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Nicky's story came out by accident
after this scrapbook surfaced
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after gathering dust for decades.
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Once it did, though, it set about
a whole chain of incredible events.
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That's me before I left for England.
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But until 1988,
I had no idea who had rescued me
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from all but certain death.
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It was this old man who
had saved my life
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and that of hundreds of others
in the Second World War.
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Yet for 50 years,
we knew nothing about him.
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Not even that he existed.
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I think there is much too much
harping in the past.
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Quite frankly,
I can't see the point of all that.
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We've never learnt
anything from the past.
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I think the future
lies in forgetting the past,
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not remembering it.
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It started with Adolf Hitler
instilling hatred
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in Germans from childhood up for
everything he considered foreign.
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Most of all,
for Jews, Gypsies and Slavs.
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And he used the hate
he had whipped up to
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prepare his nation for war.
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You could hear Hitler's voice
raving on the radio and you could
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feel the danger getting closer
and closer and closer.
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We were seven-year-old
children in second grade.
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And one day, a girl comes up to me
and slaps me on the face,
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left and right and left and right
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and she said, "My father told me to
do that," so I was stunned.
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I was flabbergasted.
How can she do that?
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I was only about four or five years
old but I hit my head
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on a central heating radiator
and I cut my head open
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and I remember my father taking me
to the doctor
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and the doctor looked
at it and he said,
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"Erm, that does need stitching
but I don't stitch Jews."
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The hatred coming from Germany
didn't just endanger Jews
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but also the Czechs as well.
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They turned out to protest
Hitler's demands for a chunk
of their country -
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the so-called Sudeten borderlands.
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The Czechs mobilised to defend
themselves but they needed
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help from their allies in the West.
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00:03:08,275 --> 00:03:11,754
Neither in Britain - nor for that
matter in any other democracy -
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was there any great will to
confront Hitler and risk war.
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So the British and French
prime ministers went to Munich
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and ended up signing a humiliating
deal with Hitler.
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The word Munich has ever since then
stood for cowardly appeasement.
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At the time, though, when
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
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returned here to Parliament
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and waved that piece of paper
he brought back from Munich
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and declared it to have
brought "peace for our time",
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a wave of relief swept through
most of Europe -
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but not in Czechoslovakia,
of course.
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We lived in Sudetenland,
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this town of Pobezovice which is
near to the border of Germany.
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It all happened so suddenly -
my mother took us four children.
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We didn't manage to take
anything at all.
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We just ran for our lives.
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This was frightening for children.
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I remember standing in front
of a shop window where there was
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a map of Czechoslovak Republic
and in a black ink was
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marked in the part which was
handed over to Hitler.
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And there were people all around the
shop making all kinds of bad remarks
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and saying, "Well, you can't do
that.
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"We will fight and we will fight
and fight."
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I remember the following day,
loading all our few belongings,
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there weren't too much, on a horse
and cart and we were out of there.
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My parents, my brother
and I and at the time,
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I was just six years old -
we had no clue what was going on.
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There was a new refugee
girl in our class
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00:05:20,597 --> 00:05:27,756
and I was most surprised to see
that she had no shoes on her feet.
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When break came,
I ran across the road
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and took out of my wardrobe my best
shoes and brought them to her.
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I told Mother what had happened -
tears appeared on her face.
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And she hugged me and she said,
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"You did the right thing,
my little girl."
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The first pages of the scrapbook,
and of our story, came to be
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written in December 1938.
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You look at the pictures, and the
list of all of us and you have
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to wonder - what made a 29-year-old
Englishman do such a thing?
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In a way, what Winton
did was surprising -
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the world was his oyster.
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00:06:34,677 --> 00:06:36,556
In the depth of the Great
Depression,
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his job as a stockbroker allowed him
to enjoy the good life.
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He was a champion fencer who also
loved to sail, to ski and to travel.
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In 1938, with Christmas approaching,
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Winton had his mind set on going
to Switzerland for a skiing holiday.
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In other words, he
wasn't exactly the kind of young man
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you'd normally associate with
a passion for altruism.
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At least, not until that phone call
that changed his life,
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my life
and the life of so many others.
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Hello?
