Here are some facts about Nicholas Winton.
- Nicholas Winton is a British humanitarian who saved many Jewish children from the Holocaust.
- Just before World War II started, he devised a plan to rescue 669 Jewish children from Czechoslovakia.
- Winton was born in London, in 1909. He was the son of Jewish German parents, and the family changed their name from Wertheim to fit in.
- Winton was working as a stockbroker in London when his friend rang him from Czechoslovakia asking for his help.
- When he returned to England from Czechoslovakia, he often worked late at night on his plan. He formed a committee, which consisted of himself, his mother, some volunteers and a secretary.
- He contacted the governments of several countries to ask them if they would take the children. Only the UK and Sweden said that they would help.
- The first group of children left Czechoslovakia on March 14, 1939. They flew to the UK, although 7 other groups travelled by train and boat across Europe and the English Channel.
- Nicholas Winton didn’t tell anyone outside of the committee what he had done, until after the war.
- His wife found a scrapbook with all the details, and 1988 he talked about his achievement on television.
- Today, the rescued children call themselves ‘Winton’s Children’ and they often visit his house to thank him.
- Further groups of children were scheduled to leave on September 1st, 1939 but they were stopped by the German invasion of Poland.
- Winton celebrated his 100th birthday by flying in a small plane piloted by the daughter of one of the rescued boys.
- In September, 2009, a special Winton train travelled from Prague to London.
- Nicholas Winton has been awarded the OBE and the Pride of Britain Award. There is a Czech school named after him, as well as a small planet.
