Sir Nicholas Winton pictured in 2014 (Image: Getty)
Eight decades later, the Holocaust stands as one of humanity’s darkest moments. Between 1941 and 1945, six million Jewish people, alongside millions of others, were killed by the Nazis. Hitler’s ‘final solution’ involved rounding up Jewish people and transporting them to camps across German-occupied Poland, parts of the Soviet Union and beyond, where they faced systematic extermination.
Were it not for the courage of heroes like Sir Nicholas Winton, the death toll would have been even greater. Born in Hampstead, Sir Nicholas played a crucial role in organising the evacuation of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia through the Kindertransport programme as World War Two loomed.
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He is credited with personally rescuing no fewer than 669 youngsters from certain death under Nazi rule, yet his remarkable story remained hidden for nearly four decades. An extraordinary clip from a 1988 episode of BBC consumer affairs programme That’s Life! captures the emotional moment when Sir Nicholas was reunited with some of those he had saved, reports the Mirror.
In the footage, presenter Dame Esther Rantzen recounts Sir Nicholas’ extraordinary efforts, displaying the book in which he had meticulously documented the details of each child he rescued. She says: “We asked as many as possible of these grown up children to get in touch with us so they’d have the chance to thank Mr Winton personally. Can I ask, is there anyone in our audience tonight who owes their life to Nicholas Winton? If so, could you stand up please.”
In an extraordinary moment, scores of people surrounding Sir Nicholas rose to their feet, rendering him utterly lost for words.
The footage has captivated viewers for nearly 40 years, with Piers Morgan dubbing it “the greatest moment in television history”. It’s currently being circulated once more in the lead-up to Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27.
Sir Nicholas had apparently kept silent about his actions before 1939 until his wife Grete discovered his papers tucked away in an old briefcase. He was subsequently convinced to appear on That’s Life!, where he was celebrated as a hero.
His deeds drew comparisons to Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist renowned for rescuing 1,200 Jewish lives during the Holocaust.
Sir Nicholas was 29 when he travelled to Prague shortly after Christmas 1938, having been invited by a friend to witness the desperate situation of Jewish refugees fleeing across the German border. Recognising their peril, he organised train journeys to transport children to Britain and located host families prepared to care for the youngsters until adulthood.
He was knighted in 2003, and in 2014 was presented with the Order of the White Lion, the Czech Republic’s most prestigious honour. His remarkable story was brought to the big screen in the 2023 film One Life, with Sir Anthony Hopkins portraying him.
Sir Nicholas died in 2015 at the age of 106.
A tribute on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website reads: “Sir Nicholas Winton was an inspiration to many people, all around the world. He humbly insisted that anyone would have done the same. But they didn’t. Most people stood by.”