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'The phone call was from Prague,
from Martin Blake, '
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a friend with whom Nicky had planned
to go on that skiing trip.
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Blake said he couldn't make it
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because he had gone to
Czechoslovakia
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to help people in trouble with the
Germans, so Nicky decided to forget
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the ski trip and join Blake to take
a look at what was going on there.
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Hello.
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'I went to Prague with the background
knowledge' of people in England
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who felt they knew much more
about what Hitler was up to
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00:08:03,118 --> 00:08:04,878
than the present government.
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00:08:09,278 --> 00:08:13,437
The first thing I did then was to
go around the camps where all
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those people endangered
by the Nazis were living.
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Some Nissen huts with one little
stove in the middle
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and the conditions were
pretty terrible.
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It was very cold, snow on the ground
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and a lot of the refugees were
really in very bad shape.
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They felt that the days were
numbered before the Germans were
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going to arrive in Czechoslovakia,
but how could they save themselves?
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What could they do? Where should
they go? They were stuck.
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While Winton was in Prague, he was
given a map that shook him up.
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He showed the map,
a map of German plans
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00:08:59,518 --> 00:09:03,518
and ambitions for territorial
expansion to France.
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00:09:06,598 --> 00:09:12,678
And what it showed was that the Germans had
ambition to take over the whole of Europe.
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Nobody had believed it.
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00:09:32,079 --> 00:09:35,678
There were many other people,
refugees like us,
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small children. There was a fire,
smoke from cooking and heating
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and I remember being given something
hot cos it was cold weather then.
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The respiration was not just
among the poor in the camps.
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In Prague and elsewhere,
anxious parents,
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having heard about this
concerned Englishman,
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headed for Winton's hotel.
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Well, I didn't get much sleep
when I was at the Sroubek.
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00:10:11,239 --> 00:10:12,958
I got to bed very late
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and there were people knocking at
my door in the morning.
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00:10:21,439 --> 00:10:28,918
I saw those people who were
in difficulty, in danger.
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00:10:28,919 --> 00:10:33,199
People on Hitler's blacklist
for whom there was nobody to help.
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I thought, at least I ought to
try and save the children.
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Can you please, please take them?
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00:10:49,839 --> 00:10:51,718
Everybody in Prague said,
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00:10:51,719 --> 00:10:55,118
"Look, there is no organisation
to deal with the children.
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00:10:55,119 --> 00:10:56,958
"We can't deal with them.
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00:10:56,959 --> 00:10:59,798
"Anyway, nobody will let
the children in on their own
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00:10:59,799 --> 00:11:02,598
"but if you want to have a go,
have a go."
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00:11:02,599 --> 00:11:07,518
And I have a motto that if something
isn't blatantly impossible,
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there must be a way of doing it.
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So he started writing letters -
here, there, everywhere -
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asking for help, and he had
no hesitation about going
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right to the top,
writing to the White House,
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to President Franklin Roosevelt.
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00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,559
A few weeks later he got a reply,
not from the White House, though,
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00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:46,719
but from much lower down
on the diplomatic food chain,
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00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,039
from this building here
in London right behind me -
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the American Embassy.
And the reply said,
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00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:56,639
"The United States Government
is unable to permit immigration
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00:11:56,640 --> 00:12:01,480
"in excess of that provided for
by existing laws."
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00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,799
But Winton wasn't about to
let this stop him.
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He and his helpers started making up
the list of children
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without actually knowing whether
they would be able to help them.
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'This is the cafe that
I came down every day.'
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I wasn't sitting there
for more than about two minutes
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before the first people
came to talk to me
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and find out how they could
get their children to England.
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And this went on the whole time
I was here.
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The picture must be of good quality.
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As word of his campaign spread,
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it drew the attention
of the Germans.
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They suspected that Nicky Winton's
efforts were about something more
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than just getting out
a few children.
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00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,479
They decided they needed to get
closer to him,
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00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:10,599
which they did, using one of the
oldest tricks in the spy business -
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the lure of a beautiful woman.
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They met as if by chance
at the Hotel Sroubek.
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Nicky was enchanted,
and not just by her beauty.
