Nicholas Winton and the Rescued Generation: Save One Life, Save the World

by Muriel Emanuel, Vera Gissing

When Nicholas Winton met a friend in Prague in December 1938, he was shocked by the plight of thousands of refugees and Czech citizens desperate to flee from the advancing German army. A British organisation had been set up to help the adults, but who would save the children? Winton felt he could not walk away. He set up a makeshift office and in just three weeks interviewed thousands of distraught parents who had the courage to part with their children and send them alone to England. Armed with their details and photos, he returned to London to convince the Home Office of the urgency of the situation. He knew he was working against time. His supreme efforts resulted in eight trainloads bringing 669, mainly Jewish, children to London. For half a century these children, now dispersed and in their seventies, were unaware of the person to whom they owed their lives. To Winton, it was just a job. Even his wife knew nothing of what is undoubtedly his greatest achievement, until 1988, when clearing out the attic she came across documentation relating to the episode. From that moment, Winton's life was never the same again. Winton has been a remarkable humanitarian all his life. After the war, wishing to be involved with the rehabilitation of Europe's refugees, he worked for international organisations. He retired early, settled in Maidenhead and devoted himself to charitable works for which he was honoured with the MBE in 1983. Amongst other awards, he was granted the freedom of the City of Prague in 1991 and was awarded the Tomas Garrigue Masaryk Order by President Havel in a grand ceremony in Hradcany Castle in 1999. Nicolas Winton documentary (Power of Good) has won the 2002 International Emmy Award, in the category of TV documentary.

Genres: Holocaust, Biography, Nonfiction, Historical, History

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2001

Reviews

[Helen O'Toole · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a find! I discovered this pristine condition book for $1 in an opportunity/thrift shop. Upon bringing it home, I noticed with joy that the hero, now 105 year old Englishman, Nicholas Winton, had written his signature on the title page. Such spidery hesitant writing as one would expect from such an old man.
I knew this heroic tale, having seen Esther Rantzen's That's Life tv show in 1988. I was deeply moved that this young man had demonstrated such generosity of spirit to save 669, mainly Jewish children from Nazi occupied Prague. The book did not disappoint. Many voices all contributed to a moving tale of human goodness.

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written and moving story of a man who chose to act when the odds of success were very low ... his initiative saved 669 children and their descendants, representing a large percentage of Czechoslovakia's Jewish population, most of whom were murdered by the Nazis.

... memories from a child who left ... my mother took every step to get my sister and I accepted for transport … I will never forget my father's shocked face when she told him we have both been selected … how old and haggard he suddenly looked … we waited in tense silence until he finally smiled and said with tears in his eyes 'let them go' ... Until the day we left, our father kept saying 'you'll be back within a year' ... Had we admitted what we really felt to each other, I doubt we could have parted.

I hope to arrange a "fictional meeting" between Nicholas Winton and my character Anna in Britain soon after the completion of the Prague transports, providing inspiration for Anna to continue her work in the face of similar overwhelming odds.

[Kathryn Alp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks, Helen! A truly remarkable person.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful unassuming human being. Uplifting story.

[Julie Madge · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing True story about a selfless young man doing good around evil!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having watched and been moved by the film 'One Life' starring Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn as Nicholas Winton, I tracked this down in the library.

[Steven Kellett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently saw the documentary and it was outstanding. I wanted to learn more about Nicholas Winton but this book only gave a few tidbits more than the documentary. Winton's mother was Jewish but Winton had been baptized and although his family lived in a Jewish neighborhood, the family did not identify as Jewish. Nor did Winton but he saved hundreds of Czech Jewish children. He is quoted as saying: "I was after saving lives not souls. If you prefer a dead Jew to a proselytised one, that's your business." The book mentioned the Barbican Mission which I need to look up. Those folks also took refugee children out of Nazi hands. However, they pre- baptized the children before they'd transport the children to England. Another group to research was called Christadelphian. These are areas of the Holocaust that I've not thought about in the past. Nicholas Winton is one of the most unique people I've ever heard of, his humility is amazing. No one, not his wife or children, or the 669 children he got transported to England knew what he did or his identity until 50 years after the fact. Remarkable. Yasher Koach Nicholas!!!! PS The writing got in the way of the story but it couldn't diminish the amazing story of Nicholas Winton.

[Sarah Gessel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess when I as reading the other world war 2 book, I was hoping it would be like this. A main story with the addition of follow up stories of some of the saved children. Very good for non-fiction.