During the coronavirus pandemic it became known to millions as the new temporary home of hit ITV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.
The heritage-listed Gwrych Castle, near Abergele in North Wales, was the show’s venue in 2020 and 2021 due to travel restrictions imposed in Queensland, Australia, where celebrities typically fly to take part in the series.
But more than 70 years ago, amid the horrors of World War II, the castle was put to a much more important use.
From 1939 to 1941, the castle was a safe haven for around 200 Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi-occupied Europe as part of the Kindertransport.
It became the largest of around 20 agricultural training centers – called “hachsharot” in Hebrew – that were moved from Germany to Britain during the war.
Now a new book tells the full story of the castle’s role in housing vulnerable Jewish children during the Holocaust.
Andrew Hesketh, the author of Escape to Gwrych Castle: A Jewish Refugee Story, told Web that the children had “gone through hell and back” and their time at the castle represented a “sense of transition from darkness to light” during they rebuilt their castle life.
From 1939 to 1941, Gwrych Castle, near Abergele in North Wales, was a safe haven for around 200 Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi-occupied Europe under the Kindertransport program. Above: Six of the teenagers in the castle
The heritage-listed Gwrych Castle near Abergele in North Wales hosted I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here in 2020 and 2021 amid travel restrictions imposed in Queensland, Australia, due to the coronavirus pandemic
The Kindertransport was the British government-backed plan to get children out of Nazi Germany and other occupied countries before the outbreak of war in 1939.
Almost 10,000 predominantly Jewish children came to Great Britain from Germany itself as well as from Poland, Australia and Czechoslovakia.
In Britain, most of these children were placed in foster care.
But several hundred ended up in the Jewish agricultural centers, which were founded with the intention of preparing children for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.
The use of Gwrych Castle – which was built in the early 19th century – was offered free of charge by its owner, Lord Dundonald, as it was in very poor condition.
His family hadn’t lived there since 1924 and there was no electricity.
After the center at the castle opened in August 1939, just days before the start of the war, the children initially slept on hard floors before donations from Marks & Spencer and the local Baptist church improved living conditions.
The water supply wasn’t strong enough to serve 200 people, so the children had to carry buckets of water from the kitchen to their washrooms.
The children, all aged between 14 and 17, split their time between free agricultural work on local farms and studying.
Educational programs led by a rabbi promoted children’s religious understanding.
The 2020 series of I’m a Celeb – the first to take place at the castle – was won by Giovanna Fletcher. Above: Giovanna Fletcher is seen in the castle with Ant and Dec after being crowned winner
The castle can be seen during the freezing winter of 1939-1940. The Jewish young people arrived there in September 1939
Jewish teenagers are seen digging a drainage ditch on the Gwrych estate during their stay at the castle
Erich Roper (below right, kneeling) can be seen with his fellow refugees in Gwrych
The wedding celebrations of Arieh Handler and Henny Prilutsky at the castle in December 1940
A group of teenage girls in the dining room at Gwrych, where they remained until 1941
Adi Better (kneeling on the left) and Henry Steinberg (kneeling in the middle) can be seen with friends on the palace forecourt. Two girls prank the boy on the right by waving their fingers behind his head
In their free time they enjoyed playing football and table tennis and having parties.
Almost half came from Great Engeham Farm in Kent and were sent there after arriving in the UK just weeks or months earlier.
Another 31 were fresh off the last Kindertransport train that left before the outbreak of war.
The teenagers who lived in the castle were handpicked by Erwin Seligman, a member of Bachad, the Zionist youth organization in charge of the training centers.
Mr Hesketh said: “These young people who had been through hell and back came to Britain completely lost, but there is a kind of feeling of moving from the darkness into the light.”
“Once they are established, there is hope and optimism. This is a central part of the story.
“There was a future.” These young people were determined to establish it. That is the core message. Endurance.
“Talking to the descendants was something they were all very proud of.”
“That these young people had built something that worked in a situation that seemed impossible.”
Arieh Handler, who died in 2011 aged 96, was the director Bachad and spent much of his time in Gwrych, where he married in 1940.
He had helped organize the evacuation of children from Nazi-controlled areas in Europe.
His grandson Aviv, who lives in London, told Web: “He spoke affectionately about the castle.”
“He talked specifically about getting the kids out.” [of occupied areas].
“And about how he went from community to community, first to get visas for children to leave the country.”
Speaking about Mr Hesketh’s book, he added: “My grandfather didn’t tell us everything.” “It’s a great work, it definitely told me things I didn’t know.”
Above is the grand entrance hall of Gwrych Castle – complete with wood paneling and a fireplace – from the early 20th century
The grand marble staircase that Arieh and his wife descended as part of their wedding celebration
The castle’s dining room is decorated with ornate tables and chairs and a harp
Arieh was the last surviving witness to David Ben-Gurion’s declaration of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv in 1948.
One of the children in the castle, Herman Rothman, donated his memories to the Imperial War Museum in 2008.
He talked about how the children were divided into groups based on their age.
He said: “We were given about eight to ten children per room… as soon as we arrived we were divided into groups.”
“One group consisted of children who were usually around 16 or 17 years old. The B group was around 14 and 15 years old and the C group was 14 and under.
“I think 13 was the minimum age you were allowed to be there.
“Simply because I spoke English fairly well, I was promoted to the A group.
“I wasn’t particularly happy because all my friends were in the B group.”
He added: “After a few weeks we started working on the land that was part of the property. And some of us had to work on local farms.
“We were very often picked up, taken to work on these farms and then taken back to the castle at about two, four or six in the evening.”
The center had to be closed in 1941 due to the large investments required to make the castle habitable in the long term.
The famous Cadbury family instead offered the teenagers there an alternative location in Birmingham.
Operation and maintenance were much cheaper and required no significant investments.
Many of the boys in the group later served in the British armed forces, while others went to Palestine and remained there after the State of Israel was founded in 1948.
Gwrych remained empty for the rest of the war and was then sold.
Escape to Gwrych Castle: A Jewish Refugee Story by Andrew Hesketh was published by Calon in June
Later in the 1940s it opened as a visitor attraction and later served as a training and entertainment venue, including for tournament events.
However, it was closed to the public in the late 1980s and has fallen into serious disrepair.
It was bought by a real estate developer in 2007 with plans to convert it into a hotel.
When the company went bust, the building was sold to the current owner, the Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, and reopened to visitors.
The 2020 series of I’m a Celeb – the first to take place at the castle – was won by Giovanna Fletcher, while Danny Miller triumphed in the following year’s competition.
The housemates had to be removed from the castle in November 2021 when a tree fell during bad weather from Storm Arwen.
The fiasco forced ITV to air compilation clips rather than live shows not being able to go ahead.
Escape to Gwrych Castle: A Jewish Refugee Story by Andrew Hesketh was published by Calon in June.