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Nicholas Winton

Sir Nicholas George Winton (19 May 1909 – 1 July 2015) was a British stockbroker and humanitarian who organized the evacuation of 669 children, predominantly Jewish, from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to Britain between March and August 1939, prior to the outbreak of the Second World War.^[1]^[2]^[3] Born Nicholas Wertheimer to German-Jewish immigrant parents in Hampstead, London, and raised in the Anglican Church after his family's conversion, Winton initially pursued a career in banking before responding to a friend's request to assist with refugee aid efforts in Prague.^[1]^[4] There, he established a committee that secured British visas, foster homes, and funding to facilitate eight train transports, though a planned ninth was thwarted by the war's onset and the subsequent German invasion.^[1]^[2] Winton's efforts remained largely unknown for decades, as he eschewed publicity and stored related documents in his attic without seeking recognition.^[4] The rescues gained public attention in 1988 through a segment on the British television program That's Life!, which reunited him with many of the "Winton's children" he had saved, highlighting the profound impact of his actions amid the escalating threats faced by Jews in central Europe.^[5] For his humanitarian work, Winton received the Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1983, was knighted in 2003, and was posthumously awarded the Czech Republic's Order of the White Lion in 2014, the nation's highest honor.^[4]^[6] His initiative, independent of the broader Kindertransport but similar in purpose, exemplified private initiative in averting tragedy for those children and their descendants, estimated to number in the thousands.^[1]^[2]

Early Life and Background

Family Origins and Childhood

Nicholas Winton was born Nicholas George Wertheim on May 19, 1909, in Hampstead, London, to parents of German-Jewish descent.^[1]^[7] His father, Rudolf Wertheim, worked as a bank manager, while his mother, Barbara (also known as Babette or Babi), managed the household; both had immigrated to England from Germany prior to his birth.^[4]^[7] The family, which included an older sister named Charlotte and a younger brother named Robert, anglicized their surname to Winton as part of efforts to integrate into British society.^[8] Winton's parents converted to Christianity before his birth, and he was baptized and raised in the Anglican faith, reflecting their emphasis on assimilation amid prevailing social attitudes toward Jewish immigrants in early 20th-century Britain.^[9]^[10] This background distanced the family from overt Jewish practices, though underlying heritage occasionally led to experiences of ostracism in north London circles.^[11] The Wertheims/Wintons prioritized British cultural norms, fostering an environment focused on education and conventional success rather than religious or ethnic distinctiveness.^[12] Winton's childhood involved typical upper-middle-class pursuits in London, including enrollment in elite private schooling. At age 14, he attended Stowe School, a newly established boarding institution, from 1923 to 1926, where he developed interests in mathematics and fencing but departed without formal qualifications.^[8]^[13] Family connections and his father's profession provided exposure to European banking networks, hinting at early practical orientations, yet records show no precocious humanitarian inclinations during these years.^[14]

Education and Early Career

Winton attended Stowe School, a boarding school in Buckinghamshire, from 1923 to 1926.^[8] Following his schooling, he entered the banking sector as a clerk in London firms, following his father's recommendation for a practical career path.^[8] ^[15] In the late 1920s, Winton's banking apprenticeship took him abroad, including positions at Behrens Bank in Hamburg and banks in Berlin.^[15] ^[16] By 1931, he relocated to Paris, where he worked at Banque Nationale de Crédit and completed his banking training.^[16] ^[13] Upon returning to London in the mid-1930s, Winton transitioned to stockbroking, establishing a routine professional life in international finance.^[1] ^[17] By December 1938, aged 29, he operated as an established stockbroker without prior engagement in humanitarian or activist endeavors.^[18] ^[7]

Initiation of Humanitarian Efforts

Trip to Czechoslovakia

In December 1938, Nicholas Winton, a 29-year-old London stockbroker, altered his planned skiing vacation in Switzerland following an urgent invitation from his friend Martin Blake, who was working with the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia in Prague. Blake requested Winton's assistance in addressing the escalating refugee crisis triggered by the Munich Agreement of 29 September 1938, which permitted Nazi Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland and prompted an influx of displaced persons into the remaining Czech territories.^[2]^[1]^[19] Upon arriving in Prague, Winton inspected refugee camps housing thousands of Jewish and political refugees who had fled the Sudetenland, observing overcrowded and makeshift accommodations where families, including many children separated from parents, endured harsh winter conditions without adequate shelter or resources. These camps, established in response to the displacement of approximately 10,000 such refugees into Prague, highlighted the immediate threats posed by Nazi expansion and the limitations of existing relief efforts.^[1]^[20]^[21] The conditions Winton encountered underscored the vulnerability of children amid the political instability, prompting him to initiate logistical considerations for their emigration to Britain via private networks, independent of government programs and modeled loosely on the contemporaneous Kindertransport operations for children from Germany and Austria. Lacking official backing, Winton began leveraging personal contacts to explore funding and sponsorship options for potential child transports.^[22]^[1]

Recognition of Crisis

In December 1938, shortly after the Munich Agreement of September 1938 had enabled Nazi Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland, Nicholas Winton traveled to Prague at the invitation of his friend Martin Blake, who was aiding refugees through the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia.^[4] There, Winton inspected makeshift camps such as those at Wilson's Station and the State Exhibition Grounds, where thousands of Jewish and anti-Nazi refugees—displaced by the German advance—endured overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, with families facing acute risks of separation amid rising political instability.^[2] These firsthand observations convinced Winton of the urgent peril to civilians, particularly children, as Nazi racial policies from annexed territories began extending influence, foreshadowing broader persecution.^[1] The crisis intensified on March 15, 1939, when German forces occupied Bohemia and Moravia, dismantling Czechoslovakia's remnants and initiating deportations that crammed additional families into camps under direct Nazi control.^[4] Winton recognized this occupation as accelerating threats of mass internment and worse, with empirical evidence from refugee inflows showing over 150,000 Jews and dissidents trapped without viable escape routes through official channels, which prioritized adults and proved bureaucratically inert.^[23] His assessment emphasized causal immediacy: without swift intervention, children—comprising a significant portion of applicants—faced disproportionate vulnerability due to their dependence on parents unwilling or unable to emigrate en masse.^[24] Winton thus prioritized child evacuations, reasoning that individual parental sacrifices—allowing unaccompanied minors to depart—combined with targeted British visa quotas, offered a feasible path amid limited resources; parents often viewed temporary separation as preferable to collective doom.^[17] Applying his stockbroking acumen for meticulous paperwork and logistics, he contrasted this with governmental inertia, such as the delayed Kindertransport precedents, to secure Home Office guarantees for foster placements, ultimately enabling visas for approximately 669 children before borders sealed in August 1939.^[25]^[1]

