1 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,599 There are some stories which we are not only an audience to, 2 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,439 but may become their participants. 3 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:06,079 Until 1988 it was all a mystery. 4 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,879 This old man saved my life 5 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,039 and that of hundreds of others in the 2nd world war. 6 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,999 Yet for 50 years after our escape from all but a certain death, 7 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,119 we knew nothing about him. 8 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:27,639 Not even that he existed. 9 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,279 Now he is celebrated as a hero. 10 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:40,119 He insists that what he did was nothing to make a fuss about. 11 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:47,879 His story came to fascinate people the world over, especially children. 12 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:53,359 They wanted to know more, much more. And they had questions. 13 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:55,479 Why did he do it? 14 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:00,239 How did he manage to succeed in what seemed like mission impossible? 15 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,879 So along with others I set out to discover 16 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:07,839 and tell the story in a film. 17 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,719 Given that I owe my life to him I couldn't have done no less. 18 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:35,279 NICKY'S FAMILY 19 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,839 Nicky's story came out by accident 20 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:48,639 after this scrapbook surfaced after gathering dust decades. 21 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:53,639 Once it did, though, it set about a whole chain of incredible events. 22 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:56,639 Oh, hey guys, that's me. 23 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,559 -Really? -Before I left for England. 24 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,479 The scrapbook is filled with photographs of children 25 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,999 caught up in a lottery of life and death, some of their drawings, 26 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:12,759 urgent telegrams and pleading letters from their desperate parents - 27 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:14,799 messages from a long ago past 28 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,959 that brought on a rush of childhood memories. 29 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:41,479 Memories of the 1930's, 30 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:45,039 of the pleasures of childhood in Czechoslovakia - 31 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,399 the country we all came from. 32 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,119 As I remember life in my own hometown of Bratislava, 33 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,159 the capital of Slovakia, 34 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:57,719 it was a pleasant, tolerant, multicultural and multilingual place. 35 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,959 I learned to greet my mother's women friends 36 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,719 with the then standard politeness of: "I kiss your hand." 37 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:08,639 It was, and I remember it still: "Ruku bozkavam" in Slovak, 38 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,759 "Ruku libam" in Czech, "Ich kuess die Hand" in German 39 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,399 and "Kese czokolom" in Hungarian. 40 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,559 What I remember most vividly, though, are the small things 41 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:30,399 like going to a caf� with my father. 42 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,999 And he used to play chess and we used to get hot chocolate 43 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:37,839 with lots of whipped cream on top of it. 44 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,559 From my childhood as a family, we were very patriotic. 45 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:50,959 My father encouraged us to go to all the Czech wonderful manifestations 46 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,719 that took part because Czechoslovakia was for the first time 47 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:00,039 a country of its own and we all believed in its great future. 48 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,439 49 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:16,719 and enjoyed many good things. 50 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:18,599 My brother was marvelous. 51 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:22,239 He invented all kinds of wonderful games for us to do, 52 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,719 which were usually a bit risky and a bit naughty. 53 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,399 And I would have done anything with him at all. 54 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,799 We lived in a small village in the foothills of Tatra mountains. 55 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:38,119 And we had a very happy childhood. 56 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:42,319 We spent a lot of time in the woods, 57 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,039 picking strawberries and mushrooms and wild flowers. 58 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:48,599 And we had animals. 59 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:54,599 I had a chicken, and we had one cow, and we planted vegetables. 60 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,439 And my mother taught us all the Slovak songs 61 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,079 and we sang together a great deal. 62 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:29,159 We used to go every Sunday to Karlovy Vary along the promenade. 63 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:35,319 My father was an amateur dancer and won many prizes 64 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:38,439 and it was a well-known family outing. 65 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:45,439 We had a good life till the Nazis took over in 1938. 66 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:49,879 Before Nazism was born and grew and strength in Central Europe. 67 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:10,439 It started with Germany's Nazi dictator, Adolph Hitler, 68 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,879 instilling hatred in Germans from childhood up for everything 69 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:19,519 he considered foreign, most of all for Jews, Gypsies and Slavs. 70 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:26,159 And he used the hate he had whipped up to prepare his nation for war. 71 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:42,519 You could hear Hitler's voice raving on the radio. 72 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,079 You could see the Hitlerjugend - Hitler youth, 73 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,599 marching through our streets 74 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:56,559 and you could feel the danger getting closer and closer and closer. 75 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:04,039 We were 7-year-old children in 2nd grade (in German school) 76 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:08,039 and one day a girl comes up to me and slaps me on the face, 77 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,959 and she said: My father told me to do that. 78 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,919 So I was stunned, I was flabbergasted. How can she do that? 79 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:25,239 I was only about 4 or 5 years old (living in Sudetenland), 80 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,759 but I hit my head on the central heating radiator 81 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,839 and I cut my head open and I remember my father taking me to the doctor 82 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,719 and the doctor looked at it and he said: 83 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:40,759 That does need stitching, but I don't stitch Jews. 84 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,519 The hatred coming from Germany didn't just endanger Jews, 85 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:48,599 but also the Czechs as well. 86 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:53,599 They turned out to protest Hitler's demands for a chunk of their country, 87 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:55,959 the so-called Sudeten borderlands. 88 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,319 The Czechs mobilized to defend themselves. 89 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:07,239 But they needed help from their allies in the West. 90 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:12,399 Neither in Britain nor for that matter in any other democracy 91 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:16,919 was there any great will to confront Hitler and risk war. 92 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,119 So the British and French prime ministers went to Munich 93 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:26,239 and ended up signing a humiliating deal with Hitler. 94 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:38,039 The word Munich has ever since then stood for cowardly appeasement. 95 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:42,159 At the time, though, when Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain 96 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:46,079 returned here to parliament and waved that piece of paper 97 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:49,479 and declared it to have brought peace for our time 98 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:52,639 a wave of relief swept through most of Europe. 99 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:55,319 But not in Czechoslovakia, of course. 100 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:12,799 We lived in Sudetenland, in the town of Pohberovice, 101 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,599 which is near to the border of Germany. 102 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:19,559 It all happened so suddenly. 103 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,799 My mother took us 4 children, 104 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:29,319 we didn't manage to take anything at all, we just ran for our lives. 105 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,319 This was frightening for children. 106 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:35,279 I remember standing in front of a shop window 107 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,479 where there was a map of Czechoslovak republic 108 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:41,639 and in black ink was marked in the part, 109 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:43,959 which was handed over to Hitler. 