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Her name, she said, was Kerstin
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and she was the Prague representative
of the Swedish Red Cross.
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'I dare say she was very beautiful.'
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I mean, traditional for a spy
to be beautiful, isn't it?
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00:13:53,321 --> 00:13:57,321
You can't have an ugly spy.
It's a contradiction in terms.
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Kerstin told him she had permission
to bring refugee children to Sweden.
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Winton's hopes soared.
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Finally, a chance perhaps
to get some children out.
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Friends warned him that she
was a known Nazi spy.
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Nicky forged ahead anyway
and kept on seeing her.
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00:14:34,521 --> 00:14:36,800
And it paid off.
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00:14:36,801 --> 00:14:40,320
Kerstin got 25 children
admitted to Sweden.
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In fact, she flew off
to Sweden with them
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00:14:43,961 --> 00:14:47,721
and disappeared from Nicky's life
completely.
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00:14:58,561 --> 00:15:03,561
My parents tried every way to get us
out of Czechoslovakia.
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00:15:05,601 --> 00:15:09,640
We tried to get to America.
We tried to get to England.
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00:15:09,641 --> 00:15:11,480
We tried to get to Palestine.
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00:15:11,481 --> 00:15:15,121
But all the governments said,
"Our borders are now closed."
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00:15:17,681 --> 00:15:22,081
My mother got up every day
at four o'clock
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00:15:22,082 --> 00:15:25,601
and went to stand in the queues
of different consuls,
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00:15:25,602 --> 00:15:28,761
for getting papers for Uruguay
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00:15:28,762 --> 00:15:32,441
and some other unmentionable places.
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And there was no way out.
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We knew that the timing was
absolutely essential
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to do everything now and quickly.
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The number of children who
were in urgent need of leaving
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00:15:51,122 --> 00:15:55,882
the country for safety
was certainly over 2,000.
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00:16:00,842 --> 00:16:03,721
Winton kept on meeting
with the families,
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00:16:03,922 --> 00:16:06,561
working on a list of children.
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00:16:06,562 --> 00:16:12,521
Then, suddenly, his work was
threatened by a phone call from London.
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The call was from his boss.
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00:16:15,282 --> 00:16:18,321
'My boss from the stock exchange'
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00:16:18,322 --> 00:16:21,601
didn't think that what I was doing
in Prague was important.
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00:16:21,602 --> 00:16:25,241
He didn't think what I was doing
in Prague was necessary.
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00:16:25,242 --> 00:16:28,601
He said, "Why do you want to
stay in Czechoslovakia
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00:16:28,602 --> 00:16:33,361
"and help those far-off people that
people don't know anything about?"
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00:16:33,362 --> 00:16:37,161
He was just a money chap
on the stock exchange,
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00:16:37,162 --> 00:16:40,881
completely non-humanitarian
with bags of money,
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00:16:40,882 --> 00:16:43,322
and all he thought about was money.
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00:16:45,122 --> 00:16:48,121
Winton, to the relief
of his co-workers,
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00:16:48,122 --> 00:16:52,281
decided to defy his boss
and stay in Prague.
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00:16:54,482 --> 00:16:56,521
Nicky Winton's efforts
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00:16:56,522 --> 00:16:59,921
came to the ears of all those
who had decided
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00:16:59,922 --> 00:17:02,361
to send their children away.
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00:17:02,362 --> 00:17:07,682
My father also approached
this refugee committee.
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00:17:10,722 --> 00:17:16,441
My mother took me to the
Winton office on Hrubesova Ulice.
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00:17:16,442 --> 00:17:21,322
We stood in line on a winding
staircase for hours
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00:17:21,323 --> 00:17:25,403
till my turn came
and I was registered.
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00:17:32,643 --> 00:17:36,962
The parents exchanged their hopes
and fears and we children
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00:17:36,963 --> 00:17:40,763
eyed each other
for potential friends.
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00:17:46,243 --> 00:17:50,362
You had all these refugees
who were fleeing from Hitler
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00:17:50,363 --> 00:17:53,642
and who were in danger
of their lives
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00:17:53,643 --> 00:17:57,243
if Hitler made another move
into Czechoslovakia.
