Profile of the Day: Nicholas Winton

Posted July 2, 2015 by Amanda | 2 Comments

Nicholas Winton

Today we remember Holocaust hero Nicholas Winton, who passed away yesterday at the age of 106.

Nicholas George Wertheim was born on May 19, 1909 in Hampstead, London. Often called the “British Schindler,” Winton was a young stockbroker when he organized the transport of 669 Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to Britain in 1939. His actions saved the lives of hundreds Jewish children who would have been destined for Nazi concentration camps.

Shortly before Christmas in 1938, Winton had plans to fly to Switzerland for a vacation. However, he dropped everything when he received a call from a friend in Czechoslovakia who was involved with Jewish refugee work and immediately traveled to Prague to help. Winton found foster homes in Britain for the children and arranged for their safe passage. He organized eight trains to safely transport the children into the country. Sadly, the last train with 250 children on board would not make it. Germany had invaded Poland on the same day the train was scheduled to depart. All German-controlled borders were closed and World War II had begun.

A reluctant hero, Winton kept quiet about his humanitarian exploits for many years. It wasn’t until his wife found an old scrapbook in their attic in 1988 that his heroic actions became known. The book contained lists of the children, their parents’ names and the names and addresses of the families that took them.

In 2003, Winton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his actions.

Winton died the morning of July 1, 2015 at Wexham Hospital in Slough, England.

RIP Nicholas Winton.