Organization of Child Rescues

Planning and Logistics

In December 1938, Nicholas Winton established an operational base in Prague through collaboration with the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia (BCRC), supplemented by a local Czech committee to identify and screen children from Jewish families facing imminent peril under Nazi occupation.^[1] Screening prioritized urgency, family circumstances, and prospects for British placement, with selections limited to children under 17 years old who could secure host families.^[19] Winton coordinated with Czech volunteers to compile detailed lists of candidates, ensuring documentation for travel and entry.^[26] To meet British Home Office stipulations, Winton required guarantors in Britain to deposit £50 per child—equivalent to covering potential repatriation costs after the crisis—as a financial safeguard against public dependency.^[1] These guarantees were secured via an informal network of British volunteers, including Winton's mother and contacts in London's financial circles, who pledged funds privately without state subsidies.^[27] Travel expenses for trains and ferries were similarly funded through personal appeals and small donations from Winton's associates, maintaining operational independence from larger relief organizations.^[28] Winton personally negotiated with the Home Office for collective transit visas and entry permits, advocating for expedited processing amid bureaucratic delays that often hindered individual applications.^[29] These efforts operated parallel to but distinct from the official Kindertransport scheme, relying on Winton's persistence to obtain approvals for groups rather than case-by-case reviews.^[30] Constraints included strict Home Office conditions, such as the £50 requirement and age caps, which capped the number of rescues feasible without additional guarantees.^[19] Central coordination fell to Winton, who managed applicant lists, guarantee matching, and logistics from London, while delegating on-site tasks in Prague to allies like Trevor Chadwick, who handled local arrangements, and Doreen Warriner, head of the BCRC Prague office, for refugee support.^[31] This structure emphasized Winton's role as the pivotal organizer, minimizing reliance on formal bureaucracies and enabling eight transports before wartime borders closed.^[32]

Transports from Prague

The transports from Prague consisted of eight groups departing between March and August 1939, carrying a total of 669 children primarily from Jewish families threatened by the escalating Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia.^[1]^[3] The initial transport on March 14, 1939, involved approximately 20 children who traveled by plane to Britain, departing just before the German occupation of the remaining Czech territories the following day; subsequent groups proceeded by train, with sizes increasing to as many as 150 per departure.^[1]^[19] These trains typically routed through German territory to the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, followed by a ferry crossing to Harwich and onward rail to London, navigating closures and restrictions at borders that intensified after March 15.^[19]^[33] Each transport demanded meticulous logistics coordinated by a small team in Prague, including British expatriates like Trevor Chadwick and Doreen Warriner, who handled on-site selection and assembly of children from orphanages and shelters.^[1] Requirements included exit visas from Czech and German authorities, medical examinations to certify fitness for travel, and affidavits from British sponsors guaranteeing £50 per child to cover potential repatriation costs—a stipulation from the Home Office to ensure no public burden.^[19] Foster placements were pre-arranged in Britain through networks like the Children's Inter-Aid Committee, with parents often paying nominal fees for Kinder Marks to fund the operation amid currency controls.^[1] Delays arose from bureaucratic hurdles, such as Gestapo scrutiny post-occupation, yet the transports succeeded empirically by exploiting brief windows of permitted emigration before full wartime lockdowns.^[19] The final successful train departed on August 2, 1939, carrying 241 children, after which a ninth transport of about 250 was scheduled for September 1 but canceled as Germany invaded Poland, triggering war declarations and sealing borders—none of those children reached safety via this route.^[19]^[33] This failure underscored the operation's dependence on fragile diplomatic allowances and timely execution, as earlier successes relied on ad hoc negotiations rather than guaranteed protocols.^[1]

Coordination Efforts

Winton coordinated the British end of the operation from his home in London, where he and a small volunteer team, including his mother Babette, compiled detailed typed ledgers listing each child's name, birthdate, photograph, parental details, and matched host family or guarantor.^[34]^[35] These ledgers, preserved as key historical artifacts, facilitated the administrative matching process, with advertisements placed in British newspapers soliciting private pledges of £50 per child to meet Home Office requirements for entry visas and upkeep, as no government funding was available.^[1]^[27] Transports relied on auxiliary networks for transit, with trains from Prague routing through Germany to the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, where children boarded ferries to Harwich, England, necessitating coordination with Dutch officials for border passage.^[17]^[36] Efforts included outreach to groups like the Refugee Children's Movement, incorporating Quakers (Society of Friends), which provided partial support through hostels for incoming children, though Winton's initiative operated independently after larger organizations declined broader involvement.^[37]^[34] This private pragmatism filled voids in official policy, which prioritized rescues from Germany and Austria via the broader Kindertransport framework, offering minimal aid for Czechoslovak cases until Winton secured conditional Home Office permits based on individual guarantees.^[1] Selections in Prague involved queues of parents and committee prioritization of vulnerable children, amid bureaucratic hurdles at both ends that delayed visas but did not halt Winton-led arrangements.^[33]

Outcomes and Impact of Rescues

Children Saved and Their Fates

Winton's operation facilitated the transport of 669 children, predominantly Jewish, from Prague to Britain across eight trains between March 15, 1939, and August 1939, prior to the full German occupation and the onset of World War II.^[1] These evacuations ensured their separation from families, with the vast majority of parents unable to follow due to British immigration quotas and subsequent Nazi policies; most parents perished in concentration camps or ghettos during the Holocaust.^[33] The rescued children exhibited a survival rate approaching 100% through the war years, as they were placed with British foster families or institutions and spared the deportations that targeted those remaining in Czechoslovakia.^[17] In stark contrast, of the roughly 15,000 Jewish children left behind in Czechoslovakia, fewer than 150 survived the systematic extermination campaigns, with most deported to camps such as Theresienstadt or Auschwitz.^[33] This disparity underscores the rescues' direct causal role in averting probable death for the 669, though the effort represented a limited intervention amid broader logistical and political barriers to larger-scale evacuations. Post-war, the majority of the children integrated into British society, adopting new identities and contributing across various fields, while a smaller number returned to Czechoslovakia after 1945 to reunite with any surviving relatives or reclaim property.^[38] Winton himself compiled records and facilitated reunions, enabling long-term tracking; by the late 20th century, databases confirmed the group's vitality, with estimates of 5,000 to 6,000 living descendants as of the early 21st century, amplifying the operation's demographic impact.^[39]^[40] These outcomes reflect empirical success in individual preservation but highlight the rescues' non-systemic nature, as unchecked Nazi expansion rendered further transports impossible after August 1939.

Notable Rescued Individuals

Vera Gissing, aged 10 when evacuated from Prague on one of Winton's transports in June 1939, later authored Pearls of Childhood (1988), an autobiography recounting her separation from her family and adaptation in Britain as a rescued child.^[41] She co-authored Nicholas Winton and the Rescued Generation: Save One Life, Save the World (1998) with Muriel Emanuel, compiling testimonies from survivors that documented the rescues' logistics and personal impacts without attributing later successes directly to Winton.^[42] Gissing reunited publicly with Winton on the BBC's This Is Your Life in 1988, affirming the operation's role in her survival amid Nazi persecution.^[33] Lord Alf Dubs, rescued at age six via a Winton-organized train from Prague in 1939, pursued a career in British politics as a Labour peer, serving as a Member of Parliament for Battersea from 1979 to 1983 and later in the House of Lords, where he campaigned for asylum reforms informed by his refugee background.^[43] Dubs has testified to the transport's efficacy in interviews, noting his luck in reuniting with his father in England post-rescue, though he emphasized the operation's broader uncertainties for other families.^[44] Karel Reisz, transported out of Czechoslovakia in 1939 as a child, became a prominent British film director, helming Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) and contributing to the Free Cinema movement, with his career trajectory independent of the rescue event.^[45] Similarly, immunologist Leslie Baruch Brent, evacuated at age 14 in 1939, advanced transplantation research through studies on immunological tolerance, achieving recognition in medical science post-war.^[46] While the rescues targeted children imperiled by Nazi advances, primarily Jewish families in Czechoslovakia, the criteria allowed for others facing similar threats, though documented notable non-Jewish survivors remain scarce in records focused on the operation's core demographic.^[1] These individuals' post-rescue paths varied widely, from public advocacy to professional fields, underscoring the operation's facilitation of survival without predetermining outcomes.

