of the hostel.

The Committee for the Care of the Concentration Camp Children discussed the concerns of some of the Boys that there was too much Talmudic study and that they wanted better secular education.