Nicholas Winton

Nicholas Winton
Sir Nicholas Winton MBE

Sir Nicholas Winton in Prague in October 2007
Born 19 May 1909 (1909-05-19) (age 102)
Hampstead, London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation Humanitarian

Sir Nicholas George Winton, MBE (born 19 May 1909) is a British humanitarian who organised the rescue of 669 mostly Jewish children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War in an operation later known as the Czech Kindertransport. Winton found homes for them and arranged for their safe passage to Britain.[1] The UK press has dubbed him the "British Schindler".[2]

Contents

Early life

Winton's parents were of German-Jewish origin.[3] In 1907, they moved from Germany to Hampstead, London, where Nicholas was born as Nicholas George Wertheim two years later.[4] The family would later change their surname to Winton.

The family had converted to Christianity and Nicholas was baptised.[5] In 1923, he transferred to Stowe School, which had just opened.[6] He left without matriculating, attending night school while volunteering at the Military Bank. Some time later he left for Hamburg where he began to work at Behrens Bank, and then for Wasserman Bank in Berlin.[3] In 1931, he left for France where he worked for the Banque Nationale de Crédit in Paris and earned a banking qualification. After his return to London he worked as a stockbroker.

Humanitarian work

Before Christmas 1938, Winton was about to travel to Switzerland for a skiing holiday when he decided instead to travel to Prague to help a friend who was involved in Jewish refugee work.[3] There he single-handedly established an organisation to aid children from Jewish families in Czechoslovakia at risk from the Nazis. He set up an office at a dining room table in his hotel in Wenceslas Square.[7] In November 1938, shortly after Kristallnacht, the House of Commons had approved a measure that would permit the entry of refugees younger than 17 years old into Britain if they had a place to stay and a warranty of £50 was deposited for a return ticket for their eventual return to their country of origin.[8] Winton found homes for 669 children, many of whose parents perished in Auschwitz.[9] Throughout the summer he placed advertisements seeking families to take them in. The last group of 250, which had left Prague on 1 September 1939, was sent back because the Nazis had invaded Poland, marking the start of World War II.[9]

With the coming of war, Winton sought registration as a conscientious objector and served with the Red Cross,[10] but in 1940 changed to service in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch of the Royal Air Force. He was initially an airman, rising to sergeant by the time he was commissioned as an acting pilot officer on probation on 22 June 1944.[11] He was promoted to war substantive flying officer on 17 February 1945.[12] He retained his commission until 19 May 1954 when he relinquished it, retaining the rank of flight lieutenant.[13]

Winton kept his humanitarian exploits under wraps for many years until his wife Grete found a detailed scrapbook in the attic in 1988.[14] The scrapbook contained lists of the children, including their parents' names, and the names and addresses of the families that took them in. After sending letters to these addresses, 80 of "Winton's children" were found in Britain.[14] The world found out about Winton's work in 1988 during an episode of the BBC television programme That's Life! [15] when Winton was invited to be an audience member. At one point during the programme Winton's scrapbook was shown, and his achievements explained. The host of the programme, Esther Rantzen, then asked if there was anyone in the audience who owed their lives to Winton, and, if so, to stand – at which point more than two dozen audience members surrounding Winton rose and applauded.[16]

Notable people saved

Honours

Winton was awarded Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Fourth Class, by the Czech President in 1998.[17] In the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his work in establishing the Abbeyfield homes for the elderly in Britain, and in the 2002 New Year Honours, he was knighted in recognition of his work on the Czech Kindertransporte.[9][18][19][20] He met the Queen again during her state visit to Bratislava, Slovakia in October 2008.[21] In 2003, Winton received the Pride of Britain Award for Lifetime Achievement.[22]

The minor planet 19384 Winton was named in his honour by Czech astronomers Jana Tichá and Miloš Tichý.[23]

In 2008, he was honoured by the Czech government in several ways. An elementary school in Kunžak is named after him,[24] and he was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Minister of Defence, Grade I.[24] He was also nominated by the Czech government for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize.[24][25]

Although Winton was baptised as Christian, his ancestry was considered entirely Jewish, which disqualified him from being declared a Righteous Gentile.[26] In 2010, Winton was named a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British Government.[27]

A statue in his honour was unveiled at Maidenhead railway station by Home Secretary and local MP for Maidenhead Theresa May in September 2010. Created by Lydia Karpinska, it depicts Winton relaxing on a bench whilst reading a book.[2]

Another statue in his honour is on the first platform of the Praha hlavní nádraží railway station. It depicts Winton holding a child and standing next to another one. Created by Flor Kent, it was unveiled on the day the Winton train left, 1 September 2009.[28]

100th birthday

To celebrate his 100th birthday, he flew over the White Waltham Airfield in a microlight piloted by Judy Leden, the daughter of one of the boys he saved.[29] His birthday was also marked by the publication of a profile in the Jewish Chronicle.[30]

Winton train

Main article: Winton Train

On 1 September 2009, a special "Winton train" set off from the Prague Main railway station. The train, consisting of an original locomotive and carriages used in the 1930s, headed to London via the original Kindertransport route. On board the train were several surviving "Winton children" and their descendants, who were to be welcomed by Winton in London. The occasion marked the 70th anniversary of the intended last Kindertransport, which was due to set off on 3 September 1939 but never did because of the outbreak of the Second World War. At the train's departure, Winton's statue was unveiled at the railway station.[31]

Popular Culture

Winton's work is the subject of three films by Slovak filmmaker Matej Mináč: the drama All My Loved Ones (Všichni moji blízcí, 1999),[32] in which Winton was played by Rupert Graves, the documentary The Power of Good: Nicholas Winton (Síla lidskosti—Nicholas Winton, 2002), which won an Emmy Award.[33] and the documentary drama Nicky's family (Nickyho rodina, 2011).