110 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:49,639 And there were people all around the shop making all kinds of bad remarks: 111 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:54,279 Well, you can't do that, we will fight, we will fight, we will fight. 112 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,879 I remember the following day loading all our few belongings, 113 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:04,719 there weren't too much, on a horse and cart and we were out of there. 114 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:10,879 My parents, my brother and I and that time I was just 6 years old. 115 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,919 We had no clue what was going on. 116 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:26,079 There was a new refugee in our class 117 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:33,279 and I was most surprised to see that she had no shoes on her feet. 118 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:37,239 When break came, I ran across the road 119 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:43,159 and took out of my wardrobe my best shoes and brought them to her. 120 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,119 I told mother what had happened. 121 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:51,999 Tears appeared on her face and she hugged me. 122 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:56,199 And she said: You did the right thing, my little girl. 123 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,879 The first pages of the scrapbook and of our story 124 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,159 came to be written in December 1938. 125 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,879 You look at the pictures and the list of all of us 126 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:22,679 and you have to wonder 127 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:27,799 what made a 29-year-old Englishman do such a thing? 128 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:38,159 In a way, what Winton did was surprising. 129 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,719 The world was his oyster. In the depth of the Great Depression, 130 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:47,599 his job as a stock broker allowed him to enjoy the good life. 131 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:52,599 He was a champion fencer also loved to sail, to ski and to travel. 132 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,119 In 1938, with Christmas approaching, 133 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:05,919 Winton had his mind set on going to Switzerland for a skiing holiday. 134 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,759 He wasn't exactly the kind of young man 135 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:13,399 you would normally associate with a passion for altruism. 136 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,639 At least not until that phone call that changed his life, 137 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,799 my life and the lives of so many others. 138 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:30,079 The phone call was from Prague, from Martin Blake, 139 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:34,239 a friend with whom Nicky had planned to go on that skiing trip. 140 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,799 Blake said he couldn't make it because he had gone to Czechoslovakia 141 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:41,719 to help people in trouble with the Germans. 142 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,559 So Nicky decided to forget the ski trip and join Blake 143 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,039 to take a look at what was going on there. 144 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:02,199 I went to Prague with the background knowledge of people in England 145 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:07,159 who felt they knew much more about what Hitler was up to 146 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,079 than the present government. 147 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,719 The first thing I did then was to go around the camps 148 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,399 where all the people endangered by the Nazis 149 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:28,839 were living in misenhuts with one little stove in the middle. 150 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,519 And the conditions were pretty terrible. 151 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:37,759 It was very cold, snow on the ground; 152 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:41,199 a lot of the refugees were in a very bad shape. 153 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,039 They felt that their days were numbered 154 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:48,359 before the Germans were going to arrive in Czechoslovakia. 155 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:52,439 But how could they save themselves? What could they do? 156 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,519 Where should they go? They were stuck. 157 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,719 While Winton was in Prague, he was given a map that shook him up. 158 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:05,759 He showed the map - 159 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:10,959 a map of German plans and ambitions for territorial expansion to friends. 160 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:16,439 It says: Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuhrer. 161 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,879 One people, one empire, one Fuhrer. Gross Deutschland. 162 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:22,879 And what it showed was 163 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:27,159 that the Germans had an ambition to take over the whole of Europe. 164 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,399 Nobody had believed it. 165 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,999 There were many other people refugees like us, small children. 166 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:56,119 There was a fire, smoke from cooking and heating and... 167 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:02,239 I remember being given something hot because it was cold weather then. 168 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:10,359 The desperation was not just among the poor in the camps. 169 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,199 In Prague and elsewhere, anxious parents, 170 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,639 having heard about this concerned Englishman, 171 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:19,039 headed for Winton's hotel. 172 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:26,159 Well, I didn't get much sleep. I got to bed very late 173 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:30,159 and there were people knocking at my door in the morning. 174 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:40,679 I saw those people who were in difficulty, in danger, 175 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:45,919 people on Hitler's black list for whom there was nobody to help. 176 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:51,159 I thought, at least I ought to try to save the children. 177 00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:07,999 Everybody in Prague said: 178 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:11,399 There is no organization to deal with the children. 179 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:13,559 We can't deal with them. 180 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,199 Anyway, nobody will let the children in on their own. 181 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,879 But if you want to have a go, have a go. 182 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:24,719 And I have a motto that if something isn't blatantly impossible, 183 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,239 there must be a way of doing it. 184 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:41,639 So he started writing letters, here and there, asking for help. 185 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:45,439 And he had no hesitation about going right to the top - 186 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:49,639 writing to the White House, to president Franklin Roosevelt. 187 00:17:55,720 --> 00:18:00,879 A few weeks later, he got a reply. Not from the White House, though, 188 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,239 from much lower down on the diplomatic foot chain. 189 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:06,519 From this building here in London 190 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:10,039 which at the time housed the American embassy. 191 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:20,279 And the reply said: The United States government 192 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:22,719 is unable to permit immigration 193 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,799 in excess of that provided for by existing laws. 194 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,519 But Winton wasn't about to let this stop him. 195 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:42,399 He and his helpers started making up the list of children 196 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:47,279 without actually knowing whether they would be able to help them. 197 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:51,679 This is the caf� that I came down every day. 198 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,479 I wasn't sitting there for more than two minutes 199 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,279 before the first people came to talk to me 200 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:02,159 and find out how they could get their children to England. 201 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,039 And this went on the whole time I was here. 202 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:19,479 As word of his campaign spread, it drew the attention of the Germans. 203 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,879 They suspected that Winton's efforts 204 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:26,119 were about something more than just getting out a few children. 205 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,959 When their distant observations produced nothing, 206 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,279 they decided they needed to get closer to him. 207 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:49,279 Which they did - using one of the oldest tricks in the spy business - 208 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,559 the lure of a beautiful woman. 209 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:08,359 They met, as if by chance, at the hotel Sroubek. 210 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:13,599 Nicky was enchanted and not just by her beauty. 211 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:15,759 Her name, she said, was Kerstin 212 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:20,439 and she was the Prague representative of the Swedish Red Cross. 