My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering the Kindertransports Directed by Melissa Hacker, 1996

A simple and eloquent documentary" - New York Post

Nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, MY KNEES WERE JUMPING is the first feature-length documentary to reveal the heart-wrenching story behind the Kindertransport. A powerful account of this astonishing slice of Holocaust history, it is told with poignant intimacy by the daughter of a survivor.

Filmmaker Melissa Hacker’s mother, Ruth Morley (Academy Award^® nominated costume designer for The Miracle Worker), was one of the over 10,000 children who were saved in the Kindertransport movement during the Holocaust. On the eve of World War II, as millions of Jews were seeking refuge from Nazi persecution, country after country turned its back – all except for Great Britain who opened its doors to an unspecified number of Jewish children in danger. As the children boarded trains taking them to a safe haven in London, their parents were left to embark on a different journey – one taking them to the concentration camps. Most of these children never saw their parents again.

Narrated by screen legend Joanne Woodward, MY KNEES WERE JUMPING weaves first-hand accounts with extraordinary archival footage to reveal the incredible impact of the Kindertransport. From grappling with the guilt of survival to the fear of abandonment that still haunts them to this day, these survivors’ unforgettable stories will leave few viewers unchanged.