Stephanie Caffee’s 92-year-old grandfather is a holocaust survivor who was part of the Kindertransport, a British rescue mission that brought nearly 10,000 unaccompanied Jewish children from Nazi-occupied territories to Great Britain between 1938 and 1940.
His life story has always inspired Caffee, who graduated from King in May 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in nursing. As a co-owner of a boutique consulting firm with her husband, she is dedicated to grant development and assisting those in need, while also supporting this country’s unseen heroes.
“My grandfather and his older brother were on one of the last Kindertransport trains before Germany fell to Hitler,” said Caffee. “After a year in England, they were miraculously reunited with their parents and immigrated to the United States. (Only 2% were reunited with their parents.) The large remainder of our family members who could not get exit papers died in the Holocaust. Despite great loss and tragedy, we were the lucky ones.
Thanks to the welcoming of first England and later the United States, Caffee’s grandfather grew up to live a full and productive life with four children, seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
“At 92, he is still as sharp as a tack and daily speaks with his Ham radio friends across the world, translating Morse code and German simultaneously while transcribing with both hands,” she said. “In the past several years, he has been kind enough to allow me to record our family’s oral history together, which I hope to publish one day. We are planning to travel back to Germany together next spring to trace his earliest memories. When people ask me how he is still so vibrant at his age, I often think to myself that he is living for all who were not granted the luxury of life.
As a Holocaust survivor descendant, Caffee says her entire life has been profoundly shaped by a deep sense of responsibility and urgency to live with meaning and intention.
“I have always been drawn to the messy, painful issues and places, spanning rebuilding post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina to advancing transformation in vulnerable communities and sectors,” she said. “The world needs individuals that will run towards society’s greatest challenges and not away from them. I hope to leave a legacy that does just that.”