Nicholas Winton single-handedly established an organization 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.
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. Winton found homes for 669 children, many of whose parents perished in Auschwitz.
50 years later, in 1988, Winton was given a very touching surprise courtesy of the a BBC program "That's Life."
This made me cry. What a wonderful person.
ReplyDeleteJo... me too...fromthediagonal
Deleteme three. What a wonderful story and such a dignified quiet recognition for this quiet hero.
DeleteThe home gym brings out the heartwarming from the angry blogger.
ReplyDeleteBut wait, let's see what he's like after Bristols's show tonight.
Heart pain?
Bar$tool, $arah: GO AWAY!!!
DeleteAnony @ 6:53. Do you have anything to do besides being snarky and stupid?
DeleteGo back to the Paylin worshipers at C4Pee and
send more $ that you can't afford to her highness.
6:53 "the angry blogger"? what an odd comment, perhaps you should look up that word definition, and while you are at it look up "projection" also. Too.
DeleteStill can't speak English huh 6:53AM? Keep trying Sarah, you'll figure it out someday.
DeleteYou are a very sick and disturbed person, whoever you are. Get yourself into therapy. Really only a very mentally ill person would write something like this even if you didn't like what Gryphen wrote. You are sick.
Deletewhat bristols's show? the FAT-PIG wannabe kim kardharsian abusing her own kid on tv? yuck!
Deletelol, why because it will be the first show in history to record a viewership in the negative numbers??
DeletePay no attention to the alkie at 6:53AM everybody!
DeleteThat's just Baldy trying to drum (NO...not a cocaine covered 55 gallon drum dummy!) up interest in Beefy's stupid ass show!
The only video that warms Baldy's cold dead heart is anything with death and destruction in it...OR watching SPAK on her DVD player... which is pretty much the same thing! LOL!!
I lost quite a few relatives during the holocaust in both Poland and Lithuania.
ReplyDeleteWhat never ceases to amaze me is how easily the German citizens were fooled into thinking that the extremeists in the Nazi party were good for their country.
RIght now in the USA, we have a virtual "civil war" going on between the ultra religious right wing Teaparty, and the rest of us.
If we do not stand up and vote, and do whatever we can, we could also end up with an authoritarian and repressive government.
You're absolutely right A.J. I really worry about what my youngest relatives have to look forward to. I feel blessed to be a baby boomer, but I won't stop now!
DeleteAgree, A. J. Strongly agree.
DeleteOnce in a great while Mankind is blessed with someone who isn't concerned with their own comfort or safety; who sees a need and ACTS upon that need. If we had more people of this sort perhaps the world wouldn't be in as big a mess!
ReplyDeleteGryph, have you a link to the entire show? I could use a really good happy cry!
WOW!!! Made me cry too. What a wonderful man.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tribute to a great man. I was a child in England during WW11, many kids were evacuated to Wales, Scotland or the Midlands away from the blitz. Some never saw their parents again, lost in the war. War NEVER solves anything, just makes victims of many innocent people. Some heroes have to wait a long time before they are recognized. Thankfully, Mr. Winston was finally acknowledged.
ReplyDeleteYes, there were many who suffered and died during WW2. Among them the Russian people who suffered and died in larger numbers than any other people. It's just too bad they don't have film makers who need to tell their stories too.
DeleteMore than 669 children died when the US bombed an air raid shelter in Iraq during the Gulf War. It was claimed to be accidental but in truth it wasn't. And hey, that's not nearly 70 years ago!
DeleteThe compassion and actions of Nicholas Winton provided 669 children with the possibility of Life, Hope and a better future. Mr. Winton is a remarkable example of a human being who made a positive difference in the world of these children.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Uncle Gryphen. I needed that to confirm my (waning) belief in humanity!
ReplyDeleteAwesome man, Mr. Winston!
There is an Oscar-winning documentary called "Into the Arms of Strangers," which is all about the Kindertransport and features Nicholas Winton. It, too, will make you cry. I have watched it about eight times and cry every time. It is a beautiful film.
ReplyDeleteThank you for pointing us toward this film. 2 hrs, on YouTube. Very very moving.
DeleteAnd that, ladies and gentlemen, is a true Christian. As opposed to the screaming posers America is currently infested with.
ReplyDeleteBINGO!
DeleteYou know, I would say, "Someone beatify this man, quick!" But then again, such treatment might only insult the empirical goodness and decency of the man given the reputation of the church nowadays.
Absolutely gave me the chills. Thank you for posting Gryphen.
ReplyDeleteOne of the defining moments of my life was meeting Miep Gies, the secretary who helped hide the Frank family. I have the Diary of Anne Frank signed by Miep Gies and will treasure it my whole life.
ReplyDeleteWOW...how fantastic is THAT!!
DeleteThis is appropriate at this time when the people are starting to come to the realization that support of Israel's apartheid regime is causing America a lot of problems in the world today. And it 'is' getting to the point where there are no real survivors to tell their stories of gas ovens, human skin lampshades, and whatever. The Zionists are surely getting desperate.
ReplyDeleteTake heart, there are lots of Vietnamese people who can still tell their stories of the American made holocaust that cost the lives of millions.
His life was gentle;
ReplyDeleteand the elements
So mixed in him,
that Nature might stand up,
And say to all the world,
THIS WAS A MAN!
`
- William Shakespeare
*Sniff.* Thanks, Gryphen.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnother man who similarly saved many lives was Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish hero who died somewhere in the Soviet prison system, perhaps in the late 1940s, perhaps later.
Below is a link to a video which adds more of a back story to what happened. The video portion in your post begins at about 6:13 in this 9 minute video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irv5RlY2qxE
ReplyDeleteIn working on my family genealogy I sadly realized that a large portion of my great grandmother's sister's family perished in the Holocaust.
Although they were born in what was Hungary, today that area part of the Slovakia. Not so far away from where this rescue of children occurred.
The entire audience standing gave me goosebumps. We are now generations removed from WWII. So, those 669 children saved allowed thousands of more children to be born.
Sometimes it is nice to be reminded of those good things that one person can accomplish even during the most desperate of times.
Thanks, for showing the "kind" in "mankind". What a beautiful tribute to a humble, good man.
ReplyDeleteThis gave me goosebumps!