213 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:24,999 I do say she was very beautiful. 214 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:30,279 I mean, it's traditional for a spy to be beautiful, isn't it? 215 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,519 You can't have an ugly spy, it's a contradiction in terms. 216 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:42,799 She told him she had the permission to bring the children to Sweden. 217 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,279 Winton's hopes soared. 218 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,279 Finally, a chance perhaps, to get some children out. 219 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:03,039 Friends warned him that she was a known Nazi spy. 220 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,479 Nicky forged ahead anyway and kept on seeing her. 221 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,399 And it paid off. 222 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:19,439 Kerstin got 25 children admitted to Sweden. 223 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,439 In fact, she flew off to Sweden with them 224 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,919 and disappeared from Nicky's life completely. 225 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:40,959 My parents tried every way to get us out of Czechoslovakia. 226 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:48,639 We tried to get to America, we tried to get to England, to Palestine. 227 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,279 But all the governments said: Our borders are now closed. 228 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:59,879 My mother got up every day at 4 o'clock 229 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:04,359 and went to stand in queues of different consulates - 230 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:10,639 for getting papers to Uruguay and some other unmentionable places. 231 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,039 And there was no way out. 232 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:18,119 We knew that the timing was absolutely essential 233 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,919 to do everything now and quickly. 234 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:25,999 The number of children 235 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,999 who were in urgent need of leaving the country for safety 236 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,119 was certainly over two thousand. 237 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,679 Nicky kept of meeting with the families, 238 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,079 working on a list of children. 239 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:50,119 Then suddenly his work was threatened by a phone call from London. 240 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:52,799 The call was from his boss. 241 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:55,839 My boss from the stock exchange 242 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:59,879 didn't think that what I was doing in Prague was important. 243 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,839 He didn't think it was necessary. 244 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:06,239 He said: Why do you want to stay in Czechoslovakia 245 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:10,879 and help those far-off people the people don't know anything about? 246 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,239 He was just a money chap on the stock exchange. 247 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:17,639 Completely non-humanitarian, 248 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,559 with bags of money and all he thought about was money. 249 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,319 Winton, to the relief of his co-workers, 250 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,479 decided to defy his boss and stay in Prague. 251 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:36,599 Nicky Winton's efforts came to the ears of all those 252 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,559 who had decided to send their children away 253 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:45,119 that my father also approached this Refugee Committee. 254 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:53,719 My mother took me to the Winton office on Hrubesova ulice. 255 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,799 We stood in line on a winding staircase for hours 256 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:02,319 till my turn came and I was registered. 257 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:15,559 The parents exchanged their hopes and fears 258 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:19,319 and we children eyed each other for potential friends. 259 00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:27,759 You had all these refugees who were fleeing from Hitler 260 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,559 and who were in danger of their lives 261 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:35,479 if Hitler made another move into Czechoslovakia. 262 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,519 This was the day the Germans occupied Prague. 263 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:53,919 There were convoys approaching, 264 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:58,319 Germans with motorcycles in front with sidecars 265 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:01,999 and behind them there were the big trucks, 266 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,519 open trucks with soldiers seated on two rows. 267 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:10,119 People on the streets were screaming at them, women were crying. 268 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:21,599 Finally, a very large Mercedes drove past with Hitler standing there, 269 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:28,239 with his arm raised, with three officers sitting behind. 270 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:32,959 It was so quiet, it was like you could hear the pin drop. 271 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:42,479 It was a very disturbing feeling to me, I was 10 years old. 272 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,399 As soon as Hitler came in, a Nazi officer came to our school 273 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,199 and said: Who are the Jewish children? 274 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,039 And another child and I put my hand up. 275 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:11,759 So he said: You will sit at the back! Jewish children sit at the back! 276 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,559 When he went out the headmaster came in and he said: 277 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:21,159 From now on, the back seat is the seat of honor. 278 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:23,799 Only the best children sit there. 279 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,119 That was Czechoslovakia. 280 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:35,079 Winton wrote all over, looking for countries to take in these children. 281 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:39,559 Only one responded positively - his own country, Britain. 282 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:43,279 The rest of the world closed its eyes, its ears, 283 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:46,959 its hearts and its gates. 284 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,199 Winton started his work in London from scratch. 285 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,399 There was no organization, no existing pipeline 286 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:01,639 and he was convinced that time was running out, that war about to come. 287 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,599 From this house on London's Hampstead Heath, 288 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:09,639 Winton conducted his campaign 289 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,559 to get the Germans to let the children out, 290 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,199 the British Home Office to let them in, 291 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,879 to find British families to take them into their homes 292 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:22,119 and to raise the money to make it all possible. 293 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,239 One of the chief problems was that people said 294 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,959 that the English government would never allow children in 295 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,359 on their own without their parents. 296 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:43,119 I asked the Home Office and they said yes. 297 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:48,839 And they gave me certain conditions, which were difficult. 298 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:53,959 I had to find a family, which would look after the child. 299 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,999 And each child had to have a guarantor of 50 pounds. 300 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,399 It was a hell of a lot of money. 301 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:04,839 When I say the Committee in London, 302 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:08,119 it was me and a secretary working from home. 303 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:12,479 I mean, we had no office. We weren't an official body at all. 304 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,639 So all I had to do was to buy some notepaper 305 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:20,119 and print British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia. 306 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:27,279 And at a very special meeting I had with myself 307 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:33,199 I them appointed myself Honorary Secretary. 308 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,079 Then I had the police 'round 309 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:48,159 asking me why I had so much correspondence with Prague. 310 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,319 The situation in Prague was serious. 311 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,759 There was active menacing hostility from the Germans. 312 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:13,399 When Hitler came and Germans occupied Czechoslovakia 313 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,079 I had to leave school. 314 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:20,039 We couldn't go to the movies, to the opera 315 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:22,639 or to concert, everything was forbidden. 316 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:29,479 Father was driving along the Karlovo namesti, 317 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:32,559 saw that the Gestapo made an action there - 318 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:36,879 and they were taking people out and putting them on a truck. 319 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,679 Every family was scared. Which family wasn't scared? 