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00:18:10,163 --> 00:18:14,082
This was the day the Germans
occupied Prague.
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00:18:14,083 --> 00:18:16,362
There were convoys approaching.
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00:18:16,363 --> 00:18:20,802
Germans with motorcycles in front,
with sidecars,
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00:18:20,803 --> 00:18:24,802
and behind them there were
the big trucks - open trucks -
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00:18:24,803 --> 00:18:27,922
with soldiers seated on two rows.
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00:18:27,923 --> 00:18:30,562
The people on the street
were screaming at them.
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00:18:30,563 --> 00:18:32,563
Women were crying.
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00:18:39,483 --> 00:18:44,162
Finally, a very large Mercedes
drove past,
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00:18:44,163 --> 00:18:47,802
Hitler standing there
with his arm raised
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00:18:47,803 --> 00:18:51,082
with three officers sitting behind.
227
00:18:51,083 --> 00:18:55,243
It was so quiet, it was like
you could hear a pin drop.
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00:19:07,123 --> 00:19:09,762
As soon as Hitler came in,
229
00:19:09,763 --> 00:19:12,082
a Nazi officer came to our school
and said,
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00:19:12,083 --> 00:19:13,802
"Who are the Jewish children?"
231
00:19:13,803 --> 00:19:16,242
And another child and I
put our hands up.
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00:19:16,243 --> 00:19:18,482
So he said, "You sit at the back.
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00:19:18,483 --> 00:19:20,603
"Jewish children sit at the back."
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00:19:23,124 --> 00:19:26,203
When he went out,
the headmaster came in and he said,
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00:19:26,204 --> 00:19:29,963
"From now on, the back seat
is the seat of honour.
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00:19:29,964 --> 00:19:32,523
"Only the best children sit there."
237
00:19:32,524 --> 00:19:34,244
That was Czechoslovakia.
238
00:19:38,884 --> 00:19:43,683
Winton wrote all over, looking for
countries to take in his children.
239
00:19:43,684 --> 00:19:47,883
Only one responded positively -
his own country, Britain.
240
00:19:47,884 --> 00:19:49,923
The rest of the world
241
00:19:49,924 --> 00:19:54,243
closed its eyes, its ears,
its hearts
242
00:19:54,244 --> 00:19:56,084
and its gates.
243
00:20:00,404 --> 00:20:03,323
Winton started his work
in London from scratch.
244
00:20:03,324 --> 00:20:07,723
There was no organisation,
no existing pipeline and he was
245
00:20:07,724 --> 00:20:12,204
convinced that time was running out,
that war was about to come.
246
00:20:15,204 --> 00:20:18,563
From this house on Hampstead Heath,
Winton conducted his campaign
247
00:20:18,564 --> 00:20:21,283
to get the Germans
to let the children out,
248
00:20:21,284 --> 00:20:23,643
the British Home Office
to let them in,
249
00:20:23,644 --> 00:20:26,523
to find British families
to take them into their homes
250
00:20:26,524 --> 00:20:30,204
and to raise the money
to make it all possible.
251
00:20:38,004 --> 00:20:41,963
One of the chief problems was people
said that the English government
252
00:20:41,964 --> 00:20:46,844
would never allow children in on
their own without their parents.
253
00:20:48,244 --> 00:20:51,723
I asked the Home Office
and they said yes.
254
00:20:51,724 --> 00:20:54,963
And they gave me certain conditions
which were difficult.
255
00:20:54,964 --> 00:20:57,723
I had to find a family
256
00:20:57,724 --> 00:21:04,283
which would look after the child
until the emergency was over.
257
00:21:04,284 --> 00:21:08,363
And each child had to have
a guarantor of £50.
258
00:21:08,364 --> 00:21:10,604
It was a hell of a lot of money.
259
00:21:11,844 --> 00:21:15,283
When I say the committee in London,
it was me and a secretary,
260
00:21:15,284 --> 00:21:18,723
working from home.
I mean, we had no office.
261
00:21:18,724 --> 00:21:22,244
We weren't an official body at all.
262
00:21:22,245 --> 00:21:25,724
So all I had to do was buy
some notepaper and print,
263
00:21:25,725 --> 00:21:30,525
"British Committee of Refugees from
Czechoslovakia Children's Section."
