New Book Details Holocaust Survivor Gertrude Kessler's Path to Safety in Northern Ireland
A new book by Mark Scott recounts the Kessler family's experiences in Nazi-occupied Vienna during the Holocaust. Gertrude Kessler, a teenager, arrived in Northern Ireland with her brother Fritz in April 1939. They found refuge at Childhaven, a children's home in Millisle, Co. Down.
Gertrude remained in Northern Ireland after World War II. She married and had two sons. One son, journalist Charlie Warmington, worked with Mark Scott on the book. They visited Vienna together in 2024. Warmington died in November 2025.
The Northern Ireland War Memorial provided a small grant to support the book's publication by Excalibur Press. The book is dedicated to Warmington's memory.
Mark Scott discussed the book at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland on 5 March 2026. That date marked the 85th anniversary of Transport Number 4's departure from Vienna.
The Northern Ireland War Memorial created a Memory Map for Holocaust Memorial Day 2026. It draws on a 2021 interview with Gertrude Kessler from the museum's oral history collection.