Overview
- Description
- Refugee boys from Berlin arrive at a chateau owned by Count Hubert Conquere de Monbrison in the town of Quincy-sous-Senart, located about 30 km south of Paris. He and the Princess Irena Paley (a niece of the last Russian czar who later became Monbrison's wife) used the chateau to house refugee girls from the Russian and Spanish civil wars. In 1939 de Monbrison was approached by his children's Jewish physician, who was a member of the board of the OSE, and asked whether he would take in a group of forty German Jewish refugee children. The count agreed and the Kindertransport of boys arrived on July 4, 1939. Quincy served as a Jewish children's home until September 1940 when, following the German occupation of France, the chateau was requisitioned by the German army. The boys were then relocated to other OSE homes.
Mr. Zimmermann, a refugee from Germany, helps Jewish boys from the Berlin Kindertransport get off a bus. The boys stand around holding their bags. The blue name tags hanging around their necks are plainly visible. At 01:24:17 Norbert Bikales crosses the frame from right to left. He holds a duffel bag. 01:24:20 the small blond boy in the middle ground is Ralph Moratz. 01:24:22 Wolfgang Blumenreich stand with Mr. Zimmermann and helps the other boys get off the bus. 01:24:26 Dark haired boy in the background is Bernd Warrschauer, who did not survive the war. At 01:24:29 Wolfgang pushes Werner Goldschmidt slightly in the direction of the chateau. Erwin Cosmann stands behind Wolfgang. Other boys who appear include Berthold Friedlaender and Gerhard Glass. The boys enter a house called the "Annexe Chateau," followed by a female caretaker, who may be a Jewish refugee from Vienna named Madame Lederer. Screen goes blue, then white. - Duration
- 00:00:44
- Date
-
Event:
1939 July 04
- Locale
-
Quincy-sous-Senart,
France
- Credit
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, gift of Christian de Monbrison
- Contributor
-
Camera Operator:
Hubert Conquere de Monbrison
Physical Details
- Language
- Silent
- Genre/Form
- Amateur.
- B&W / Color
- Color
- Image Quality
- Excellent
- Time Code
- 01:24:16:00 to 01:25:00:00
- Film Format
- Master
Master 2935 Film: 16 mm - color - Kodachrome
Master 2935 Video: HDCam - b&w and color - NTSC - small
Master 2935 Film: 16 mm - color - Kodachrome
Master 2935 Video: HDCam - b&w and color - NTSC - small
Master 2935 Film: 16 mm - color - Kodachrome
Master 2935 Video: HDCam - b&w and color - NTSC - small
Master 2935 Film: 16 mm - color - Kodachrome
Master 2935 Video: HDCam - b&w and color - NTSC - small- User
User 2935 Video: DVD - b&w and color
User 2935 Video: DVD - b&w and color
User 2935 Video: DVD - b&w and color
User 2935 Video: DVD - b&w and color
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
- Copyright
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Conditions on Use
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum places no restrictions on use of this material. You do not require further permission from the Museum to reproduce or use this film footage.
- Copyright Holder
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Film Provenance
- Christian de Monbrison donated his father's original 16mm color film to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in June 2011.
- Note
- Identifications provided by Norbert Bikales. See photographs of this group of boys and the chateau in the Photo Archives.
- Film Source
- Mr. Christian de Monbrison
- File Number
- Legacy Database File: 5545
- Special Collection
-
Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2024-02-21 08:02:48
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn1004610
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Also in Hubert Conquere de Monbrison Collection
Exquisite original color film documenting a group of refugee girls from the Russian and Spanish civil wars and a group of Jewish boys who came to France on a Kindertransport from Berlin, Germany in July 1939. The film shows the boys, most of whom have been identified, arriving by bus at the chateau in Quincy-sous-Senart near Paris, France. The chateau belonged to Hubert de Monbrison before World War II. He and Princess Irena Paley (a niece of the last Russian czar) used the chateau to house and educate the refugee children. In 1939, de Monbrison was approached by his family’s Jewish physician, who was a member of the board of the OSE rescue organization, and asked whether he would shelter a group of forty German Jewish refugee children. Quincy served as a Jewish children’s home until September 1940 when, following the German occupation of France, the chateau was requisitioned by the German army. The boys were then relocated to other OSE homes and many survived the Holocaust. This film was discovered because one of the boys, Norbert Bikales, who is now in his eighties, notified Archive staff of its existence.