Limitations and Failures

The planned ninth transport, scheduled to depart Prague on September 1, 1939, carrying approximately 250 children, was halted by the German invasion of Poland, with only two children surviving the ensuing Holocaust.^[19] ^[1] Overall, bureaucratic requirements imposed by the British government—demanding financial guarantees and foster homes for each child—along with the need to secure visas, railway bookings, and private funding for travel costs, constrained the operation to eight successful trains and 669 rescues, despite thousands more children in peril.^[25] ^[45] Historians have debated the emphasis on Winton's individual role, noting that on-the-ground efforts in Prague by Doreen Warriner, who selected and prepared children from refugee camps, and Trevor Chadwick, who coordinated later evacuations and accompanied transports, were indispensable to the rescues' execution.^[31] ^[47] While Winton initiated the scheme from London and handled British-side logistics, some analyses contend that portrayals centering him as a singular "British Schindler" obscure the collaborative nature of the endeavor, involving Czech aid workers, British guarantee holders, and international networks.^[47] Winton himself exhibited notable humility, consistently attributing success to the Prague team's risks and decrying broader systemic shortcomings, such as the 1938 Munich Agreement's appeasement policy, which he viewed as enabling Nazi expansion into Czechoslovakia and exacerbating the refugee crisis.^[24] ^[45] In later reflections, he rejected hero status, emphasizing that "if something is not being done, you do it yourself" amid governmental inaction, while lamenting the inability to save more due to closing borders and war's onset.^[48]

World War II Service

Military Role

Following his initial service as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross in northern France from April to May 1940, Winton joined the Royal Air Force in 1942, having been rejected for pilot training due to poor eyesight.^[49] He served in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch, where his primary role involved training pilots as a night flight instructor using the Link Trainer simulator in the United Kingdom.^[49] ^[50] Winton's duties remained non-combatant and focused on logistical support through pilot preparation, leveraging his pre-war organizational experience in finance to contribute to the war effort in a supportive capacity.^[14] He received several promotions, including to brevet acting pilot officer on 22 June 1944, brevet pilot officer on 17 August 1944, and brevet flying officer on 17 February 1945, ultimately attaining the rank of flight lieutenant.^[51] ^[52] No records indicate involvement in frontline operations or notable incidents during his service.^[49] Winton was released from active RAF duty in 1946 but retained his commission until relinquishing it on 19 May 1954, holding the honorary rank of flight lieutenant thereafter.^[49] ^[14] His wartime contributions thus emphasized steady administrative and training efforts rather than direct engagement.^[2]

Wartime Contributions

During World War II, Nicholas Winton's involvement in humanitarian efforts was significantly constrained by his military obligations, with no evidence of organized refugee aid operations comparable to his pre-war activities. Initially registering as a conscientious objector upon the outbreak of war on September 3, 1939, he served as an ambulance driver, including in Normandy after the Allied landings on June 6, 1944, supporting frontline medical evacuations amid the campaign against German forces.^[33] In 1942, Winton enlisted in the Royal Air Force, where poor eyesight barred him from piloting; instead, he trained pilots as a night flight instructor in the United Kingdom, contributing to the Allied air effort until his release in 1946 at the rank of flight lieutenant.^[49] ^[2] These duties took precedence over civilian advocacy, limiting any sustained contact with Czech exiles or rescued families to informal, undocumented instances amid wartime disruptions. Reflections in his later correspondence highlighted the Munich Agreement's role in exacerbating Czechoslovakia's vulnerability, critiquing appeasement's failure to avert the humanitarian crises he witnessed firsthand, though such views were not tied to active wartime interventions.^[24]

Post-War Professional and Civic Life

Career in Finance

Following World War II, Nicholas Winton resumed his pre-war career in finance, initially working with the International Refugee Organization to repatriate assets seized by the Nazis. He then joined the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development—commonly known as the World Bank—in Paris around 1946, where his role involved financial operations supporting post-war recovery efforts. This international posting, lasting until approximately 1948, provided continuity with his earlier banking experience in London, Berlin, and Paris, and allowed him to leverage skills in stockbroking and trade finance without interruption from wartime service.^[14]^[2] Returning to the United Kingdom after his marriage in 1948, Winton took positions in the finance departments of several British companies, including a firm producing iced lollipops marketed as Jubbly, Britain's first such product. These roles focused on practical financial management, such as handling international trade elements tied to import-export dealings, reflecting his prior exposure to European markets. His earnings from these positions sustained his growing family—three children born between 1949 and 1956—enabling a stable, low-profile existence in Maidenhead.^[53]^[54] Winton's post-war finance career emphasized professional pragmatism over any diversification into activism or public service, as he deliberately avoided leveraging his 1938-1939 rescue efforts for personal or career advancement. This choice aligned with his preference for financial independence and family privacy, sustaining him until retirement in the 1970s without reliance on external recognition.^[53]

Political and Community Involvement

Winton sought local political office by standing as the Labour Party candidate for Maidenhead Urban District Council in 1954, highlighting his humanitarian work in his campaign materials, though he was unsuccessful in the Conservative-leaning area.^[55]^[56] Despite his association with Labour figures such as Aneurin Bevan and self-described socialist inclinations, Winton eschewed ideological rigidity, advocating instead for ethical compromise through mutual respect and flexibility to resolve conflicts, as he expressed in later reflections on global ethics.^[53]^[57] In community service, Winton served as president of the Maidenhead branch of Mencap, a charity supporting individuals with learning disabilities, for over 40 years, founding local support initiatives that evolved into sustained organizational efforts.^[58] He was an active member of the Maidenhead Rotary Club, describing his involvement as one of the most rewarding aspects of his civic life, and campaigned for improved facilities at local care homes affiliated with Abbeyfield Society, emphasizing practical aid for the elderly and vulnerable.^[59]^[60] Aligned with humanist principles, Winton supported rational, evidence-based approaches to ethics and welfare without religious framing, consistent with his affiliations noted by Humanists UK, though he avoided partisan extremism in favor of pragmatic, individual-driven action over bureaucratic processes—a critique he applied to refugee aid challenges, prioritizing direct intervention where official systems faltered.^[61]^[62]

