SEWING Quilt historian pieces together story of tragic wartime event

Survivors of tragic episode share their experiences.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
At the age of 90, quilt historian Merry Silber of Southfield, Mich., shows no sign of slowing down. She and her husband own a world-renowned antique quilt collection that's been published in 14 books and numerous magazines.
Over the years, Silber has been very active in the quilt world as a lecturer, appraiser, judge and exhibit curator.
Her current lecture, "The Quilts of Kindertransport," is the story of how she became involved in revealing an episode of history that was buried for over 60 years. "Most of us were unaware of the tragic evacuation in 1939 of 10,000 children, aged 3 to 17, from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia to foster homes in England," explains Silber. "Their parents knew they probably would never see them again, but recognized the growing need to send them to safety."
In fact, fewer than 100 actually reunited after the war.
About seven years ago, Merry Silber learned more about this, and helped try to locate survivors. Knowing that quilts often depict emotions and tell stories, she started a unique quilt project. She sent each survivor a 10-foot square of white muslin and asked that they illustrate their feelings about Kindertransport.
Over 100 squares have been received from an ever-growing group of survivors and kin. Their contributions comprise three large quilts, two of which are often on tour. The third is at the Holocaust Museum in Washington. (Recently, the story of the evacuation aired in an Oscar-winning PBS documentary called "Into the Arms of Strangers.")