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WWII Evacuee Reclaims Childhood Station at 100
24 Aug
Summary
- Gabriele Keenaghan, 100, returns to Vienna station of evacuation.
- She was 12 when evacuated from Nazi Austria in 1939.
- Awarded BEM for Holocaust education to promote kindness and tolerance.
Gabriele Keenaghan, a Holocaust survivor and educator, is preparing to celebrate her 100th birthday with a significant trip back to Vienna. She will return to Westbahnhof station, the place where she last saw her grandmother before being evacuated from Nazi Austria in April 1939. At just 12 years old, Keenaghan was among thousands of children sent to Britain via Kindertransport.
Her father was deported to Łódź and likely murdered in an extermination camp. Keenaghan, who was unaware of her Jewish heritage until the Nazis invaded, was educated in Holocaust remembrance and received a British Empire Medal for her efforts. Her centenary celebration will include multiple generations of her family, who are traveling to Vienna to honor her extraordinary life and enduring message of kindness.