Personal Life

Marriage and Family

Nicholas Winton married Grete Gjelstrup, a Danish secretary and daughter of an accountant, on 31 October 1948 in her hometown of Vejle, Denmark.^[63]^[64]^[65] The couple met earlier that year through her role at Winton's employer, and their union marked a period of personal stability following his wartime experiences.^[63] Winton and Grete had three children: Nicholas (known as Nick), Barbara, and Robin.^[66] The family resided in Maidenhead, Berkshire, where they maintained a private life centered on discretion and normalcy, with no public scandals or controversies reported.^[67]^[2] Tragically, their youngest son Robin, who had Down syndrome, died the day before his seventh birthday.^[7]^[2] The family upheld a low profile for decades, reflecting Winton's preference for humility, until the 1988 public revelation of his pre-war efforts. Grete supported her husband during this period, including prompting him to review old documents that contributed to the story's emergence, though the family continued to prioritize privacy thereafter.^[68]^[69]

Philosophical Views and Humility

Nicholas Winton espoused a humanist philosophy grounded in secular ethics, rejecting religious frameworks in favor of universal moral principles accessible to all individuals regardless of belief. He was a member of Humanists UK and openly described religion as a "facade," advocating instead for shared ethical values centered on goodness, kindness, love, and honesty to resolve human conflicts.^[61]^[70] In a 2014 interview, Winton emphasized that if people adhered to basic ethical behavior, "no problem" would arise, reflecting his belief in pragmatic, compromise-driven solutions over ideological absolutes to prevent atrocities like genocide.^[53]^[57] Winton consistently rejected personal heroism, insisting his actions posed no personal risk and crediting collective efforts alongside the profound sacrifices of parents who entrusted their children to strangers.^[71] In interviews, he critiqued media portrayals for exaggerating individual agency, highlighting instead the teamwork involved in the Kindertransport operations and the unheralded bravery of families separated amid Nazi persecution.^[53] This humility stemmed from a realist assessment: "Everyone thinks my story should be marked by heroism, but there was no risk to me personally," underscoring his aversion to self-aggrandizement and preference for acknowledging systemic enablers of rescue.^[71] His outlook favored private initiative over reliance on grand institutional narratives, viewing individual moral action and practical compromise as antidotes to bureaucratic inertia or state overreach in crises. Winton's post-war reflections reinforced this, promoting "standard ethics and compromise" as foundational to averting conflict, drawn from direct experience rather than abstract theory.^[57] This pragmatic stance aligned with skepticism toward overhyped collective heroism, prioritizing verifiable outcomes from understated efforts.^[27]

Recognition and Honors

Public Revelation in 1988

In the late 1980s, Winton's wife, Grete Gjelstrup, discovered a scrapbook in their attic containing photographs, names, and records of the 669 children he had helped evacuate from Czechoslovakia in 1938–1939.^[69] ^[72] She shared its contents with Holocaust researcher Elisabeth Maxwell, who passed the information to producers of the BBC television program That's Life!, hosted by Esther Rantzen.^[69] ^[33] Winton was invited to appear on the show in February 1988 without being informed of its focus on his pre-war efforts.^[4] Seated among the studio audience, he was presented with the scrapbook and then surprised as several adults in the crowd stood to reveal themselves as children he had rescued, now grown; Rantzen noted that two-thirds of the audience were such survivors.^[33] ^[73] This segment, broadcast live, marked the first widespread public acknowledgment of Winton's actions, which had remained largely unknown for nearly 50 years despite his lack of publicity-seeking.^[4] ^[7] The episode prompted inquiries from dozens more survivors worldwide, amplifying global awareness of the Kindertransport operations Winton organized.^[33] ^[74] Winton expressed discomfort with the ensuing attention, emphasizing that he had simply responded to an urgent humanitarian crisis without expecting recognition, and he downplayed his role by stating he was "just an ordinary person" who acted on moral imperative.^[73] ^[4]

Major Awards and Knighthood

In 2003, Nicholas Winton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II as a Knight Bachelor for services to humanity, with the honor announced in the New Year's Honours list the prior December.^[75] This elevated him beyond his earlier 1983 appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire, which had recognized his post-war efforts in establishing elderly care homes rather than his pre-war child rescues.^[76] The same year, he received the Pride of Britain Lifetime Achievement Award, acknowledging the scope of his humanitarian impact.^[6] Winton's major international honors followed in later years, including the Raoul Wallenberg Medal awarded by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation on 27 June 2013 in London, honoring rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust.^[77] In October 2014, at age 105, he received the Order of the White Lion, the Czech Republic's highest state honor, presented by President Miloš Zeman for his role in saving Czech children from Nazi persecution.^[78] Despite these late recognitions—decades after the events—Winton consistently downplayed their significance, stating he viewed his actions as unremarkable and expressing discomfort with public acclaim.^[79]

Centennial Celebrations

Winton's 100th birthday on May 19, 2009, prompted tributes across the United Kingdom and Czech Republic, reflecting sustained public interest in his pre-war rescues. He received a congratulatory telegram from Queen Elizabeth II, acknowledging his humanitarian efforts.^[80] A private celebration occurred three days earlier at the Czech Embassy in London, attended by family, friends, and embassy officials.^[81] In Prague, commemorations included the dedication of an orchard planted in Winton's honor, symbolizing the growth of lives saved and their descendants.^[82] The year's centerpiece was the Winton Train, a chartered journey recreating the 1939 Kindertransports, departing from Prague's main railway station on September 1, 2009, and arriving at London's Liverpool Street Station on September 4. Winton, then 100 years old, greeted approximately 20 original child refugees and hundreds of their descendants at the station, marking a poignant reunion.^[83]^[84] Advanced age restricted Winton's involvement to select appearances, such as the station welcome, emphasizing intergenerational transmission of his legacy over personal acclaim. Reunions highlighted the expanded impact, with descendants numbering in the thousands. Media coverage, while amplifying awareness, faced critique for occasionally oversimplifying the operation as Winton's solo endeavor, despite his insistence on crediting collaborators like Doreen Warrington and Trevor Chadwick, and noting the unrealized rescue of a fifth train carrying 250 children.^[47] This portrayal risked understating the logistical and diplomatic challenges overcome by a network, as well as broader failures in international refugee policy.

Death and Enduring Legacy

Final Years and Death

Winton spent his final years in a nursing home in Slough, Berkshire, England.^[85] He died there on 1 July 2015 at the age of 106.^[9]^[85] A private funeral service for Winton took place on 20 July 2015 at Chilterns Crematorium in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, attended by family and close friends, followed by a reception at Norden Farm Centre for the Arts in Maidenhead.^[86] His ashes were subsequently buried in Braywick Cemetery, Maidenhead, alongside those of his wife Grete and youngest son Robin.^[87] Winton's son Nick later reflected that his father maintained his characteristic humility and focus on encouraging personal responsibility even in his later life, emphasizing values of individual action over recognition.^[88]^[89]

