Effects Of Operation Pied Piper

1289 Words6 Pages

The Evacuation of War The life of London families would change forever on September 1st, 1938. Summer was coming to an end, and as the season was changing many questioned what would happen to the world as tensions grew in Eastern Europe. The government developed a scheme throughout the summer that went into effect in early September. This scheme moved over 1.5 million children from their homes in London to various places throughout the world by train. This scheme today is known as “Operation Pied Piper”. Today Many people around the world question if this was the right decision at the time. While there are strong arguments on both sides, using Operation Pied Piper, in the long run, saved the lives of so many civilians. Despite the trauma …show more content…

In September of 1939, thousands and thousands of children were evacuated from London. Each child left London wearing an identification card, a gas mask, and basic necessities such as a towel, a toothbrush, and an extra pair of underwear. These children were sent to Canada, the United States, or to suburban areas of Britain. The children lived in foster homes where they were supposed to feel at home, although that wasn't the case. “In some reception areas, hosts- -who were paid a modest allowance by the government snatched up the most presentable-looking evacuees like [] many slaves at [a] market,”(Mosley 102). Although many people thought that evacuating the children from London would be a good thing, it wasn't. Many foster families took advantage of the children they were fostering, making them work like slaves. The children were mistreated, some kids had lice, and children even looked like they were not being taken care of. The quote states that the foster families that were paid a larger allowance “ snatched up the most presentable-looking evacuees”. These foster families made these kids work hard instead of having the house as a peaceful place. Evacuating the kids from London was to have the kids be safe and have a place where they can live “normally” not having them work hard and be treated like slaves. Even though sending the kids away was supposed to be a good event, it caused lots of trauma for

More about Effects Of Operation Pied Piper