Aitkenhead

1940s: Käte MacKinnon: Kilquhanity’s Jubilee

Teacher

Kilquhanity meant a lot to my life and I saw it develop from infancy. It started during the war with three kids only. When I came from Germany after about one year, there were 25 kids. My invitation to visit the school was so different. The headmaster said “I hope Scotland will smile on your visit- and all the snowdrops are out”.
My intuition has guided me often in life, and I travelled up and decided on the spot – this is where I am meant to teach! So I did for many years and the off an on throughout the school’s life. There I spent some of the happiest years of my life. I met Bill (1) and we married. In between Bill and I taught in other progressive schools, including Summerhill for five years, but we alwaus drifted back to Kilquhanity. Wonderful memories! How young we were then! Brimming with enthusiasm and creative energy. Trying out in full all the progressive ideas. Fundamentally we knew what to aim for, very much as A.S. Neill’s lines, but we had to learn them through our own experience.

Käte's Kennkarte, an identity document in use in Germany during the Third Reich

What is the enduring quality? Difficult to define. It is an indefinable magic which is unique and gave the place life. There was a magic even in the beauty of the place. The wide view over the Holm and at night the clear moon and bright stars in the firmament. I quote from Goethe “Hier bin ich Mensch, hier darf ich sein” (Here I am a person, here I am free to be). The trust to be accepted for what you are gave the kids the confidence to express themselves.

A "young" Käte MacKinnon - She died when she was 103 (7.6 2012 - The Guardian)

Kilquhanity has been going for 50 years now – quite a milestone – started by John’s overwhelming enthusiasm. Inspiration and belief in kids. Morag entered the spirit with her wisdom and soon took half the burden and both gave their lives throughout the years, with deep devotion and understanding. Many idealistic staff made valuable contributions to Kilquhanity, but John and Morag stood the test of time.
Hearty congratulations!.

In the 1960s Kate sought reparation from Germany ‘as a result of Nazi persecution’. The letter below outlines her claim and the nature of the horrors she and relatives underwent between 1937 and 1943. I am unaware as to whether her claim was successful. This document also ‘fills in’ Kate’s employment history from her arrival in England to her marriage to Bill in 1943, and subsequent employment history.

Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of John's reply.