Memorials and Commemorations

In 2017, a farewell memorial dedicated to the children rescued by Nicholas Winton was unveiled at Prague Main Railway Station, featuring a replica of a 1939 train wagon door with engraved glass panes depicting adult and child hands symbolizing separation from parents.^[90] A bronze statue of Winton surrounded by the children he saved also stands at the station, commemorating his efforts to transport 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia.^[91] In the United Kingdom, a statue of Winton seated on a bench, holding a scrapbook with photographs of the rescued children and evacuation trains, was erected at Maidenhead railway station, where it is annually illuminated during Holocaust Memorial Day observances, as seen in 2021.^[92] On August 22, 2025, a plaque honoring Winton's organization of the Kindertransport rescues was unveiled at the same station, recognizing the 669 children saved from concentration camps.^[93] Prague continued post-2015 tributes by renaming a street near the former Bubny railway station as Nicholas Winton Street in September 2024, marking the 85th anniversary of the final planned Winton train that was halted by the war's outbreak.^[94] Commemorative postage stamps featuring Winton were issued by Czech Post in 2015 and by Royal Mail in 2016, the latter following a public campaign.^[95]^[96] Ongoing annual commemorations involve gatherings of Winton's rescued children and their descendants, such as a 2024 event hosted by the Czech Embassy in London presenting gifts to seven original beneficiaries.^[97] In 2025, Winton's son Nick addressed Holocaust Memorial Day events in Leeds, highlighting his father's role in saving 669 children from Czechoslovakia.^[98]

Depictions in Media and Culture

The 1999 Czech film All My Loved Ones (Všichni moji blízcí), directed by Matej Mináč, dramatizes the experiences of a Prague family amid the Nazi occupation, incorporating Winton's efforts to rescue Jewish children through fictionalized vignettes framed by a news report on his story.^[99] The film received praise for its emotional portrayal of pre-war Czechoslovakia but has been noted for blending historical events with personal narratives, potentially blurring the precise mechanics of Winton's operations.^[99] The 2023 biographical drama One Life, directed by James Hawes and starring Anthony Hopkins as the elderly Winton and Johnny Flynn as his younger self, depicts the stockbroker's 1938-1939 coordination of Kindertransport evacuations from Prague, emphasizing logistical challenges and postwar reflections.^[100] While commended for Hopkins' understated performance capturing Winton's humility, the film has drawn criticism for overstating Winton's singular agency—portraying him as the primary organizer—while minimizing contributions from Czech collaborators like Trevor Chadwick and Doreen Warriner, who handled on-the-ground selections and risks.^[47]^[101] Critics also argue it inaccurately dramatizes Winton's emotional torment over unrescued children, contrasting his real-life rejection of self-aggrandizing narratives and insistence on collective effort.^[47]^[101] Some reviews fault its de-emphasis on the Jewish identity of the rescued, framing them broadly as refugees, which dilutes the targeted antisemitic context of the rescues.^[102] Documentaries such as the 2002 Czech-British production The Power of Good: Nicholas Winton, directed by Matej Mináč, chronicle Winton's initiative using archival footage, interviews with survivors, and reenactments of the eight trains departing Prague between March and August 1939.^[103] The film, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature, highlights survivor testimonies but has been critiqued for occasional hagiographic tone that aligns with media tropes rather than Winton's own understated accounts.^[104] Television segments, including a 1988 BBC That's Life! episode revealing Winton's role to an audience of survivors and the 2014 60 Minutes profile, popularized his story through emotional reunions, though Winton later expressed discomfort with the spectacle, viewing it as extraneous to the facts.^[105]^[106] In literature, books like Nicky & Vera (2021) by Peter Sís, aimed at children, retell Winton's collaboration with rescuer Vera Gissing from survivor perspectives, focusing on eight-year-old Nicky's Prague visits.^[107] Adult-oriented works, including One Life: The True Story of Sir Nicholas Winton (2022) by his daughter Barbara Winton, draw on family records to depict the rescues but have faced scrutiny for narrative choices mirroring film dramatizations, such as amplifying personal guilt absent in primary sources.^[108] Winton's cultural portrayal often invokes the "British Schindler" moniker, coined by media to evoke Oskar Schindler's factory rescues, yet Winton consistently rejected it, arguing in 2014 that he faced no personal danger unlike those in Prague and crediting Chadwick and Warriner's sustained efforts.^[53] This trope, while underscoring his impact—saving 669 children directly—risks historical distortion by implying solitary heroism, as evidenced by debates over whether films like One Life perpetuate it despite evidence of a broader network involving British guarantors and Czech aid committees.^[47]^[20]