320 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:43,559 Every family was scared. 321 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:48,639 Whenever my father left for the office in the morning 322 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,199 my mother was terribly upset and quite often cried 323 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:58,679 because she was so worried that he might never come home again, 324 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:01,319 being arrested by the Germans. 325 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:06,639 One day, some German officers came to this Jewish town hall 326 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,959 and demanded from my father 327 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:17,359 a list of names and addresses of the Jews in Prague. 328 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:22,479 And he told them that he didn't have anything like that. 329 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:37,119 My father was a wanted person. 330 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:39,359 And he was warned to leave. 331 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:44,719 A few days later the Gestapo did come to look for him. 332 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:48,319 They took my mother away for questioning. 333 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:58,639 Well, I was beginning to pick up tension and worry in the grownups. 334 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:03,479 My uncle and his wife committed suicide. 335 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:09,999 And then, the next day, 336 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,119 someone came to our house and said Brno was burning. 337 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:16,959 I was terrified of fire. 338 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:19,759 That was the day then 339 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:25,159 that there were 3, 4 synagogues burned down to the ground. 340 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:34,839 As the despair of the parents grew, so did the pressure on Winton. 341 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:38,719 With photographs of applicants continuing to flow in. 342 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:45,199 A simple snapshot could often decide the fate of a child. 343 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:59,279 We received the pictures of the children from Prague 344 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:01,759 with details of each child. 345 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,599 We enlisted these pictures in the local press, 346 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,159 the national press, in Picture Post, 347 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:11,679 which was a journal which helped us enormously. 348 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:18,119 What made Winton so effective 349 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,799 was that in the addition of his skills as a salesman, 350 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:27,519 he also had a creative spark and willingness to experiment. 351 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:41,239 We put 6 or 8 of these children together on one card 352 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:43,719 merely to speed up the process 353 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,879 of getting the British families to choose. 354 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:53,759 If somebody said: We'd like to take a child, we just said: What sex? 355 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:56,159 And then we said: What age? 356 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,639 We gave them pictures of half a dozen children 357 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:02,959 and then we asked them to choose a child, 358 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:07,559 which was rather a commercial way of dealing with it, 359 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,079 but it was quick and effective and it worked. 360 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:14,199 And in most cases it went right. 361 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:46,279 When somebody wanted to take a child, 362 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:50,959 say they were up in Newcastle, from London which is a long way away, 363 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,919 we got somebody in Newcastle to see that the family was ok. 364 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,959 Then we got to send them photos of a number of children. 365 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,799 My father came home with his eyes shining, 366 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,239 grinning from ear to ear and said: 367 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:12,359 We think we may be able to save a child. 368 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:17,199 And my mother said: That's all very well with your head in the clouds, 369 00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:20,599 always saving the world, but how can we afford it, 370 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:23,519 an extra child coming into our home? 371 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:26,679 And my father said: There's a child in need, 372 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:31,079 we will work out "Can we afford it?" later. 373 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:35,119 And he got from Nicholas Winton two photographs 374 00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:37,799 and put them in front of me and said: 375 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:41,199 Now, these are little girls now you must choose. 376 00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:45,159 This isn't just a game anymore, you have to be serious. 377 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:49,239 So I chose Vera Diamantova. 378 00:34:53,240 --> 00:34:56,159 How did you feel when you were told or asked 379 00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:59,039 that you were going to go to England? 380 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:02,799 We were sitting down around a table having supper. 381 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:10,279 But mother wasn't eating and suddenly she put her knife and fork down 382 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:14,879 and looked at father and said very quietly: 383 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:21,999 I heard today that both Eva and Vera can go to England. 384 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:27,279 And my father looked up and there were tears in her eyes as he said: 385 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:31,759 We have to let them go. 386 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:42,119 There was a lot of sadness in the house 387 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:47,799 and also a sort of peculiar atmosphere. 388 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:52,279 My father looked sad, my mother, obviously, was devastated. 389 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:59,399 One day I remember my father called me and he said: 390 00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:02,079 You're going on a long journey. 391 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:06,159 You're going to a country called England. 392 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:09,679 We can't come with you. 393 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:30,599 The pressure from the parents was incredible. 394 00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:39,079 We in London at that time thought 395 00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:43,399 that there was going to be a catastrophe at any moment. 396 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:47,079 And for us time was absolutely essential. 397 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:49,239 We cut all kinds of corners, 398 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:54,799 even having faked passports or travel documents 399 00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:59,919 made at some time because the Home Office was a bit slow. 400 00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:07,559 It was a forgery to bamboozle the Germans, really, 401 00:37:07,720 --> 00:37:09,679 not to bamboozle the British. 402 00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:12,559 We didn't bring anybody in illegally, 403 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:16,199 we just speeded the process up a little. 404 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:28,399 Two days before I left with the Kindertransport, 405 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,079 my parents took me to some resort near Prague 406 00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:37,359 where there was a lake where they wanted to be alone with me. 407 00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:43,359 I saw a very pretty young girl there 408 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:47,119 and I offered to teach her how to row 409 00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:54,039 and I got completely lost in this activity. 410 00:37:55,640 --> 00:38:00,599 Finally when I came back my mother looked at me with great relief 411 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:02,519 and reproach and said: 412 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:07,439 Is that what you do to your parents one day before you are leaving? 413 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:10,999 And I felt very guilty about it. 414 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:16,319 I have a dress that my mother made for me. 415 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:18,799 She made everything herself. 416 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:22,999 She sowed for us to have clothes not only for the age 417 00:38:23,040 --> 00:38:25,919 that we were at the time, but for... 418 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:31,319 she didn't know how long it would last, how long we would be away, 419 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:34,679 so she sowed for a year ahead or so. 420 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,959 Then the day came when we had to leave. 421 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:43,439 We went to the train. Everybody was there already - 422 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:47,559 my grandparents and all our friends and all our neighbors. 423 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:49,679 And they came to say good-bye. 424 00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:58,319 My mother with a friend of hers took me to station. 425 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:05,559 And I can still see the tension on my mother's face, looking anxious. 426 00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:10,079 There were German soldiers standing nearby, 427 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:13,199 lots of other parents seeing their children off 428 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:19,479 and a clear sense of tension, which even a 6-year-old child felt. 429 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:26,239 My mom, she's crying so hard and... She was hysterical. 