The Holocaust is rightly remembered as one of the biggest atrocities in human history. And while many are familiar with the horrors of the Holocaust, few are familiar with the rescue mission to save Jewish children known as Kindertransports.
In 1996, Melissa Hacker, a US filmmaker who received a Fulbright grant to Austria in 2010, released her debut documentary and the first documentary to ever be made about the Kindertransports, entitled My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering the Kindertransports. Though her documentary was released nearly 30 years ago, it has only been shown in Austria twice. When Melissa came to Vienna in January 2025 for the screening, we sat down with her to talk about her first documentary and her recent project about the Kindertransports.
00:00 Intro
01:08 What exactly were the Kindertransports?
02:57 What drew you to the subject of Kindertransports?
05:57 Your first film originally came out in the US in 1996. What prompted you to revisit it in Austria now?
08:17 How has your film been received?
10:20 You have a new short documentary that follows four Kindertransport survivors retracing the steps they took 80 years ago. What was the experience of making this documentary like for you?
Learn more about Melissa's movies on the Kindertransports