264
00:21:40,085 --> 00:21:42,848
Then I had the police round,
asking me why I had so much
265
00:21:42,925 --> 00:21:45,724
correspondence with Prague.
266
00:21:45,725 --> 00:21:48,885
The situation in Prague was serious.
267
00:21:52,885 --> 00:21:57,005
There was active, menacing
hostility from the Germans.
268
00:22:06,965 --> 00:22:12,124
When Hitler came, when the Germans
occupied Czechoslovakia,
269
00:22:12,125 --> 00:22:14,004
I had to leave school.
270
00:22:14,005 --> 00:22:17,644
We couldn't go to the movies,
we wouldn't go to the opera,
271
00:22:17,645 --> 00:22:20,285
to concerts -
everything was forbidden.
272
00:22:23,045 --> 00:22:27,004
Father was driving along
Karlovo Namesti
273
00:22:27,005 --> 00:22:30,684
and they saw that the Gestapo
had made an action there
274
00:22:30,685 --> 00:22:33,925
and they were taking people out
and putting them onto a truck.
275
00:22:36,645 --> 00:22:39,084
Every family was scared.
Which family was not scared?
276
00:22:39,085 --> 00:22:40,605
Every family was scared.
277
00:22:42,245 --> 00:22:45,284
Whenever my father left
for the office in the morning,
278
00:22:45,285 --> 00:22:49,524
my mother was terribly upset
and quite often cried
279
00:22:49,525 --> 00:22:53,644
because she was so worried that
he might never come home again,
280
00:22:53,645 --> 00:22:56,245
being arrested by the Germans.
281
00:22:58,485 --> 00:23:00,924
My father was a wanted person
282
00:23:00,925 --> 00:23:03,365
and he was warned to leave.
283
00:23:04,565 --> 00:23:08,044
A few days later, the Gestapo
did come to look for him.
284
00:23:08,045 --> 00:23:10,965
They took my mother away
for questioning.
285
00:23:17,845 --> 00:23:19,804
Well, I was beginning to pick up
286
00:23:19,805 --> 00:23:22,245
tension and worry in the grown-ups.
287
00:23:23,886 --> 00:23:27,206
My uncle and his wife
committed suicide.
288
00:23:31,886 --> 00:23:35,565
And then, the next day,
someone came to our house
289
00:23:35,566 --> 00:23:38,165
and said, "Brno is burning."
290
00:23:38,166 --> 00:23:41,405
And so - I was terrified of fire.
291
00:23:41,406 --> 00:23:46,045
That was the day, then,
that there were three,
292
00:23:46,046 --> 00:23:49,286
four synagogues burnt down
to the ground.
293
00:23:53,566 --> 00:23:58,645
As the despair of the parents grew,
so did the pressure on Winton,
294
00:23:58,646 --> 00:24:02,765
with photographs of applicants
continuing to flow in.
295
00:24:02,766 --> 00:24:08,766
A simple snapshot could often decide
the fate of a child.
296
00:24:18,926 --> 00:24:22,045
We received the pictures
of the children from Prague
297
00:24:22,046 --> 00:24:24,605
with details of each child.
298
00:24:24,606 --> 00:24:29,725
We enlisted these pictures in the
local press, the national press,
299
00:24:29,726 --> 00:24:35,766
in Picture Post which was a journal
which helped us enormously.
300
00:24:39,846 --> 00:24:43,045
What made Winton so effective
301
00:24:43,046 --> 00:24:46,445
was that in addition to
his skills as a salesman,
302
00:24:46,446 --> 00:24:52,446
he also had a creative spark
and a willingness to experiment.
303
00:24:59,566 --> 00:25:05,445
We put six or eight of these
children together on one card,
304
00:25:05,446 --> 00:25:07,445
merely to speed up the process
305
00:25:07,446 --> 00:25:10,726
of getting the British families
to choose.
306
00:25:12,326 --> 00:25:15,605
If somebody said,
"We'd like to take a child,"
307
00:25:15,606 --> 00:25:17,965
we just said, "What sex?"
