Nicholas Winton | |
|---|---|
 Winton in Prague on 10 October 2007 | |
| Born | Nicholas George Wertheim 19 May 1909 |
| Died | 1 July 2015 (aged 106) |
| Resting place | Braywick Cemetery, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England |
| Education | Stowe School |
| Occupation(s) | Stockbroker and Banker |
| Spouse |
Grete Gjelstrup
(m. 1948; died 1999) |
| Children | 3 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1940–1954 |
| Rank | Flight lieutenant |
| Awards | |
| Website | nicholaswinton |
Sir Nicholas George Winton MBE (né Wertheim; 19 May 1909 – 1 July 2015) was a British stockbroker and humanitarian who helped to rescue refugee children, mostly Jewish, whose families had fled persecution by Nazi Germany. Born to German-Jewish parents who had immigrated to Britain at the beginning of the 20th century, Winton assisted in the rescue of 669 children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II. On a brief visit to Czechoslovakia, he helped compile a list of children in danger and, returning to Britain, he worked to fulfill the legal requirements of bringing the children to Britain and finding homes and sponsors for them.[1] This operation was later known as the Czech Kindertransport (German for 'children's transport').
His humanitarian accomplishments remained unknown and unnoticed by the world for nearly 50 years until 1988 when he was invited to the BBC television programme That's Life!, where he was reunited with dozens of the children he had helped come to Britain and was introduced to many of their children and grandchildren. The British press celebrated him and dubbed him the "British Schindler".[2] In 2003, Winton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for "services to humanity, in saving Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia".[3] In 2014, he was awarded the highest honour of the Czech Republic, the Order of the White Lion (1st class), by Czech President Miloš Zeman. Winton died in 2015, aged 106.[4]
- ^ "Sir Nicholas Winton, A Man of Courage". Denmark: Auschwitz. 2008. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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Gazettewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Holocaust 'hero' Sir Nicholas Winton dies aged 106". BBC News. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2022.