430 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:31,079 And she's asking us over and over: Are you sure you want to go? 431 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:34,559 Are you sure you want to go? 432 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:38,559 I am frustrated - why is my mother crying like that? 433 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:47,919 The transport was due to leave, I'd get a message from the Germans: 434 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:52,599 We can't let the transport go unless you give us so much more money. 435 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:57,199 So they were terrible. You just had to find the money. 436 00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:03,039 There's no way you can cancel a big operation like that. 437 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:21,079 Was it easy for you to leave and to go to England? 438 00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:25,119 I have to say, it was because I was looking forward to it. 439 00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:29,719 Here I was a kid from Central Europe and I was going to England. 440 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:38,959 So then the last thing my dad said to me was 441 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,039 I should be his brave, cheerful little girl. 442 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:44,959 And I think I have been. 443 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:48,599 And he said: See you soon. 444 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,399 My mother was beside herself. 445 00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:11,399 My little sister was crying, my mother wanted to hold her, 446 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:16,279 she took my sister through the open window off the train. 447 00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:19,599 We kept on telling my mother to keep her 448 00:41:19,640 --> 00:41:23,319 when she took her out of the window and she held her... 449 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:28,279 I know how much she suffered, really. I can just visualize it. 450 00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:31,479 It just makes me cry when I think about it. 451 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:51,159 And if she hadn't put her back on she wouldn't have survived. 452 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:56,119 Decades later, I would catch myself looking at my own children, 453 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,679 trying to recapture a fraction of the dread those 454 00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:02,999 and my parents must have felt. 455 00:43:08,840 --> 00:43:15,959 Today you have to realize the sacrifice our parents did for us. 456 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:20,559 They didn't know where they were sending us to. 457 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:29,799 It was the courage of our parents to send their children away. 458 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:44,679 We all had one little suitcase and a little blanket 459 00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:48,559 and we sat on these benches here in a carriage like this 460 00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:52,479 and there were a lot of children... a lot of crying... 461 00:43:52,520 --> 00:43:54,399 everybody was crying. 462 00:43:57,560 --> 00:44:02,559 It was a long journey and so I climbed up on the shelf like this 463 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:08,559 and I could stretch my legs and it felt good, I was happy. 464 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:15,519 70 years after we left for Britain, many of us found themselves 465 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:19,719 making the journey all over again on a special train. 466 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:23,359 It was a time to remember and reminisce. 467 00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:32,559 They put me in charge of you. 468 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:37,719 And I put you on my lap and we started playing Hop, hop, rider. 469 00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:40,439 -You still remember that? -I remember. 470 00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:43,799 Hop, hop, rider If he falls he will be crying. 471 00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:47,319 If he falls into the ditch, He will be eaten by the ravens. 472 00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:51,159 If he falls into the mud, The rider falls with a splash! 473 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:57,959 Then the next day when we were crossing Germany, 474 00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:01,159 we were passing through these railway stations 475 00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:03,919 bedecked with Nazi flags, uniforms. 476 00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:10,719 Then there were big portraits of Hitler and swastikas everywhere. 477 00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:19,399 We arrived at the German border, 478 00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:23,279 there were lots of Germans crowding around 479 00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:26,639 and we wondered what was going to happen. 480 00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:31,559 There was something very frightening 481 00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:36,239 about the way they walked into the cabin, looked at our luggage. 482 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:40,119 There was a feeling that there was going to be trouble. 483 00:46:04,840 --> 00:46:10,119 We were terrified that they would do something like maybe arrest us. 484 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:13,639 We didn't know. I mean we had the biggest fears. 485 00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:15,759 We were dumbfounded. 486 00:46:16,080 --> 00:46:20,079 But finally they got off and we were delighted 487 00:46:20,440 --> 00:46:23,439 and we breathed the sigh of relief. 488 00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:32,039 We finally arrived to Holland. 489 00:46:32,200 --> 00:46:36,279 Through the entire train there was an atmosphere of relief. 490 00:46:36,320 --> 00:46:40,679 It was like coming out of a tunnel. 491 00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:43,399 It was very strikingly different. 492 00:46:43,560 --> 00:46:46,199 As if the sun started shining. 493 00:46:52,560 --> 00:46:55,759 We came to the windows and we started shouting: 494 00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:58,879 Hitler, Goehring, Goebbles "do prdele!" 495 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:04,159 "Do prdele" means into the ass. And we were very happy about this. 496 00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:11,439 I remember very well that the first stop in Holland 497 00:47:11,640 --> 00:47:17,159 was at a railway station where there were a group of ladies. 498 00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:23,519 Some ladies dressed in Dutch national costumes entered and they smiled. 499 00:47:24,640 --> 00:47:28,079 Although we couldn't understand a word they said, 500 00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:29,879 they didn't have to talk. 501 00:47:30,080 --> 00:47:34,279 It was clear that we were going to get something good to eat. 502 00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:47,799 They gave us cocoa, the famous Dutch droste cocoa, which was delicious. 503 00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:51,359 We received white bread. 504 00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:57,799 We had never eaten this kind of bread and I felt that either it was wet, 505 00:47:57,960 --> 00:48:02,319 or somebody wetted it, made in cold... 506 00:48:02,360 --> 00:48:06,199 It seemed kind of odd to me, kind of pap that I didn't like. 507 00:48:06,240 --> 00:48:10,079 -The bread? -It is very difficult to describe. 508 00:48:10,560 --> 00:48:12,879 It's indescribable! 509 00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:22,479 We finally did reach the channel coast and boarded a ship. 510 00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:26,599 The ship just seemed huge to me because the only ships 511 00:48:26,640 --> 00:48:29,439 I've ever seen before were paddle steamers. 512 00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:38,799 And being little boys we were fascinated by the ship 513 00:48:38,920 --> 00:48:43,879 and looking around, climbing up and down the gangways. 514 00:48:45,480 --> 00:48:47,559 It was fun to go on a boat. 515 00:48:47,680 --> 00:48:53,119 I've never been on a big boat to cross the channel. 516 00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:58,239 That night, as we crossed the English Channel 517 00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:01,039 suspended in the calmness of the ship, 518 00:49:01,080 --> 00:49:06,719 I heard voices from nearby cabins, singing the Czech national anthem. 519 00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:21,959 Where is my home, where is my home? 520 00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:27,559 It was a question that remained unanswered for many of us for years. 521 00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:36,079 The question that for a few remains unanswered to this day. 522 00:49:45,600 --> 00:49:49,679 Liverpool Street Station - this is where we arrived in London. 523 00:49:49,720 --> 00:49:54,879 It's all changed, of course, except for all the noise. 524 00:49:55,200 --> 00:49:59,079 What I remember most is one of those little odd facts 525 00:49:59,120 --> 00:50:01,959 that stick in your mind your whole life 526 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:04,439 and that is getting off the train 527 00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:07,959 that you didn't have to climb down to the rails, 528 00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,359 but the platform was even with the train door. 529 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:15,959 I was very, very impressed. 530 00:50:16,760 --> 00:50:21,319 Liverpool Street Station saw the arrival of another group of refugees, 531 00:50:21,360 --> 00:50:24,119 cargo thrown overboard by the ruthless call 532 00:50:24,160 --> 00:50:26,159 of the modern European temper. 533 00:50:26,200 --> 00:50:29,639 A special effort is being made to help the refugees. 534 00:50:30,320 --> 00:50:35,039 Then the train arrived and you had up to 200-250 children getting out, 535 00:50:35,080 --> 00:50:39,359 and you had to get the right child to the right family. 536 00:50:46,920 --> 00:50:50,639 And you had to treat it as a business. 537 00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:53,999 When you got the right child to the right family, 538 00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:59,159 the family had to sign for the child, so you had some proof of delivery. 539 00:51:16,680 --> 00:51:19,319 They assembled us kids in the corner, 540 00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:22,759 there were bunch of grown ups behind the barrier, 541 00:51:22,800 --> 00:51:25,839 craning their necks, waiting to pick us up. 542 00:51:25,880 --> 00:51:29,919 A lady behind a wooden table called my name. Ben Abeles! 