308
00:25:17,966 --> 00:25:20,405
And then we said, "What age?"
309
00:25:20,406 --> 00:25:22,885
We gave them pictures
of half a dozen children
310
00:25:22,886 --> 00:25:25,927
and then we asked them
to choose a child.
311
00:25:27,367 --> 00:25:32,046
Which was rather a commercial
way of dealing with it
312
00:25:32,047 --> 00:25:34,766
but it was quick and effective
and it worked
313
00:25:34,767 --> 00:25:37,727
and in most cases it went right.
314
00:26:04,167 --> 00:26:06,366
But when somebody wanted
to take a child,
315
00:26:06,367 --> 00:26:10,246
say they were up in Newcastle from
London, which is a long way away,
316
00:26:10,247 --> 00:26:12,726
we got somebody in Newcastle
317
00:26:12,727 --> 00:26:16,567
to vet the family to see
that the family was OK.
318
00:26:20,167 --> 00:26:24,286
We were sitting round a little
table, you know, having supper
319
00:26:24,287 --> 00:26:28,207
that Mother wasn't eating
and suddenly she put...
320
00:26:30,367 --> 00:26:36,046
..her knife and fork down and looked
at Father and said very quietly,
321
00:26:36,047 --> 00:26:43,726
"I heard today... that both Eva
and Vera can go to England."
322
00:26:43,727 --> 00:26:51,126
And my father looked up and there were
tears in his eyes and... as he said...
323
00:26:51,127 --> 00:26:53,287
"We'll have to let them go."
324
00:27:00,327 --> 00:27:05,086
There was a lot of sadness
in the house and also...
325
00:27:05,087 --> 00:27:07,646
um... sort of...
326
00:27:07,647 --> 00:27:09,366
a peculiar atmosphere.
327
00:27:09,367 --> 00:27:13,687
My father looked sad, my mother,
obviously, was devastated.
328
00:27:16,447 --> 00:27:21,326
One day, I remember my father...
called me and he said,
329
00:27:21,327 --> 00:27:23,166
"You're going on a long journey.
330
00:27:23,167 --> 00:27:28,007
"You're going to a country
called England.
331
00:27:28,008 --> 00:27:30,208
"We can't come with you."
332
00:27:47,568 --> 00:27:51,808
The pressure from the parents
was incredible.
333
00:27:57,968 --> 00:28:00,567
We in London at that time
334
00:28:00,568 --> 00:28:05,007
thought there was going to be
a catastrophe at any moment,
335
00:28:05,008 --> 00:28:08,167
and for us, time was
absolutely essential.
336
00:28:08,168 --> 00:28:10,568
We cut all kinds of corners...
337
00:28:12,248 --> 00:28:17,167
..even having fake passports or
travel documents made at some time
338
00:28:17,168 --> 00:28:20,008
because the Home Office
was a bit slow.
339
00:28:24,768 --> 00:28:28,167
But it was a forgery to bamboozle
the Germans, really,
340
00:28:28,168 --> 00:28:30,407
not to bamboozle the British.
341
00:28:30,408 --> 00:28:33,247
We didn't bring
anybody in illegally,
342
00:28:33,248 --> 00:28:36,328
we just speeded the process up
a little.
343
00:28:52,208 --> 00:28:56,087
My mother, with a friend of hers,
took me to the station.
344
00:28:56,088 --> 00:28:57,607
I can still see
345
00:28:57,608 --> 00:29:00,848
the tension on my mother's face.
346
00:29:02,488 --> 00:29:04,887
Looking anxious.
347
00:29:04,888 --> 00:29:08,367
There were German soldiers with
the swastika standing nearby,
348
00:29:08,368 --> 00:29:11,967
lots of other parents
seeing their children off.
349
00:29:11,968 --> 00:29:17,168
And a clear sense of tension which
even a six-year-old child felt.
350
00:29:19,328 --> 00:29:25,648
My mom, she is crying so hard and...
she was hysterical.
351
00:29:25,649 --> 00:29:28,088
And she's asking us over and over,
352
00:29:28,089 --> 00:29:30,768
"Are you sure you want to go,
are you sure you want to go?"