Refugee girls at the de Monbrison chateau in France
Film
Refugee girls living at a chateau owned by Count Hubert Conquere de Monbrison in Quincy-sous-Senart, located about 30 km south of Paris. De Monbrison and the Princess Irena Paley (a niece of the last Russian czar who later became Monbrison's wife) used the chateau to house refugee girls from the Russian and Spanish civil wars. In 1939 de Monbrison was approached by his children's Jewish physician, who was a member of the board of the OSE, and asked whether he would take in a group of forty German Jewish refugee children. The count agreed and the Kindertransport of boys arrived on July 4, 1939 (see footage of their arrival in Story 1340). Quincy served as a Jewish children's home until September 1940 when, following the German occupation of France, the chateau was requisitioned by the German army. The boys were then relocated to other OSE homes. These shots probably show the Spanish girls. Black and white footage. Girls in gym clothes pose for a group portrait. Those standing in the back put their arms around each other and sway in unison. The camera pans across the two rows of girls. Various shots of the girls playing an energetic game of basketball. Panning shot of crowd sitting on the grass and watching 01:26:56 Color. Underexposed shots of girls wearing two different uniforms standing in a line. The two teams play a game of basketball. On the sidelines, people (including some uniformed girls) look at the camera and smile or laugh. Another panning shot of girls standing in a line. CU of a British flag waving. Girls in aprons dance around in a circle. They exchange places across the circle, then form two lines while continuing to dance. The girls line up in front of the camera and it pans across their faces. Flag waves. 01:27:47 Blackand white. Girls wearing light-colored dresses and dark aprons perform a choreographed dance under the trees. Panning shot of smiling girls wearing headscarves. Brief color shot of the waving flag from earlier. Girls wearing fringed shawls sit on the ground and sway back and forth. Two girls perform a (presumably Spanish) dance in which one of them plays a tambourine. Screen goes green. 01:30:01 Color. Two girls face each other and perform a choreographed dance in slow motion. Pairs of girls dance in a line and then form a circle where they spin and alternate squatting down and doing other moves.
Refugee girls at the de Monbrison chateau in France
Film
Refugee girls living at a chateau owned by Count Hubert Conquere de Monbrison in Quincy-sous-Senart, located about 30 km south of Paris. De Monbrison and the Princess Irena Paley (a niece of the last Russian czar who later became Monbrison's wife) used the chateau to house refugee girls from the Russian and Spanish civil wars. In 1939 de Monbrison was approached by his children's Jewish physician, who was a member of the board of the OSE, and asked whether he would take in a group of forty German Jewish refugee children. The count agreed and the Kinderstransport of boys arrived on July 4, 1939 (see footage of their arrival in Story 1340). Quincy served as a Jewish children's home until September 1940 when, following the German occupation of France, the chateau was requisitioned by the German army. The boys were then relocated to other OSE homes. An older man standing outdoors displays his pocket watch, which reads 7:00. He is either the caretaker of the chateau or the gardener, Monsieur Henri. He walks over and pulls on a rope that rings a bell overhead. A dog barks as the bell rings. Several shots of different girls lying in bed and acting as if they are reluctantly awakening. These are probably the Russian girls. Some play fight with others, not wanting to get up. Pairs of slippers lie on the floor. Other girls, younger than those pictured first, wake each other up. They sit up in bed, smiling. Two girls wash up at a sink and brush their teeth. A teddy bear rests on a neatly made bed. Out of focus shot of a woman dishing out soup to girls who sit around a table. They smile, talk, and eat happily. All of the girls wear matching navy blue dresses with white collars. 01:07:19 Out on the lawn, the dog barks. Girls exit the chateau and separate into two groups as they go down the stairs. Mademoiselle Richter, a White Russian woman who served as caretaker for the children, opens up double doors, steps outside, then goes back inside the chateau. Girls dressed in exercise clothes stretch and do various exercises in the grass. They do gymnastic moves and play leap frog. Slow motion shots of girls high jumping over a string suspended between two posts. They land in a sandbox. Girls wearing identical navy blue dresses rake hay or straw into a large pile. Girls wearing blue gym uniforms pose for a group portrait. 01:12:14 Blue uniformed girls play a game of basketball against an opposing team who wear red and white uniforms. Girls from both teams pose for a group portrait. A man stands in the middle of their group. Girls walk across a lawn in swimsuits, robes and swimming caps. They get in the pool and some hesitate, seemingly getting used to the water temperature. Shots of girls playing, splashing, swimming and then getting out of the water. Girls out of doors, dressed in traditional costume (White Russian?) and wearing wreaths of flowers with long ribbons hanging down. Two of the girls dance and one plays a tambourine while the rest of them sway to the music. In the next shot the girls join hands and dance in a circle. The girls laugh and smile at the camera, then pose for the camera on top of and in front of the pile of hay or straw. CU portraits of girls' faces, shot from below. They appear to be singing. The girls, now wearing boots, pair up and one pair dances (seems to be a Russian dance) as the rest watch. The other girls join in. Several slow motion shots of them dancing on the basketball court. 01:19:54 Younger girls wearing blue gym uniforms line up on the basketball court. Each passes a ball between her legs to the person behind her. They sit down and stretch in unison, touching their toes. Slow motion shots of young men playing basketball. Girls, adult women, and a few men sit on the lawn and watch the game. CUs of eleven different girls, shot from a low angle. Some look at the camera and smile and laugh while some look away. Girls in school uniforms hold hands and skip around a haystack while two girls stand on top of it. They all jump up and down, squat, spin, then run and jump on the pile of hay. They play and push each other over. Screen goes blue.
