One Life

#SirNicholasWinton helped rescue 669 children, mostly Jewish, whose families had fled persecution by Nazi Germany. On a brief visit to Czechoslovakia, he helped compile a list of children in danger + returning to Britain, he worked to fulfill legal + monetary requirements for bringing the children to Britain thus enabling the #CzechKindertransport. Winton acknowledges the vital roles of those who remained in Prague, like #TrevorChadwick, who "dealt with all the considerable problems at the Prague end + this work he continued to carry on even when it became difficult + dangerous when the Germans arrived.". The 9th + largest transport of 250 children was stopped at the last minute, canceled because Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Those children were removed from the train + returned to their families.
Winton kept his humanitarian accomplishments to himself until 1988 when his wife found his detailed scrapbook in their attic. The book was given to #ElisabethMaxwell, a Holocaust researcher who was able to locate many of #Wintonschildren. He was invited to the TV program #ThatsLife!, where host #EstherRantzen reunited him with some of those he had helped, as well as their families. Winton was knighted in 2003 + in 2025 a #film of his story was released starring #AnthonyHopkins #JohnnyFlynn + #HelenaBonhamCarter titled #OneLife - a reference to a line from the Talmud: "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire"

#nicholaswinton #holocaust #wwii #refugees #rescuers #wwiihistory #humanitarian #filmworld #cinema #kino #movies #jewishhistory #kindertransport