353
00:29:30,769 --> 00:29:33,808
I'm frustrated, "Why is my mother
crying like that?
354
00:29:33,809 --> 00:29:36,009
"I've never seen her like that."
355
00:29:39,889 --> 00:29:43,128
Transport was due to leave,
I'd get a message from the Germans -
356
00:29:43,129 --> 00:29:46,648
"We can't let the transport go
unless you give us
357
00:29:46,649 --> 00:29:48,808
"so much more money."
358
00:29:48,809 --> 00:29:50,608
So they were terrible.
359
00:29:50,609 --> 00:29:52,488
We just had to find the money.
360
00:29:52,489 --> 00:29:55,649
I mean, it was an egg you couldn't
unscramble any more.
361
00:29:57,289 --> 00:30:00,169
There's no way you can cancel
a big operation like that.
362
00:30:20,329 --> 00:30:26,248
The last thing my dad said to me was I
should be his brave, cheerful little girl.
363
00:30:26,249 --> 00:30:28,249
And I think I have been.
364
00:30:29,809 --> 00:30:32,289
And he said, "See you soon."
365
00:30:46,089 --> 00:30:50,248
My mother was beside herself.
My little sister was crying.
366
00:30:50,249 --> 00:30:52,769
My mother wanted to hold her.
367
00:30:55,209 --> 00:30:58,888
She took my sister through
the open window of the train.
368
00:30:58,889 --> 00:31:02,448
We kept on telling
my mother to keep her.
369
00:31:02,449 --> 00:31:06,208
"Keep her, keep her,"
when she took her out of the window.
370
00:31:06,209 --> 00:31:10,368
And she held her. I know how much
she suffered, really.
371
00:31:10,369 --> 00:31:13,048
I can just be sure...
372
00:31:13,049 --> 00:31:16,129
It just makes me cry
when I think about it.
373
00:32:20,970 --> 00:32:28,249
Today you have to realise the
sacrifice our parents did for us.
374
00:32:28,250 --> 00:32:32,850
They didn't know where
they were sending us to.
375
00:32:36,810 --> 00:32:41,050
It was the courage of our parents
to send their children away.
376
00:32:43,490 --> 00:32:46,329
Then the next day,
when we were crossing Germany,
377
00:32:46,330 --> 00:32:48,649
we're passing through
these railway stations
378
00:32:48,650 --> 00:32:53,130
bedecked with Nazi flags, uniforms.
379
00:32:54,290 --> 00:33:00,010
And there were big portraits of
Hitler and the swastikas everywhere.
380
00:33:05,850 --> 00:33:08,089
We arrived at the German border.
381
00:33:08,090 --> 00:33:12,889
There were lots of Germans
crowding around
382
00:33:12,890 --> 00:33:15,290
and we wondered what was
going to happen.
383
00:33:18,410 --> 00:33:22,289
There was something very
frightening about the way
384
00:33:22,290 --> 00:33:25,729
they walked into the cabin,
looked at our luggage.
385
00:33:25,730 --> 00:33:29,011
There was a feeling that
there was going to be trouble.
386
00:33:54,411 --> 00:33:58,650
We were terrified they would do
something like maybe...
387
00:33:58,651 --> 00:34:03,330
arrest us. We didn't know.
We had the biggest fears.
388
00:34:03,331 --> 00:34:05,410
We were dumbfounded.
389
00:34:05,411 --> 00:34:10,050
But finally they got off
and we were delighted.
390
00:34:10,051 --> 00:34:11,971
We breathed a sigh of relief.
391
00:34:17,891 --> 00:34:20,970
We finally did reach the Channel
coast and boarded a ship,
392
00:34:20,971 --> 00:34:24,650
and the ship just seemed huge to me
because the only ships I'd ever seen
393
00:34:24,651 --> 00:34:27,090
before in my life were
the little paddle steamers
394
00:34:27,091 --> 00:34:30,131
that went up and down the Danube
in Bratislava.
395
00:34:35,771 --> 00:34:38,530
And, being little boys,
we were fascinated by the ship
396
00:34:38,531 --> 00:34:41,930
and looking around,
climbing up and down gangways
397
00:34:41,931 --> 00:34:44,331
and just running along
all over the place.