References

[1]
Nicholas Winton and the Rescue of Children from Czechoslovakia ...
Sep 8, 2023 · Nicholas Winton was born Nicholas Wertheimer on May 19, 1909, in West Hampstead, England, and baptized as a member of the Anglican Church by ...
[2]
Sir Nicholas Winton - Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
Sir Nicholas Winton was born in Hampstead, London in 1909. For nine months in 1939 he rescued 669 children from Czechoslovakia, bringing them to the UK.Missing: sources | Show results with:sources
[3]
Winton's List Sir Nicholas Winton
In the 9 months leading up to the outbreak of World War II, 669 children, mostly Jewish, were transported from Czechoslovakia to Britain and other countries ...
[4]
Nicholas Winton | The National Holocaust Centre and Museum
Jan 21, 2018 · Sir Nicholas Winton is not only a British icon, he is also a Czech icon as well as being known around the globe for his rescue of 669, mainly Jewish children ...
[5]
Sir Nicholas Winton
Sir Nicholas Winton was known for organising the rescue of 669 Czech children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia during the 9 months before war broke out in ...Winton's Children · Book · The Trust · ContactMissing: primary | Show results with:primary<|separator|>
[6]
Recognition - 1988 - Sir Nicholas Winton Exhibition
In 2014, aged 105, he was awarded the Order of the White Lion by President Zeman of the Czech Republic. Alongside awards, he received many letters of thanks ...
[7]
The remarkable true story of the man who saved 669 children from ...
Jan 25, 2024 · The remarkable true story of the man who saved 669 children from the Nazis · What was the Kindertransport? · Who was Nicholas Winton? · Nicholas ...
[8]
Early Life - Sir Nicholas Winton Exhibition
His parents were Rudolf and Babette Wertheim, both from German-Jewish families. He had two siblings - an older sister Charlotte and a younger brother Robert, ...Missing: origins | Show results with:origins
[9]
Sir Nicholas Winton - Quotes, Book & Facts - Biography
He was the oldest of three children whose parents, Rudolf and Barbara Wertheimer, were German Jews who later converted to Christianity and changed their last ...Missing: origins | Show results with:origins
[10]
This week in Jewish History | Sir Nicholas Winton is born
May 19, 2022 · While Winton's parents were of German-Jewish descent, they converted to Christianity before his birth. In 1938, Winton visited a friend in ...Missing: origins | Show results with:origins
[11]
Nicholas Winton: the real history of the 'British Schindler' | HistoryExtra
Jan 11, 2024 · Born in 1909 to German Jewish parents, Winton grew up in north London, where his family suffered ostracism because of their Jewish heritage.Missing: origins childhood -
[12]
https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/g4RyM5hGjaTHkihId2OG-WSJNewsPaper-11-19-2024.pdf
[13]
One Life: Nicholas Winton's Quiet Heroism - Aish.com
Mar 12, 2024 · Nicholas attended the storied Stowe boarding school where he showed a natural brilliance in math and became an accomplished fencer.
[14]
Sir Nicholas Winton: The Man with 6000 Descendants
Nicholas Winton was born on May 19, 1909 in Hampstead, London, where he grew up and attended school before beginning a career in banking across Europe.
[15]
Nicholas Winton, Rescuer of 669 Children From Holocaust, Dies at ...
Jul 1, 2015 · Nicholas attended Stowe School in Buckingham, was apprenticed in international banking in London and worked at Behrens Bank in Hamburg, ...Missing: career | Show results with:career
[16]
Obituary: Nicholas Winton - BBC News
Jul 1, 2015 · He continued his studies at evening classes before moving to Germany, where he worked in banks in Hamburg and Berlin. In 1931, just two years ...Missing: career | Show results with:career
[17]
How Nicholas Winton saved 669 children (and counting) from the ...
Dec 7, 2023 · How Nicholas Winton saved 669 children (and counting) from the Holocaust: 'He became everybody's grandfather'. This article is more than 1 year ...
[18]
Who was Nicholas Winton, and why did he bring 669 children from ...
Nicholas Winton (1909-2015) was a stockbroker born in West Hampstead in London. His parents were of German-Jewish ancestry but chose to have their son baptised ...Missing: origins childhood -
[19]
Kindertransport - Sir Nicholas Winton Exhibition
They were helping refugees who had fled Sudetenland after the Munich Agreement on 29 September 1938. This gave the Sudetenland to Hitler in return for ...
[20]
The 'British Schindler' Who Saved 669 Children From The Nazis
Nicholas Winton always claimed he “wasn't heroic” yet he organised the kindertransport that swept 669 children out of Prague before the Nazis came.
[21]
Nicholas Winton's Rescue of 669 Children from the Holocaust
In 1938, under the Munich Pact, Germany annexed the Sudetenland, a region of ... What he witnessed in the overcrowded refugee camps changed the course of his life ...
[22]
About Sir Nicholas Winton
In December 1938, Winton was planning a skiing holiday when his friend Martin Blake, a British relief worker, invited him to visit Prague instead. There, he ...
[23]
The emergence of the Kindertransport in Prague: the Barbican ...
Apr 27, 2020 · As 1938 was drawing to its end, some relief aid workers already in Prague were desperately trying to deal with the mounting refugee crisis.
[24]
Sir Nicholas Winton and the human cost of "peace for our time".
Sep 28, 2007 · Nicholas Winton realized that it was the children who were most in danger, and this became the focus of his work. "I was told that although ...
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[PDF] Case Study 5: Nicholas Winton - Centre for Holocaust Education
Winton was struck by the appalling conditions and his greatest concern was for the children. As a British citizen with contacts, Winton was convinced he could ...
[26]
Doreen Warriner; Nicholas Winton, Beatrice Wellington and others
Soon Warriner also negotiated transports for political refugees, facing intimidation by the Polish consul and the frustratingly slow work of the British visa ...
[27]
The Difference One Can Make (Original Version) - Mackinac Center
Aug 17, 2006 · Winton also took the lead in raising the funds to pay for the operation. The expenses included the 50 British pounds the Home Office required ...
[28]
Nicholas Winton - Spartacus Educational
Sir Nicholas Winton, the man known as the “British Oskar Schindler” who saved more than 600 Jewish children from the Holocaust, has died aged 106.Missing: biography facts
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May 19: Nicholas Winton's Children - Jewish Currents
May 19, 2014 · Winton nevertheless successfully negotiated their transit. He found families in Great Britain willing to take in Jewish children and brought ...
[30]
Nicholas Winton and the Contested History of Child Rescue ... - Gale
While Winton busily worked to obtain foster homes and permissions from the British Home Office, the Sharps were told that the selection of refugee children ...
[31]
[PDF] Doreen Warriner, Trevor Chadwick and the 'Winton children' - AJR
Apr 20, 2011 · Thousands of refugees, Jews and political opponents of the Nazis, fled from the occupied areas into the rump of the Czech state, itself now ...
[32]
Kindertransport hero: How Nicholas Winton rescued Jewish WWII ...
Jul 20, 2024 · Throughout 1939, the BCRC sent eight transports of children – mainly Jewish – by train to London. These were known as the Czech Kindertransport.<|control11|><|separator|>
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'Britain's Schindler': The man who saved 669 children from the Nazis
Apr 1, 2024 · It is estimated that of the 15,000 Jewish children from Czechoslovakia sent to camps, fewer than 150 children survived the war. With war ...<|separator|>
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List of children evacuated by Sir Nicholas Winton
List of children brought over under the auspices of the Czech Childrens Section on transports from Prague. This list is in accordance with the sections ...
[35]
Nicholas Winton's List - Sir Martin Gilbert
Sep 22, 2024 · Winton returned to Britain at the end of January 1939 to take charge of the London office. ... home in Britain, arriving in London on July 1.
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The “British Schindler”: The WWII Story of Sir Nicholas Winton
Oct 24, 2019 · The first Kindertransport train left Prague on March 14, 1939. Seven Kindertransports were to follow. The ninth train with 250 children was ...
[37]
Nicholas Winton, British savior
Nicholas Winton, British savior ... He immediately contacted the Refugee Children's Movement (RCM) in London , a movement that gathered Jews, Quakers and many ...
[38]
Winton's Children Share Their Stories - The New York Times
Jul 13, 2015 · Nicholas Winton organized the escape of 669 children, mostly Jews, from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II. After Mr. Winton died on ...
