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Gerda's Story

Season 1 Episode 1 | 2m 21s

Gerda Mayer of Vienna recalls saying good bye in 1939 to her parents as she boarded a plane to England as part of the Kindertransport (Children's Transport), a series of rescue missions that saved thousands of Jewish children. The rest of Gerda's family was killed in the Holocaust.

Funding is provided by members of the Better Angels Society including Jan and Rick Cohen and Jonathan and Jeannie Lavine; The Starr Foundation; The Threshold Foundation; The SeaStone Foundation; and donations from individuals.
Extras
Martha Sharp learns clandestine methods to save refugees fleeing the Holocaust.
Peter recalls the fear present in World War II era Europe.
Hear Waitstill Sharp's account, narrated by Tom Hanks, of legal versus moral ethics.
Join an American couple’s courageous mission to help refugees on the brink of WWII.
Waitstill and Martha Sharp describe their journey across Nazi-occupied territory.
Hear the incredible story of Waitstill and Martha Sharp from co-director Ken Burns.
Ken Burns talks about Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War.
Uncover the journey of an American couple who saved lives at the onset of World War II.
Children from Martha Sharp’s emigration project during WWII describe their experiences.
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Join an American couple’s courageous mission to help refugees on the brink of WWII.