Kindertransport Character Analysis

Evelyn

Evelyn is an English woman in her fifties. When Evelyn was nine, her mother Helga sent her to live in England to keep her safe from Nazi persecution. Though this decision likely saved Evelyn’s life… read analysis of Evelyn

Lil

Lil is Eva/Evelyn’s English foster mother. In 1939, at the start of the play’s earlier timeline, Lil takes in Eva, a young German Jewish girl whose parents have sent her to live… read analysis of Lil

Faith

Faith is Evelyn’s daughter and Lil’s granddaughter. In the play’s present, she is a college student in her early twenties. Faith is at Evelyn’s house helping Evelyn sort through a storage closet one… read analysis of Faith

Eva

Eva is Evelyn’s younger self. In 1939, when Eva is nine years old, her parents send her to live in England during the war for her safety. There, she meets her foster mother, Lil… read analysis of Eva

Helga

Helga is a German Jewish woman. In 1939, at the start of the play’s earlier timeline, Helga sends her young daughter Eva to live in England. Though it pains Helga to send Eva away, her… read analysis of Helga

Ratcatcher

The Ratcatcher (Rattenfänger) is a mythical character—the German equivalent of the Pied Piper. He’s the villain of a children’s book that Helga reads to young Eva. In the story, the Ratcatcher leads… read analysis of Ratcatcher

The Postman

The postman delivers Eva a package from family while she’s living in England. Noting that the package is from Germany, the postman frog-marches like a Nazi and makes a Hitler moustache using his index finger… read analysis of The Postman

The Station Guard

Eva is at a Manchester train station waiting for her parents, who promised they would secure their visas and reunite with Eva in England, when a station guard approaches her. Observing Eva’s German accent, the… read analysis of The Station Guard

Minor Characters

The Nazi Border Official

The Nazi border official harasses young Eva when she’s on the train traveling to her new home in England. Eva’s imagination transforms the official (and most other authority figures) into the Ratcatcher, a mythical villain from a children’s book Helga used to read to Eva.

The English Organizer

The English organizer approaches Eva when she first arrives at the train station in England. He interrogates her in English and is visibly annoyed when Eva responds in German, the only language she understands.

Kindertransport Characters