[39]
Saving Children: Remembering Nicholas Winton on Yom HaShoah
May 1, 2019 · The Jewish children that touched Bond's heart came to London through the Kindertransport (Children's Transport), a series of rescue efforts that ...Missing: coordination Rotterdam Quakers<|separator|>
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"Nicky's Family" – Mackinac Center
Apr 23, 2013 · The children saved and their descendants now number more than 5,700. These people, down to the young grandchildren, have been contributors ...Missing: rescued | Show results with:rescued
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Vera Gissing, Who Was Rescued by 'Britain's Schindler,' Dies at 93
Mar 31, 2022 · Mrs. Gissing wrote an autobiography, “Pearls of Childhood” (1988), and collaborated with Muriel Emanuel on “Nicholas Winton and the Rescued ...
[42]
Nicholas Winton and the Rescued Generation: Save One Life, Save ...
In 1938, Nicholas Winton organized the rescue of 669 Jewish children from Prague, arranging their transport to London before WWII. His humanitarian work ...
[43]
Profile: Lord Alfred Dubs - BBC News
Apr 26, 2016 · He was one of 669 children who escaped the Holocaust on trains from Prague organised by British stockbroker Sir Nicholas Winton. After a 48-hour ...
[44]
“Winton child” Lord Alfred Dubs: I was luckier than most
Dec 11, 2017 · Alfred Dubs was just six years old when he became one of over 660 Jewish children saved from Nazi-occupied Prague by Sir Nicholas Winton.
[45]
The Nicholas Winton Story - The Power of Good
The Munich Conference was held September 29-30, 1938, following Hitler's demand to annex the Sudetenland, a region in Czechoslovakia populated largely by ethnic ...Missing: witnessed | Show results with:witnessed
[46]
How One Act of Kindness by One Man Changed The World - Medium
Jul 13, 2022 · This list is… www.nicholaswinton.com. Some of the more notable people among Winton's Children are -. · Leslie Baruch Brent (1925–2019), an ...<|separator|>
[47]
What One Life gets wrong about Nicholas Winton and the ...
Jan 12, 2024 · It was, very belatedly, the interest of others and the need for a secular saint in the rescue of the Jews that pushed Winton into the unwanted ...
[48]
Sir Nicholas Winton: Holocaust saviour 'did not think he was a hero'
Jan 4, 2024 · The family of Sir Nicholas Winton, who organised the rescue of more than 600 children from the Nazis, say he refused to think of himself as a hero.Missing: criticism | Show results with:criticism
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War Time & Post War Work - Sir Nicholas Winton Exhibition
In 1942 Nicky entered the RAF as a night flight trainer, having been turned down as a pilot due to his poor eyesight. He trained pilots in the UK & from 1946 in ...Missing: service | Show results with:service
[50]
Kindertransport and Mr. Winton - Stew Ross Discovers
Feb 13, 2021 · Sir Nicholas Winton coordinated the Czech and Slovak Kindertransport to the UK during 1938 and 1939. He saved the lives of 669 children.<|control11|><|separator|>
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Nicholas Winton - World War II Database
Winton successfully arranged 669 children, most of whom Jews, to travel to Britain via the Netherlands, while both he and his mother placed these children in ...
[52]
17th of February, 1945 Nicholas Winton was promoted to the brevet ...
Feb 17, 2024 · 17th of February, 1945 Nicholas Winton was promoted to the brevet rank of flying officer. Nicholas George Winton was born in London, ...17th of February, 1945 Nicholas Winton was promoted ... - FacebookSir Nicholas Winton's WWII Jewish child rescue efforts - FacebookMore results from www.facebook.com
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'British Schindler' Nicholas Winton: I wasn't heroic. I was never in ...
Nov 9, 2014 · Afterwards, he settled down in Maidenhead, worked in the finance departments of a number of companies (including Britain's first iced lollipop ...
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Proof that one person can make a difference - CBS News
Jul 2, 2015 · Following the war, he worked repatriating assets seized by the Nazis, went back to his career in finance, got married and raised a family.
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Nicholas Winton's other life: a Labour council candidate
Jul 2, 2015 · Nicholas Winton, who saved over 600 children destined for concentration camps, died yesterday. In his other life, he was also a Labour activist ...
[56]
Nicholas Winton saved me from the Nazis. I only found out 50 years ...
Jul 3, 2015 · ... elections for Maidenhead council. Not surprisingly he lost, as even then Maidenhead, where he lived, was a Conservative area. His interest ...
[57]
Global Ethics and Compromise: Remembering Nicholas Winton
Jul 14, 2015 · I first met Sir Nicholas Winton when he had reached the mere age of 87. He was curious to learn about the UK Holocaust Centre, ...Missing: Trinity Hall Cambridge
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Nicholas Winton dies; saved more than 650 Jewish children from ...
Jul 1, 2015 · He was president of the Maidenhead branch of the learning disability charity Mencap for more than 40 years, and also worked with the Abbeyfields ...
[59]
Sir Nicholas Winton would be 'deeply disturbed' by the war in ...
Jul 3, 2025 · He campaigned for new facilities for a Maidenhead care home and also spoke of how joining Rotary Club was 'one of the best things he'd ever done ...
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Our History - Abbeyfield Maidenhead
Everyone involved with the society is proud of our connection to him and we take every opportunity to share his amazing life story. Sir Nicholas Winton.Missing: council | Show results with:council
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Nicholas Winton (1909–2015) | Humanist Heritage
Nicholas Winton was a stockbroker, humanitarian, and humanist, who saved the lives of more than 650 Jewish children ahead of the Second World War.
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[PDF] Sir Nicholas Winton - Rotary GB&I
were facing financial barriers affecting their learning, education, training and employment opportunities. l targeted for young people from. Black, Asian and ...Missing: shortfalls | Show results with:shortfalls
[63]
Post 1950 - The Nicholas Winton Exhibition
... Grete Gjelstrup, the Danish secretary of his employer. They met in March 1948 and married on 31 October that year in Vejle, Denmark, Grete's home town. Left ...
[64]
Lady Grete Gjelstrup Winton (1919-1999) - Find a Grave Memorial
Nicholas Winton married Grete Gjelstrup in Vejle, Denmark, 1948. Beloved wife of Sir Nicholas George Winton MBE. Mother of their three children. Her husband ...
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Grete (Gjelstrup) Winton (1919-1999) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree
Jul 7, 2015 · They were married 31 October 1948 in her hometown Vejle, Denmark, where she was born 21 December 1919. Grete and Nicholas had three children.
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Grete Gjelstrup (1919–1999)
Grete married Nicholas Winton in Vejle, Denmark, in 1948. They had three children: Barbara, Nick, and Robin Winton. Beloved wife of Sir Nicholas …<|separator|>
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Sir Nicholas Winton - Maidenhead Heritage Centre
Some children were even provided with false visas, which increased the danger of the operation, and on some occasions Sir Nicholas forged Home Office documents ...
[68]
Grete Winton | A VIEW FROM AN OPEN RECTORY WINDOW
Jul 9, 2015 · Winton's wife Grete [née Gjelstrup], a Dane whom he married in 1948, asked him for an explanation and Winton gave her a general idea, but ...
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The True Story Behind One Life and Nicholas Winton | TIME
Mar 15, 2024 · Anthony Hopkins plays Sir Nicholas Winton, who helped evacuate 669 Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Europe.
[70]
The Audacity of Reason - A Humanist Call to Arms : r/humanism
Jun 13, 2025 · Nicholas Winton, a humanitarian who rescued refugee children from Nazi persecution, described religion as a "facade". 327 upvotes · 6 ...
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Nicholas Winton Quotes - BrainyQuote
Some people revel in taking risks, and some go through life taking no risks at all. · Everyone thinks my story should be marked by heroism, but there was no risk ...
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The real story behind 'One Life': Nicholas Winton who rescued Jews
Jan 6, 2024 · More than 6,000 children and grandchildren of the Czech Kindertransport owe their lives to Nicholas Winton, according to “One Life,” the ...<|separator|>
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Sir Nicholas Winton - BBC Programme "That's Life" aired in 1988