543 00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:36,879 A lady my mother's age came over, embraced me and kissed me. 544 00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:55,199 I remember when I arrived having this uncomfortable string around my neck 545 00:51:55,240 --> 00:52:00,599 and a big placard on my chest and I was just totally alone, 546 00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:03,759 with nobody around me. 547 00:52:04,040 --> 00:52:08,719 I was waiting for the family who was going to pick me up. 548 00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:11,439 And I was just 3 years old. 549 00:52:14,600 --> 00:52:17,799 There was bound to be troubles and difficulties. 550 00:52:18,040 --> 00:52:22,199 Some children got left behind and the police looked after them 551 00:52:22,320 --> 00:52:24,879 until we could sort things out. 552 00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:27,759 It was fairly chaotic, but it worked out. 553 00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:35,159 There were 5 boys sitting on suitcases, 554 00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:39,759 waiting for somebody to pick us up. 555 00:52:41,880 --> 00:52:43,839 Nobody picked us up. 556 00:52:43,960 --> 00:52:48,959 It was late at night and a taxi driver came over and asked us: 557 00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:54,879 You've been here since 7 o'clock in the morning, are you hungry? 558 00:52:55,200 --> 00:53:02,919 And he drove us not far away from the station, to a fish-and-chips shop. 559 00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:05,359 I remember him showing us 560 00:53:05,440 --> 00:53:10,199 putting salt and vinegar for the first time onto the fish. 561 00:53:10,880 --> 00:53:14,999 I know to this day that the fish and chips was very good. 562 00:53:15,160 --> 00:53:19,399 Later, he took us to his own wife and small child 563 00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:23,199 in a single bedroom apartment, in which he put us up, 564 00:53:23,680 --> 00:53:26,999 the five of us. 565 00:53:28,600 --> 00:53:33,719 English people as a people are extremely kind 566 00:53:34,160 --> 00:53:37,119 and I would say 567 00:53:41,040 --> 00:53:44,959 the poorer they were, the kinder they were. 568 00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:50,359 And we all were ushered into a big hall 569 00:53:50,400 --> 00:53:53,919 and there were hundreds of the children. 570 00:53:54,080 --> 00:53:58,039 I had no idea where I was going and child after child, 571 00:53:58,080 --> 00:54:02,279 hundreds of these children, one after another went, 572 00:54:02,320 --> 00:54:06,839 and I was left sitting there, trembling at the knees. 573 00:54:07,880 --> 00:54:12,959 And suddenly the door opened and a little lady ran towards me, 574 00:54:13,040 --> 00:54:19,639 laughing and smiling at the same time with tears streaming down her face 575 00:54:19,680 --> 00:54:26,279 and she hugged me and she spoke words I didn't understand then 576 00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:29,959 and they were: You shall be loved. 577 00:54:30,640 --> 00:54:35,879 And that's the most important words any child can hear. 578 00:54:39,480 --> 00:54:45,239 Mr. and Mrs. Num, the family that took us in, were Methodists, 579 00:54:45,680 --> 00:54:48,959 farmers in Redgrave in Suffolk, East Anglia. 580 00:54:49,480 --> 00:54:53,039 Their cottage had a thatched roof. 581 00:54:53,160 --> 00:54:56,039 I have never seen a thatched roof. 582 00:54:56,520 --> 00:55:00,839 My cousin and I were going around the walls knocking - 583 00:55:00,960 --> 00:55:04,039 we were afraid it may fall down. 584 00:55:04,320 --> 00:55:07,879 And the toilet was outside. There was no electricity. 585 00:55:08,240 --> 00:55:09,919 And they were good to us. 586 00:55:09,960 --> 00:55:14,479 They were true Christians, in the real sense of the word. 587 00:55:20,440 --> 00:55:24,279 And the only people who objected to what I was doing 588 00:55:24,400 --> 00:55:28,199 was when one day a couple of rabbis arrived at home 589 00:55:28,320 --> 00:55:33,559 and said that they understood that some of the good Jewish children 590 00:55:33,680 --> 00:55:39,079 I was bringing over to this country were going to Christian homes. 591 00:55:39,360 --> 00:55:41,519 And that must stop. 592 00:55:41,720 --> 00:55:46,919 And I said: Well, it won't stop and if you prefer a dead Jew in Prague 593 00:55:46,960 --> 00:55:51,479 to an alive one who is being brought up in a Christian home, 594 00:55:51,520 --> 00:55:53,999 I said that is your problem, not mine. 595 00:55:54,120 --> 00:55:58,799 My guardian came from a distinguished Scottish family. 596 00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:01,999 She had an enormous influence on my life, 597 00:56:02,760 --> 00:56:05,719 she provided me with an ethical yardstick. 598 00:56:05,760 --> 00:56:10,279 The lessons from her life were the extraordinary unselfishness. 599 00:56:10,320 --> 00:56:15,079 Marnie gave me this wonderful dog, a great dane, and I was very small, 600 00:56:15,120 --> 00:56:19,399 I could ride on his back, on the dog's back. 601 00:56:19,880 --> 00:56:24,839 -We used to play mothers and fathers. You remember? -Yes. 602 00:56:24,880 --> 00:56:27,519 We just played happily together. 603 00:56:27,560 --> 00:56:30,639 We did. And then we played cowboys and Indians. 604 00:56:38,200 --> 00:56:42,599 My first day in London, Audrey, my guarantor's daughter, 605 00:56:42,720 --> 00:56:44,879 took me to Harrods here. 606 00:56:45,240 --> 00:56:49,719 There were so many new sights for me. We had a great time. 607 00:56:51,840 --> 00:56:56,479 I decided I was going to marry Audrey, even though she had pimples. 608 00:56:56,800 --> 00:57:00,079 But I wanted to live in that rich house of theirs. 609 00:57:03,280 --> 00:57:07,399 Once the children had arrived and were with their new families, 610 00:57:07,440 --> 00:57:10,239 I had no contact with them anymore. 611 00:57:10,400 --> 00:57:13,399 I knew that they were being well looked after 612 00:57:13,440 --> 00:57:16,999 and some went to the Czech school in Wales. 613 00:57:22,160 --> 00:57:25,879 We had many pillow fights in school. 614 00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:31,239 And many times these pillows burst and the feathers blew out 615 00:57:31,320 --> 00:57:33,399 and we had to clean it up. 616 00:57:34,640 --> 00:57:36,279 I liked it there. 617 00:57:36,320 --> 00:57:39,919 It was a good atmosphere with boys and girls together. 618 00:57:54,200 --> 00:57:58,799 Let's face it: I couldn't run down those stairs like that any longer, 619 00:57:58,840 --> 00:58:03,879 but I do remember those days as though they were yesterday. 620 00:58:05,160 --> 00:58:08,199 Despite the separation from our families, 621 00:58:08,240 --> 00:58:11,359 despite the fact that we missed them so much, 622 00:58:11,400 --> 00:58:14,839 those were some of the happiest times in my life 623 00:58:14,880 --> 00:58:17,359 and in that of many of my schoolmates. 624 00:58:18,280 --> 00:58:21,439 We also did things in the community. 625 00:58:21,480 --> 00:58:25,719 We went to old-age home and spent time with the people there. 626 00:58:25,760 --> 00:58:29,679 We learned that you are not the center of the universe, 627 00:58:29,720 --> 00:58:33,879 that there are other people out there who had problems and needs 628 00:58:34,240 --> 00:58:37,119 and maybe you can do something about it. 629 00:58:37,240 --> 00:58:40,159 So it was fun, it was great fun. 630 00:58:40,320 --> 00:58:42,999 Also, we acquired an education. 631 00:58:50,280 --> 00:58:54,399 We were all crazy about the boys. All of us girls, you know. 632 00:58:54,880 --> 00:58:59,519 We tried to attract their attention in every way it was possible 633 00:58:59,560 --> 00:59:03,639 and when I look back at it, we were absolutely nuts. 634 00:59:05,520 --> 00:59:11,239 I was inexperienced with girls and I asked my brother 635 00:59:11,360 --> 00:59:17,439 how to arrange girls when I finally took them out. 636 00:59:17,680 --> 00:59:21,639 His advice was I should take them to the cinema 637 00:59:21,840 --> 00:59:24,599 and when the lights went down, 638 00:59:24,720 --> 00:59:29,439 to put my arm around her and everything else would follow. 639 00:59:29,880 --> 00:59:31,959 But... 640 00:59:41,600 --> 00:59:46,479 So I'm afraid his advice was good in theory, 641 00:59:46,520 --> 00:59:49,159 but not very good in practice. 642 00:59:49,560 --> 00:59:53,639 Month of August, which is normally a happy month of holidays, 643 00:59:53,680 --> 00:59:57,079 has been passed in Europe in the shadow of war. 644 00:59:57,120 --> 01:00:00,439 Hitler demanded Danzig and the Polish corridor. 645 01:00:04,240 --> 01:00:08,879 I've got a letter here, which my father wrote to the foster parents. 646 01:00:09,520 --> 01:00:12,239 You will, I suppose, feel how it aches us 647 01:00:12,360 --> 01:00:14,799 to be separated from our own child. 648 01:00:14,840 --> 01:00:18,279 Here the possibility to care for her suitable future 649 01:00:18,320 --> 01:00:20,519 is smaller with every day. 650 01:00:25,280 --> 01:00:28,639 As the moths passed, Winton knew the end was near, 651 01:00:28,760 --> 01:00:33,799 so he kept on pressing even harder for permits for more children. 652 01:00:36,800 --> 01:00:40,799 I mean there were thousands of children on the list 653 01:00:40,920 --> 01:00:43,559 who wanted to get out. 654 01:00:43,800 --> 01:00:47,519 We had organized 8 transports from Prague. 655 01:00:48,320 --> 01:00:51,159 No transport completed the operation. 656 01:00:51,200 --> 01:00:54,279 I mean it was an operation without end. 657 01:00:55,880 --> 01:00:57,999 For the beginning of September, 658 01:00:58,040 --> 01:01:00,559 we had arranged our biggest transport, 659 01:01:00,600 --> 01:01:03,679 which could have comprised 250 children. 660 01:01:03,760 --> 01:01:06,719 All the paperwork was done, 661 01:01:06,760 --> 01:01:09,039 all the families were prepared, 662 01:01:09,080 --> 01:01:12,159 all the children were waiting in the train... 663 01:01:46,840 --> 01:01:51,279 We shall defend our island, whatever the cost. 664 01:01:51,680 --> 01:01:54,479 We shall never surrender. 665 01:02:10,480 --> 01:02:12,599 I was in London. 666 01:02:12,840 --> 01:02:16,639 We watched the planes coming over, dropping bombs. 667 01:02:16,680 --> 01:02:22,439 I remember the houses fell down like cards or domino sticks. 668 01:02:22,480 --> 01:02:25,119 Just collapsed. 669 01:02:27,960 --> 01:02:31,279 I was afraid to go out on the street afterwards. 670 01:02:31,960 --> 01:02:34,439 It was a terrifying experience. 671 01:02:36,160 --> 01:02:40,839 And our neighbors got a direct hit on their shelter in their garden 672 01:02:40,880 --> 01:02:43,119 and all of them were killed. 673 01:02:49,600 --> 01:02:54,319 During the Battle of Britain, bombs were raining down on us every night. 674 01:02:54,360 --> 01:02:58,719 I was then in an apprentice cook at the Bailys hotel in London 675 01:02:58,760 --> 01:03:03,679 as a dishwasher and a pot washer and every night, practically, 676 01:03:03,800 --> 01:03:06,359 we ended up in the air raid shelter. 677 01:03:07,880 --> 01:03:13,559 I was sitting next to a maid and when a bomb was falling, 678 01:03:13,600 --> 01:03:15,759 she clutched my knee. 679 01:03:16,440 --> 01:03:22,719 And I asked her whether we could share a blanket and she agreed. 680 01:03:22,760 --> 01:03:27,679 And then I put my hand on her knee and she didn't object. 681 01:03:28,160 --> 01:03:33,079 And my hand started roaming and she didn't object, either. 682 01:03:33,320 --> 01:03:36,799 So I really looking forward to these air raids. 