A play Numbers from Prague about Sir Nicholas Winton was performed in Cambridge, UK in January 2011.[34]

References

  1. ^ "Sir Nicholas Winton, A Man Of Courage". www.auschwitz.dk. Louis Bülow. 2008. http://www.winton.dk/. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
  2. ^ a b "Statue for 'British Schindler' Sir Nicholas Winton". BBC News. 18 September 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-11356875. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
  3. ^ a b c "Winton bio". Winton Train. České drahy. 2009. http://www.wintontrain.eu/en/site/nicholas-winton/nw-zivotopis.htm. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
  4. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=lpySrGekzZrDqT0hTVMp%2FA&scan=1. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 
  5. ^ "Profile: Nicholas Winton", BBC News, 28 August 2009
  6. ^ "The official opening of Stanhope House". Stowe School. 6 March 2009. http://www.stowe.co.uk/news-and-events/news-archive/139/the-official-opening-of-stanhope-house. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
  7. ^ "Nicholas Winton, the Schindler of Britain". www.auschwitz.dk. Louis Bülow. 2008. http://www.auschwitz.dk/Winton.htm. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
  8. ^ Baruch Tenenbaum. "Nicholas Winton, British savior". IRWF. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. http://www.raoulwallenberg.net/?en/saviors/others/nicholas-winton-british-savior.5011016.htm. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
  9. ^ a b c Lahav, Yehuda; Nir Hasson (2 September 2009). "Jews saved by U.K. stockbroker to reenact 1939 journey to safety". Haaretz.com. Ha'aretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1111852.html. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
  10. ^ Imperial War Museum Sound Archive, 17460
  11. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36633. p. 3562. 28 July 1944. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  12. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36963. p. 1202. 27 February 1945. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  13. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 40315. pp. 6200–6205. 27 February 1945. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  14. ^ a b "Film documents 'power of good'". Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Jewishaz.com. http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/020201/power.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 
  15. ^ The Power of Good: http://www.powerofgood.net/story.php
  16. ^ Sir Nicholas Winton - BBC Programme "That's Life" (1988) on Youtube. Retrieved 25 October 2011
  17. ^ "List of holders of the Tomas Garrigue Masaryk Order". Prague Castle site. Office of the President of the Czech Republic. http://www.hrad.cz/en/czech-republic/state-decorations/tomas-garrigue-masaryk-order/list.shtml. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
  18. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 49375. p. 17. 10 June 1983. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  19. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 56797. p. 2. 31 December 2002. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  20. ^ London Gazette: no. 57030. p. 10218. 15 August 2003. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  21. ^ "Slovaks welcome Queen to capital". BBC News. 23 October 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7686060.stm. Retrieved 3 September 2009. 
  22. ^ The Pride of Britain Awards - Lifetime Achievement, Sir Nicholas Winton Retrieved October 14, 2011
  23. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser". JPL Small-Body Database. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 2 October 2003. http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=19384+Winton. Retrieved 11 January 2009. 
  24. ^ a b c Sir Nicholas Winton in the Czech Republic. Ministry of Defense, Czech Republic. 2008-07-02. http://www.army.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=11598. Retrieved 2009-09-05. 
  25. ^ "UK | UK's 'Schindler' awaits Nobel vote". BBC News. 2008-02-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7222653.stm. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 
  26. ^ "Nicholas Winton". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Winton.html. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 
  27. ^ "Britons honoured for holocaust heroism". London: The Telegraph. 9 March 2010. Archived from the original on 9 March 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5o6rljVNN. Retrieved 9 March 2010. 
  28. ^ "Tisková zpráva - projekt Winton Train - inspirace dobrem vrcholí". Winton Train, o. p. s.. 2009-09-01. http://www.wintontrain.eu/cs/site/o-projektu/op-tiskove-centrum/op-ke-stazeni/tz090901.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-22. 
  29. ^ "'UK Schindler' in birthday flight". BBC News. 2009-06-29. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/8125546.stm. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 
  30. ^ Porter, Monica (14 May 2009). "Sir Nicholas Winton: A reluctant Holocaust hero". Jewish Chronicle. http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-features/sir-nicholas-winton-a-reluctant-holocaust-hero. Retrieved 20 December 2009. 
  31. ^ ČTK (1 September 2009). "Train in honour of Jewish children rescuer Winton leaves Prague". České noviny. Neris s.r.o.. http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/train-in-honour-of-jewish-children-rescuer-winton-leaves-prague/395346. Retrieved 1 September 2009. 
  32. ^ "Všichni moji blízcí (1999)". Imdb.com. http://imdb.com/title/tt0218705/. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 
  33. ^ "Síla lidskosti — Nicholas Winton (2002)". imdb.com. http://imdb.com/title/tt0328499. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 
  34. ^ The European Association for Jewish Culture, 2010 theatre grant awards.

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