Sep 1, 2009 · Sir Nicholas Winton who organised the rescue and passage to Britain of about 669 mostly Jewish Czechoslovakian children destined for the ...Missing: revelation details
[74]
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2183278538473596/posts/3590005971134172/
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British 'Schindler' gets knighthood - Dec. 31, 2002 - CNN
Dec 31, 2002 · ... knighthood. Nicholas Winton, who is now 93, has been named in the Queen Elizabeth II's New Year's Honours list. Winton, a former London ...
[76]
https://www.facebook.com/100064703681472/posts/-wwii-uncovered-sir-nicholas-winton-savior-to-the-children-of-czechoslovakia-on-/1248299090670202/
[77]
Nicholas Winton, English Holocaust savior, was distinguished in ...
Jul 17, 2013 · Winton received the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Medal in a special ceremony held at the Embassy of Sweden in London with the presence of ...
[78]
Brit given highest Czech honor for WWII heroism - CBS News
Oct 28, 2014 · Nicholas Winton has received other honors. He's become Sir Nicholas -- knighted by The Queen. And now he has another honor he never wanted.
[79]
Nicholas Winton, the 'British Schindler', honoured by Czechs
21 de mai. de 2014 · Sir Nicholas Winton enabled 669 children – mostly Jewish – to escape from the German-occupied country, then part of Czechoslovakia, and come to ...
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Man who saved hundreds of children from Nazis celebrates 100th ...
May 19, 2009 · Sir Nicholas Winton – the British man who helped save 669 Czechoslovak Jewish children from the Nazis in 1939 – will receive a telegram from the Queen on ...Missing: celebrations | Show results with:celebrations
[81]
https://mzv.gov.cz/london/en/what_s_new/sir_nicholas_winton_s_100th_birthday.html
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Prague orchard dedicated - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
May 20, 2009 · The orchard was started to mark Winton's 100th birthday. Winton organized transportation from Czechoslovakia to Britain and ensured that British ...
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WWII rescue train trip recreated - BBC News
Sep 4, 2009 · A train carrying evacuees who escaped the Holocaust has been met in the UK by the man who arranged their rescue.<|separator|>
[84]
Jews who fled Nazis as kids recreate train trip - NBC News
Sep 4, 2009 · A vintage train carrying Holocaust survivors pulled into London on Friday, ending a three-day trip across Europe that marked the 70th anniversary of their ...
[85]
Sir Nicholas Winton obituary | Holocaust | The Guardian
Jul 1, 2015 · Sir Nicholas Winton, who has died aged 106, became known belatedly as “the British Schindler” for his part in rescuing more than 600 children in Czechoslovakia ...
[86]
Private funeral held for Sir Nicholas Winton - Maidenhead Advertiser
Jul 22, 2015 · Family and close friends gathered at Chilterns Crematorium for Sir Nicholas' funeral, followed by a reception at Norden Farm Centre for the Arts ...Missing: details | Show results with:details
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Memorials to Sir Nicholas Winton
Sir Nicholas' ashes are buried alongside his wife Grete's and youngest son, Robin, in Braywick cemetery, Braywick Road, Maidenhead SL6 1DH. As Robin died and ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[88]
Nicholas Winton, savior of 669 Jewish children, passes away at 106
Jul 2, 2015 · Nicholas Winton, savior of 669 Jewish children, passes away at 106. 02 Jul ... reunited with a number of the children for a TV show in 1988.
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Contrary – YES Stubborn – Oh YES Determined ... - LinkedIn
Jul 1, 2025 · Ten years on, I still miss him. But the values he passed on – about courage, responsibility, and the Power of ONE – feel more vital than ever.Missing: son | Show results with:son
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Winton Children Farewell Memorial - Atlas Obscura
Feb 21, 2023 · In 2017, Prague's main station unveiled a touching memorial dedicated to British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton, who had passed two years ...
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Statue of Sir Nicholas Winton (2025) - Prague - Tripadvisor
Rating 4.5 (20) This statue depicts Nicholas Winton, also known as the "British Schindler," and his children, who helped transport Jewish children from Czechoslovakia to ...Missing: Maidenhead | Show results with:Maidenhead
[92]
Holocaust Memorial Day: Sir Nicholas Winton's statue lit up - BBC
Jan 26, 2021 · A statue of the man known as the "British Schindler" has been lit up to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Sir Nicholas Winton smuggled 669 boys and ...
[93]
Plaque unveiled for Kindertransport 'hero' at Maidenhead station
Aug 22, 2025 · A plaque was unveiled at Maidenhead railway station on Friday commemorating Sir Nicholas Winton who organised the rescue of 669 children before ...
[94]
Prague names street after British Holocaust hero Nicholas Winton
Sep 3, 2024 · A large mural of Nicholas Winton can be seen from the Prague street named after the Brit who saved hundreds of children from the Nazis.
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'British Schindler' Sir Nicholas Winton honoured with Czech postage ...
Sep 3, 2015 · Czech Post is honouring Sir Nicholas Winton, the “British Schindler” who organised mass evacuations of children to save them from Nazi concentration camps, ...
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Stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton released - BBC
Mar 15, 2016 · Sir Nicholas Winton died in 2015 aged 106, he is one of three people featured on a new commemorative set of £1.33 stamps.Missing: 2024 campaign
[97]
The Embassy hosted a gathering of Winton's children and their ...
Sep 24, 2024 · Ambassadors Chatardová and Ondrejcsák welcomed and presented commemorative gifts to 7 of the original 669 children whom Sir Nicholas Winton and ...
[98]
Leeds Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 - Facebook
Jan 24, 2025 · Son of Sir Nicholas Winton MBE, Nick Winton, will be helping mark ... children from Czechoslovakia. Watch the video below to hear more ...
[99]
All My Loved Ones (1999) - IMDb
Rating 7.3/10 (624) All My Loved Ones ... Told from the perspective of man reflecting on his childhood in Prague in the early years of World War 2 and the eventual destruction of his ...
[100]
All My Loved Ones - Wikipedia
All My Loved Ones (Czech: Všichni moji blízcí) is a 1999 Czech-language film directed by Matej Mináč. ... Nicholas Winton rescuing hundreds of children ...
[101]
One Life (2023) - IMDb
Rating 7.5/10 (37,003) One Life is an amazing story that I certainly had never heard about before. It's disappointing that it is told in such a conventional style. The story of ...User reviews · One Life · Los niños de Winton · Official Trailer<|separator|>
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Nicholas Winton saved my father from the Nazis – here's how One ...
Jan 1, 2024 · The new film about the British humanitarian who rescued 669 Czech Jewish children sticks to a feelgood script, and misses the more compelling reality.Missing: fates rate
[103]
One Life Review - Sarah G. Vincent Views
Mar 16, 2024 · Critics of “One Life” hate how the film does not emphasize the Jewish identity of Nicky's children and instead leans on their refugee status. As ...
[104]
Nicholas Winton: The Power of Good - National Center for Jewish Film
A gripping documentary about the courage and determination of a young English stockbroker who saved the lives of 669 children.
[105]
The Power of Good: Nicholas Winton (2002) - IMDb
Rating 8.3/10 (200) A gripping documentary about the courage and determination of a young English stockbroker who saved the lives of 669 children. Between March 13 and August 2 ...Missing: depictions | Show results with:depictions
[106]
Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton (That's Life - 1988) - YouTube
Feb 9, 2021 · ... rescued children. The BBC programme That's Life reunited him with just a few of the many hundreds of people he had rescued. Sir Nicholas was ...
[107]
60 Minutes: Sir Nicholas Winton "Saving the Children" - YouTube
May 27, 2014 · Discover the inspiring true story of Sir Nicholas Winton in the award-winning film "Nicky's Family", now on DVD: ...Missing: coordination transports Rotterdam Quakers
[108]
He Saved 669 Children From Nazis — 'Nicky & Vera' Tells His Story ...
Jan 27, 2021 · Nicholas Winton died in 2015 at age 106. Many of the 669 children he saved went on to work in the arts, the sciences, politics and human rights.Missing: fates rate<|separator|>
[109]
One Life: The True Story of Sir Nicholas Winton - Amazon.com
'Remarkable' - GuardianSir Nicholas Winton rescued 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia at the brink of World War II. Most never saw their parents ...