683 01:03:36,840 --> 01:03:42,279 But then there was a lull in the air raids and I missed her so much. 684 01:03:46,440 --> 01:03:53,439 My mother was absolutely heartbroken and she wrote us long letters. 685 01:03:54,600 --> 01:04:00,319 My dearest children, I am very happy that you are over there 686 01:04:00,440 --> 01:04:03,039 and don't know about evil. 687 01:04:03,200 --> 01:04:08,039 All Jews under 50 here must work in labor camps. 688 01:04:08,080 --> 01:04:12,119 We will come through somehow and you mustn't worry about us. 689 01:04:13,840 --> 01:04:17,399 But I am very happy that you are not here. 690 01:04:17,520 --> 01:04:20,959 If you were, I would have many more worries. 691 01:04:25,320 --> 01:04:28,719 We learned about the concentration camps 692 01:04:29,000 --> 01:04:33,879 and the possibility that our parents might have been taken to them. 693 01:04:34,840 --> 01:04:38,799 We all hoped that nothing awful happened to them, 694 01:04:38,960 --> 01:04:42,119 that they were well. 695 01:04:43,440 --> 01:04:49,799 The last letter from my father came in 1942. 696 01:04:49,840 --> 01:04:54,079 He wrote that they had received orders to pack up, 697 01:04:54,120 --> 01:04:58,079 that they would be transported somewhere else. 698 01:04:58,880 --> 01:05:01,559 And in which he wrote his sons, 699 01:05:01,840 --> 01:05:08,279 telling them not to forget the precepts they were taught at home 700 01:05:08,960 --> 01:05:13,199 and he hoped the almighty would allow us to grow up 701 01:05:13,320 --> 01:05:17,519 into just and decent men. 702 01:05:20,320 --> 01:05:24,999 And that was last thing I heard from my parents. 703 01:05:51,920 --> 01:05:55,319 Our greatest regret was that our biggest transport, 704 01:05:55,440 --> 01:05:57,039 which was 250 children, 705 01:05:57,160 --> 01:06:00,799 which was due to leave at the beginning of September, 706 01:06:00,840 --> 01:06:03,159 was canceled because war started. 707 01:06:03,840 --> 01:06:07,279 And almost none of those children survived. 708 01:06:07,440 --> 01:06:11,199 Nothing that happened prior to the war starting 709 01:06:11,600 --> 01:06:14,919 was really of any importance anymore. 710 01:06:16,520 --> 01:06:18,399 What was done was done, 711 01:06:18,440 --> 01:06:21,639 what couldn't be done couldn't be done. 712 01:06:21,680 --> 01:06:24,679 Once you can't stop a war and there is a war 713 01:06:24,720 --> 01:06:27,319 you go to the defense of your country. 714 01:06:27,360 --> 01:06:30,359 And I joined the RAF. 715 01:06:44,040 --> 01:06:48,799 I joined the royal air force, our Czech squadron number 31 1 716 01:06:49,040 --> 01:06:53,479 and our job was to look for enemy shipping. 717 01:07:02,480 --> 01:07:05,519 I volunteered for the Czech RAF 718 01:07:05,560 --> 01:07:08,639 and I was able to help to hunt German submarines. 719 01:07:09,520 --> 01:07:12,959 I wanted to help to liberate my country. 720 01:07:37,760 --> 01:07:41,879 We decided to go to town to see how everybody was celebrating. 721 01:07:41,920 --> 01:07:46,679 Trafalgar Square, I remember, in London 722 01:07:47,120 --> 01:07:52,559 where everybody went around putting up their two - V for victory, 723 01:07:52,880 --> 01:07:55,319 everybody laughed - that was so gay, 724 01:07:55,360 --> 01:07:57,959 we were dancing with American soldiers. 725 01:08:04,680 --> 01:08:08,879 We returned to Prague with the whole squadron, 726 01:08:09,160 --> 01:08:12,119 all of us really happy to be home, 727 01:08:12,400 --> 01:08:17,799 there was a huge parade in Prague, in which I took part as well. 728 01:08:20,680 --> 01:08:23,519 All the girls were dressed in national dress 729 01:08:24,200 --> 01:08:26,479 and all of us enjoyed it. 730 01:08:46,480 --> 01:08:48,759 The war was over. 731 01:08:49,080 --> 01:08:53,199 But still no news of our families. 732 01:08:53,400 --> 01:08:57,359 I came to Prague, here to this building behind me, 733 01:08:57,480 --> 01:09:02,319 which served as a clearinghouse for separated families. 734 01:09:02,600 --> 01:09:05,399 Inside, wall upon wall filled with notices 735 01:09:05,440 --> 01:09:09,119 put up by people looking for their missing loved ones. 736 01:09:09,160 --> 01:09:15,119 Of my parents, though, not a trace. I know they were deported to Poland, 737 01:09:15,240 --> 01:09:19,239 but to this day, I am not certain how they came to die. 738 01:09:20,200 --> 01:09:22,879 My first stop in Prague was the house 739 01:09:23,040 --> 01:09:26,999 from which my parents were deported to Terezin. 740 01:09:27,600 --> 01:09:31,439 There was a minimal chance that they would have come back. 741 01:09:33,880 --> 01:09:39,679 I lingered for a while as if I were waiting for them to appear suddenly. 742 01:09:41,960 --> 01:09:43,519 But in vain. 743 01:09:46,720 --> 01:09:51,119 My mother and my brother together with about 10 other children 744 01:09:51,240 --> 01:09:52,999 arrived to Auschwitz 745 01:09:56,800 --> 01:09:59,919 and were sent to the gas chamber. 746 01:10:00,440 --> 01:10:04,719 An old friend of the family who took care of the dead bodies 747 01:10:04,840 --> 01:10:07,519 immediately recognized my mother. 748 01:10:07,600 --> 01:10:10,959 He told her: Please, take your children in, 749 01:10:11,200 --> 01:10:16,399 sit down in the corner and start to sing with them. 750 01:10:16,920 --> 01:10:24,719 Because if you sing and you inhale the gas, you will die very quickly. 751 01:11:36,280 --> 01:11:39,559 When my parents went to concentration camps 752 01:11:39,600 --> 01:11:42,599 and when they saw other children around them, 753 01:11:42,640 --> 01:11:45,959 young boys and girls being taken to gas chambers 754 01:11:46,200 --> 01:11:49,319 and so forth that they must have then... 755 01:11:58,800 --> 01:12:05,119 they must have then realized what they had done... 756 01:12:11,000 --> 01:12:13,879 when they sent their children... 757 01:12:42,720 --> 01:12:49,279 My family, my parents - none of these people survived. 758 01:12:50,280 --> 01:12:55,119 So after the war we had to continue living, to overcome the past. 759 01:12:56,320 --> 01:13:01,679 We were all young, we were beginning, we had to build careers. 760 01:13:02,000 --> 01:13:06,439 We spread all over the world, some of us in Canada, in the States, 761 01:13:06,480 --> 01:13:08,959 in Israel, in Australia, in Britain. 762 01:13:10,240 --> 01:13:14,279 Wherever we ended up, the most important thing for us 763 01:13:14,520 --> 01:13:18,119 was to start a new life with new families. 764 01:13:18,840 --> 01:13:23,199 50 YEARS LATER 765 01:13:40,560 --> 01:13:45,399 I hadn't got a clue where all these 700 children were. 766 01:13:45,480 --> 01:13:48,399 I wasn't in touch with any of them. 767 01:13:48,680 --> 01:13:50,719 For me it was an episode 768 01:13:55,160 --> 01:13:58,119 and it was something that happens. 769 01:13:58,200 --> 01:14:03,439 So many to me more important things, happened in the meantime. 770 01:14:05,160 --> 01:14:08,719 He is very keen on his gardening 771 01:14:09,200 --> 01:14:11,999 and he spends a lot of time in the garden. 772 01:14:12,040 --> 01:14:14,959 But he is a very domesticated husband, 773 01:14:15,120 --> 01:14:17,999 he does a lot of helping out in the house. 774 01:14:18,440 --> 01:14:22,839 I get annoyed because he is very untidy. 775 01:14:23,120 --> 01:14:28,839 I am not all that tidy, but he is really very untidy. 776 01:14:30,560 --> 01:14:35,159 I'm fairly happy with Greta. With what we do together. 777 01:14:35,200 --> 01:14:39,839 -Fairly! I like that! -Very happy. Very happy. 778 01:14:44,280 --> 01:14:47,679 Any good marriage is a marriage of compromise. 779 01:14:47,920 --> 01:14:53,079 The only thing was, Greta compromised more than I did. 780 01:14:53,280 --> 01:14:55,719 She was quite a very special person. 781 01:14:56,400 --> 01:15:01,039 If you're in love with somebody, everybody says when that person dies: 782 01:15:02,920 --> 01:15:06,079 After time things will get better. 783 01:15:06,120 --> 01:15:08,839 It's not true. It gets worse. 784 01:15:09,480 --> 01:15:12,679 Instead of living you just exist. 785 01:15:18,480 --> 01:15:21,559 And I spend my time with carpentry, 786 01:15:22,280 --> 01:15:24,639 mending the bicycle, photography. 787 01:15:26,520 --> 01:15:31,519 I listen to music and I do my embroidery, I do a bit of gardening. 788 01:15:32,120 --> 01:15:36,279 My father has been involved in helping charities all his life. 789 01:15:36,320 --> 01:15:41,439 A lot of his work has been with a charity helping old people. 790 01:15:41,760 --> 01:15:46,079 I'm just building a home for Alzheimers. 791 01:15:46,120 --> 01:15:48,159 It costs 4 million pounds. 792 01:15:49,200 --> 01:15:51,719 He still acts as if he's half his age. 793 01:15:51,760 --> 01:15:55,519 He's still very active and still likes making mischief. 794 01:15:55,560 --> 01:15:58,999 His current plan is to try to be arrested 795 01:15:59,040 --> 01:16:03,319 to show what a silly law we have to do with helping old people. 796 01:16:05,560 --> 01:16:08,479 Well, I drive and I like driving quickly. 797 01:16:09,240 --> 01:16:13,639 You got a speeding ticket last month. What were you doing? 798 01:16:13,840 --> 01:16:17,319 I got a speeding ticket in a one-way road 799 01:16:17,440 --> 01:16:19,879 where there was no other car 800 01:16:20,000 --> 01:16:23,879 and I was doing 50 miles an hour in a 40 miles area. 801 01:16:29,200 --> 01:16:34,199 And the police said: Have you got any excuse, why you were for doing it? 802 01:16:34,320 --> 01:16:37,799 And I said that I had to go to the lavatory. 803 01:16:44,200 --> 01:16:47,359 Being so active must be a recipe for longevity - 804 01:16:47,480 --> 01:16:50,039 just to keep going and not stop. 805 01:16:50,960 --> 01:16:53,479 Nicky, last words before you go? 806 01:16:53,760 --> 01:16:57,039 My words are that I hope I will come back. 807 01:17:04,880 --> 01:17:07,799 One thing I've learned from grandpa is 808 01:17:07,840 --> 01:17:11,079 that you should always try to help people. 809 01:17:11,400 --> 01:17:13,919 I don't mind if you tell the truth. 810 01:17:14,120 --> 01:17:18,199 Of course I love my grandpa. With all heart. Everything. 811 01:17:23,080 --> 01:17:26,079 When you're young you take everything in life, 812 01:17:26,120 --> 01:17:28,319 including survival, for granted. 813 01:17:28,360 --> 01:17:31,519 As I grew older I began to wonder more and more 814 01:17:31,560 --> 01:17:33,959 how it was that when so many died - 815 01:17:34,000 --> 01:17:37,679 our parents, friends, families and millions of others - 816 01:17:37,720 --> 01:17:39,479 how it came to be that we, 817 01:17:39,520 --> 01:17:42,679 the fortunate few on those trains, were spared. 818 01:17:42,800 --> 01:17:48,639 That is, until 50 years later when this scrapbook surfaced. 819 01:17:48,680 --> 01:17:50,559 Then we knew. 820 01:17:59,720 --> 01:18:03,879 The scrapbook and its story gathered dust for decades 821 01:18:04,000 --> 01:18:08,439 in the Winton's attic until one day, Nicky's wife Greta found it, 822 01:18:08,640 --> 01:18:12,119 opened it, became fascinated, and yet was puzzled. 823 01:18:12,320 --> 01:18:15,319 And so 50 years after it happened, 824 01:18:15,400 --> 01:18:20,599 Nicky finally told his wife what he had for so long kept secret. 825 01:18:23,320 --> 01:18:25,679 I suppose there's number of things, 826 01:18:25,720 --> 01:18:28,239 which husbands don't tell their wives. 827 01:18:30,440 --> 01:18:33,039 And his wife went to London 828 01:18:33,080 --> 01:18:37,159 and she tried to give this story to several people, 829 01:18:37,200 --> 01:18:40,959 but nobody was interested until she came to me. 830 01:18:41,040 --> 01:18:44,999 I was given the scrapbook and this list of names 831 01:18:45,080 --> 01:18:47,439 and I thought it was very moving 832 01:18:47,680 --> 01:18:53,079 because there were ordinary names of people and Czech children, 833 01:18:53,120 --> 01:19:00,479 for instance Berman Thomas, Bekefi Jiri, Benedict Ruth... 834 01:19:01,000 --> 01:19:03,799 and we wrote to every one of them 835 01:19:03,920 --> 01:19:09,319 and from these over 600 names we got 250 answers. 