BACKGROUND: A handful of children were part of one of the most triumphant and tragic stories of the twentieth century - the rescue and placement in foster homes and in other facilities across America of approximately 1,000 unaccompanied Jewish children while a generation of 1,500,000 children perished in the Holocaust. An operation, quietly carried out because of fear that a backlash from isolationist and anti-Semitic forces could cause its demise, the "underground railroad" spanned three continents and twooceans, was fueled by donations of ordinary people and the work of hundreds of volunteers and ran for almost eleven years. Yet, mention of it will not be found in American history books. Holocaust museums and memorials do not celebrate the lives of these children and the individuals and organizations who rescued them. There are no movies about it. Its heroes are not heralded and its villains not reproved. Few Americans know of it and only one scholar has studied and written about the subject. Most of the 1,000 children themselves are unaware they were part of an organized effort of private citizens between 1934 and 1945 to bring to America as many Jewish children as possible nor that this was accomplished in the face of powerful economic, social, political, religious and governmental constraints that had such a devastating outcome for the sixteen million people who perished in the Holocaust. America's response to the calamity of the Holocaust, especially as it relates to children, as well as the experiences of these one thousand children and the people and organizations who made their escape from persecution possible, remains to be told. It is an unknown story of courage, sacrifice and triumph.

OTC was co-founded by IRIS POSNER, a social science researcher, and LENORE MOSKOWITZ, also a researcher. For more information, contact One Thousand Children Inc., P.O. Box 4710, Silver Spring, MD 20914-4710, Phone: 301-622-0321, Fax: 301-622-0363 Email: contact@onethousandchildren.org