About Our Partnership
In September 2024, Nick Winton Jr. (another one of our partners) was touring with the Spungen Foundation throughout the Midwest. Nick mentioned that his friend Karen Kruger was going to be speaking at Chicago area schools just after his trip. Karen’s mother (Erika Stefanie Turkl) was on one of Sir Nicholas Winton’s Kindertransports. Nick encouraged the Foundation to meet Karen, and on October 2nd, 2024, Danny Spungen arranged for Karen to get a private tour at the Illinois Holocaust Museum by docent (and Spungen Foundation advisor) Jim Schuster. After the tour, Karen came to our Foundation office with multiple folders of documents related to her mother’s story.
The artifacts left by her mother led Karen to eventually producing a documentary film, titled Letters From Brno. Karen speaks all around the country (and the world!) about her documentary and her mother’s story. The number of artifacts Karen had was mind blowing to Danny—just incredible! The fact that Karen wants to bring the artifacts to schools and display them is something the Spungen Foundation strongly supports. The Foundation has many artifacts related to the Kindertransport as well, including the extensive collection of Renata Laxova, another “child” of Sir Nicholas Winton.
We love Karen’s passion for telling her mother’s story, the evolution of her own story of learning about her mother, the tenacity and success in having the documentary made and, of course, using artifacts for educational purposes. Our partnership includes helping promote Karen as a speaker, supporting programs with Karen, and helping in conserving and displaying her important documents.