836 01:19:09,800 --> 01:19:12,679 And most of the children were delighted, 837 01:19:12,960 --> 01:19:18,519 they didn't know who saved them and didn't know their own story. 838 01:19:19,120 --> 01:19:25,239 It caught the eye of Esther Rantzen who was working for the BBC. 839 01:19:25,480 --> 01:19:30,359 So we did some search and we managed to track down some of those children, 840 01:19:30,400 --> 01:19:33,079 now adult, living in England. 841 01:19:33,480 --> 01:19:35,559 We were absolutely thrilled. 842 01:19:35,760 --> 01:19:38,999 This lady said to me: What's your name? 843 01:19:39,360 --> 01:19:41,879 So I said: Pinkasovic. 844 01:19:42,480 --> 01:19:46,559 When I saw my name and my brother's name printed in this - 845 01:19:48,120 --> 01:19:51,479 the biggest shock of my life. 846 01:19:53,680 --> 01:19:59,759 I couldn't speak, I couldn't breathe, I had goose bumps all over my arms... 847 01:20:02,040 --> 01:20:04,439 All these years, 50 years. 848 01:20:10,200 --> 01:20:13,559 Nobody knew who masterminded our rescue 849 01:20:13,840 --> 01:20:16,879 and then, out of the blue, 850 01:20:17,040 --> 01:20:20,919 I was asked to take part in a television show That's Life 851 01:20:21,040 --> 01:20:23,279 where, to my joy and... 852 01:20:24,760 --> 01:20:27,359 oh such fulfillment I came to face, 853 01:20:27,800 --> 01:20:33,119 face to face, with the man who saved my life. 854 01:20:34,240 --> 01:20:37,839 They got me there in a way under false pretenses. 855 01:20:37,880 --> 01:20:42,639 Then I was sat in a seat, which was focused on the camera and... 856 01:20:46,160 --> 01:20:48,159 I became part of this program. 857 01:20:48,200 --> 01:20:51,639 I didn't know I was going to meet for the first time 858 01:20:51,680 --> 01:20:55,279 the children that I brought over so many years before. 859 01:20:55,320 --> 01:20:59,599 ...who managed to save 664 children. This is his scrapbook. 860 01:20:59,640 --> 01:21:04,359 There are all sorts of fascinating pictures in it, perhaps you can see - 861 01:21:04,400 --> 01:21:07,239 this is a picture of Nicholas Winton himself 862 01:21:07,280 --> 01:21:09,679 with one of the children he rescued. 863 01:21:09,720 --> 01:21:13,119 If you look at the very back of the scrapbook... 864 01:21:13,160 --> 01:21:18,319 fascinating things in it, but back here is the list of all the children. 865 01:21:18,760 --> 01:21:22,559 This is Vera Diamant, now Vera Gissing. 866 01:21:22,840 --> 01:21:25,399 We did find her name on his list. 867 01:21:25,520 --> 01:21:29,039 Vera Gissing is with us here tonight - Hello Vera - 868 01:21:29,240 --> 01:21:30,839 and I should tell you 869 01:21:30,880 --> 01:21:34,559 that you are actually sitting next to Nicholas Winton. 870 01:22:00,360 --> 01:22:02,479 Thank you. 871 01:22:03,800 --> 01:22:06,199 I wore this around my neck 872 01:22:06,400 --> 01:22:10,879 and this is the actual pass that we were given to come to England. 873 01:22:12,000 --> 01:22:15,919 And I am another of the children that you saved. 874 01:22:20,000 --> 01:22:23,359 Can I ask, is there anyone in our audience tonight 875 01:22:23,400 --> 01:22:26,079 who owes their lives to Nicholas Winton? 876 01:22:26,120 --> 01:22:29,119 If so, could you stand up, please? 877 01:23:20,920 --> 01:23:23,039 We are part of his family. 878 01:23:23,120 --> 01:23:27,199 He has now accepted us as a sort of the honorary father 879 01:23:27,320 --> 01:23:33,319 and he is accepting our children as the honorary grandfather, 880 01:23:33,480 --> 01:23:37,719 hes the head, I think, of the biggest family in the world. 881 01:23:39,440 --> 01:23:41,439 70 YEARS LATER 882 01:23:41,480 --> 01:23:45,119 When our memorial train from Prague arrived in London, 883 01:23:45,280 --> 01:23:49,359 the man who had waited for us at the station in 1939 884 01:23:49,400 --> 01:23:52,319 was waiting for us once again. 885 01:24:01,240 --> 01:24:06,959 This time, though, at age 100, we knew who he was. 886 01:24:08,760 --> 01:24:12,119 It was a wonderful thing that Nicky Winton did 887 01:24:12,680 --> 01:24:17,519 and without him nobody in this room would be sitting here. 888 01:24:17,760 --> 01:24:21,319 I wouldn't be here, dad wouldn't be here. 889 01:24:21,760 --> 01:24:24,759 So it's quite a wonderful thing that he did. 890 01:24:31,600 --> 01:24:33,959 A lot of us have a feeling 891 01:24:34,000 --> 01:24:37,879 that we have to somehow repay Winton for all what he did. 892 01:24:38,240 --> 01:24:41,479 We do it by doing work, which is useful and good 893 01:24:41,520 --> 01:24:43,079 and help other people. 894 01:24:44,160 --> 01:24:46,959 For the last 12 years I work as a volunteer 895 01:24:47,000 --> 01:24:50,559 at the Schneider's children's hospital and I enjoy it. 896 01:24:52,800 --> 01:24:58,599 I did some work in research on ballistic missiles, 897 01:24:59,120 --> 01:25:02,759 but after that I changed my career completely. 898 01:25:04,440 --> 01:25:06,559 We built this church first 899 01:25:06,880 --> 01:25:11,079 and then a home for adults with severe mental handicap. 900 01:25:12,200 --> 01:25:16,679 I've always felt that I owe something to Nicky Winton, 901 01:25:16,920 --> 01:25:20,479 to my parents who were so courageous and sent me off. 902 01:25:22,040 --> 01:25:24,839 And so I always felt I need to help people 903 01:25:24,880 --> 01:25:27,399 and I've done that in a soup kitchen 904 01:25:27,520 --> 01:25:31,759 and throughout my life I've always tried to be very helpful. 905 01:25:33,720 --> 01:25:38,039 I spent most of my professional career working on semiconductors. 906 01:25:38,080 --> 01:25:41,479 We invented the thermoelectric power generator, 907 01:25:41,520 --> 01:25:45,839 which provides electric power to the spacecraft Voyager I and II 908 01:25:46,000 --> 01:25:49,959 on the way to Jupiter, Saturn and the outer planets. 909 01:26:00,000 --> 01:26:04,319 Nicky's deed is like a small stone thrown into a small lake. 910 01:26:05,360 --> 01:26:08,399 And the ripples and the waves from that stone 911 01:26:08,600 --> 01:26:11,719 are getting wider and wider and wider. 912 01:26:11,920 --> 01:26:16,719 And the wider it gets, the more good is being done in the world. 913 01:26:19,360 --> 01:26:24,759 Nicholas Winton saved grandma and he didn't have to 914 01:26:24,800 --> 01:26:28,159 and that made me want to help people, too. 915 01:26:30,000 --> 01:26:35,239 And I heard about people who had cancer and lost all their hair. 916 01:26:35,880 --> 01:26:38,759 And I cut 10 inches off my hair 917 01:26:38,800 --> 01:26:43,879 and they made it into a wig for one kid who had cancer. 918 01:26:43,920 --> 01:26:46,239 And I feel very good about doing. 919 01:26:46,280 --> 01:26:49,959 This summer, I helped organize a peace camp for girls. 920 01:26:50,440 --> 01:26:52,559 There were 7 Jews and 7 Arabs. 921 01:26:52,600 --> 01:26:54,679 We realized that we're the same 922 01:26:54,720 --> 01:26:59,319 and that we are living in the same place and we need to find a peace. 923 01:26:59,920 --> 01:27:04,559 Right now I have 7 new Palestinian friends, which I very much like. 924 01:27:08,000 --> 01:27:10,719 Any young people from different countries 925 01:27:10,760 --> 01:27:14,959 were eager to show Winton what good they themselves were doing. 926 01:27:15,000 --> 01:27:17,559 They started filming their activities, 927 01:27:17,600 --> 01:27:20,039 interviewing various personalities, 928 01:27:20,080 --> 01:27:24,439 all for a special program which they will present in Prague. 929 01:27:40,800 --> 01:27:44,759 In Australia, we shipped our clothes to people in Ecuador 930 01:27:44,800 --> 01:27:49,439 and it was nice getting letters back from them as they were writing 931 01:27:49,480 --> 01:27:52,719 and expressing how appreciative they were to us 932 01:27:52,760 --> 01:27:54,879 that their lives have changed. 933 01:27:54,920 --> 01:27:58,559 Winton is showing that with perseverance and determination 934 01:27:58,600 --> 01:28:00,279 you can achieve anything. 935 01:28:03,360 --> 01:28:07,959 In Cambodia when we arrived we have seen children dying on the street. 936 01:28:08,000 --> 01:28:12,159 Then there was no organization helping HIV positive children. 937 01:28:12,720 --> 01:28:16,439 And we have decided that we have to help these children. 938 01:28:16,480 --> 01:28:20,199 The problem was that everybody was against this idea, 939 01:28:20,240 --> 01:28:25,639 saying that what two Slovak people can do in faraway Cambodia. 940 01:28:26,080 --> 01:28:28,999 But we have decided not to give up. 941 01:28:30,600 --> 01:28:32,679 I remember Nicholas Winton said 942 01:28:32,720 --> 01:28:36,879 everything is possible if it's fundamentally reasonable. 943 01:28:39,400 --> 01:28:43,519 All stories that help children grow in a world, 944 01:28:43,680 --> 01:28:48,439 in which humanity is being celebrated and inhumanity denounced - 945 01:28:48,760 --> 01:28:51,839 these stories are important. 946 01:28:53,360 --> 01:28:54,919 Everybody can help. 947 01:28:54,960 --> 01:28:57,799 Children can send their letters to the kids 948 01:28:57,840 --> 01:29:02,119 to show them that there is somebody faraway thinking about them. 949 01:29:03,400 --> 01:29:04,959 It's a big help. 950 01:29:07,920 --> 01:29:10,919 We have saved and treated over 5 000 children, 951 01:29:10,960 --> 01:29:13,479 but still we have a lot of work to do. 952 01:29:15,760 --> 01:29:19,039 A lot of children are still waiting for us. 953 01:29:23,120 --> 01:29:26,519 We need special effort to bring up 954 01:29:26,560 --> 01:29:33,079 our basic nature of human beings - compassion. 955 01:29:35,920 --> 01:29:39,359 Here is example of Nicholas Winton - 956 01:29:39,400 --> 01:29:46,959 we should learn from his motivation and from his courage, from his act. 957 01:29:47,520 --> 01:29:51,719 We must carry his spirit generation to generation. 958 01:29:51,920 --> 01:29:55,439 Then humanity's future will be brighter. 959 01:29:57,200 --> 01:30:01,559 Ladies and gentlemen, Sir Nicholas Winton! 960 01:30:07,560 --> 01:30:10,919 We've been so much impressed with Nicholas Winton 961 01:30:10,960 --> 01:30:14,399 that we started our project, Suitcases for Cambodia. 962 01:30:14,520 --> 01:30:17,639 Suitcase is our symbol of help for children. 963 01:30:25,200 --> 01:30:29,079 I think that every single person on the Earth needs to know 964 01:30:29,120 --> 01:30:31,959 that they are special, that they're loved. 965 01:30:36,880 --> 01:30:41,119 Nicholas Winton has influenced so many people all over the world 966 01:30:41,160 --> 01:30:44,159 to help someone who is very ill or in danger. 967 01:30:50,080 --> 01:30:54,919 If you have ever helped someone in need show it now. 968 01:31:07,760 --> 01:31:12,599 You don't have to be a politician or a millionaire to make a difference. 969 01:31:12,960 --> 01:31:16,479 All you have to have is some ambition and courage. 970 01:31:17,600 --> 01:31:20,199 Hello, Cambodia! 971 01:32:04,120 --> 01:32:16,119 NICKY'S FAMILY 972 01:32:27,600 --> 01:32:31,039 I never thought what I did 70 years ago 973 01:32:31,200 --> 01:32:36,799 was going to have such a big impact as apparently it has. 974 01:32:37,080 --> 01:32:39,239 And if it is now got a story, 975 01:32:39,320 --> 01:32:43,599 which helps people to live for the future, 976 01:32:44,320 --> 01:32:47,439 well, that will be an added bonus. 977 01:32:57,640 --> 01:33:05,039 Everything is possible if it's fundamentally reasonable. 978 01:33:05,080 --> 01:33:07,599 Nicholas Winton 979 01:36:58,960 --> 01:37:05,199 There are some stories which we are not only an audience to, 980 01:37:05,240 --> 01:37:08,879 but may become their participants.