398
00:34:46,051 --> 00:34:50,650
It was fun to go on a boat.
I'd never been on a big boat...
399
00:34:50,651 --> 00:34:53,451
..to cross the Channel.
400
00:34:55,611 --> 00:34:57,770
That night, as we crossed
the English Channel,
401
00:34:57,771 --> 00:35:02,290
suspended for a few hours in the
calmness of the ship rocking us to sleep,
402
00:35:02,291 --> 00:35:06,811
I heard voices from nearby cabins
singing the Czech national anthem.
403
00:35:15,811 --> 00:35:19,650
Kde domov muj? Kde domov muj?
404
00:35:19,651 --> 00:35:23,330
"Where is my home?
Where is my home?"
405
00:35:23,331 --> 00:35:28,252
It was a question that remained
unanswered for many of us for years.
406
00:35:31,292 --> 00:35:36,212
The question that, for a few,
remains unanswered to this day.
407
00:35:46,132 --> 00:35:50,371
Liverpool Street station.
This is where we arrived in London.
408
00:35:50,372 --> 00:35:53,851
It's all changed, of course,
except for all the noise.
409
00:35:53,852 --> 00:35:57,691
What I remember most is one of those
little odd facts
410
00:35:57,692 --> 00:36:00,011
that stick in your mind
your whole life,
411
00:36:00,012 --> 00:36:03,771
and that is getting off the train,
that you didn't have to climb down
412
00:36:03,772 --> 00:36:06,411
to the rails as you did
in Central Europe,
413
00:36:06,412 --> 00:36:08,931
but the platform was even
with the train door
414
00:36:08,932 --> 00:36:11,932
and all you had to do
was just step out.
415
00:36:13,732 --> 00:36:16,531
I was very, very impressed.
416
00:36:16,532 --> 00:36:20,931
'Liverpool Street station saw the arrival
of another 'group of refugee children,
417
00:36:20,932 --> 00:36:23,491
'another piteous cargo thrown
overboard by the ruthless
418
00:36:23,492 --> 00:36:26,011
'code of the modern European temper.
419
00:36:26,012 --> 00:36:29,172
'A special effort is being made to
help the refugees on Mother's Day.'
420
00:36:30,972 --> 00:36:37,251
Then the train arrived and you had
up to 200, 250 children getting out
421
00:36:37,252 --> 00:36:40,172
and you had to get the right
child to the right family.
422
00:36:46,852 --> 00:36:49,691
And you had to treat it
as a business.
423
00:36:49,692 --> 00:36:53,211
When you got the right child with
the right family, the family had to
424
00:36:53,212 --> 00:36:56,972
sign for the child so that you had
some proof of delivery.
425
00:37:17,212 --> 00:37:19,731
They assembled us kids
in the corner.
426
00:37:19,732 --> 00:37:23,091
There were a bunch of grown-ups
waiting behind the barrier,
427
00:37:23,092 --> 00:37:26,451
craning their necks,
waiting to pick us up.
428
00:37:26,452 --> 00:37:29,172
A lady behind a wooden table
called my name...
429
00:37:29,173 --> 00:37:31,332
"Ben Abeles!"
430
00:37:31,333 --> 00:37:37,413
A lady my mother's age came over,
embraced me and kissed me.
431
00:37:49,693 --> 00:37:52,452
I remember when I arrived,
432
00:37:52,453 --> 00:37:55,932
having this uncomfortable string
around my neck
433
00:37:55,933 --> 00:38:02,372
and a big placard on my chest
and I just was totally alone
434
00:38:02,373 --> 00:38:06,092
with nobody around me,
and I was obviously waiting
435
00:38:06,093 --> 00:38:08,892
for the family who I was going to
to pick me up
436
00:38:08,893 --> 00:38:11,733
and I was just three years old.
437
00:38:15,213 --> 00:38:18,452
There was bound to be troubles
and difficulties.
438
00:38:18,453 --> 00:38:21,972
Some children got left behind
and the police looked after them
439
00:38:21,973 --> 00:38:24,652
until we could sort things out.
440
00:38:24,653 --> 00:38:27,973
It was fairly chaotic
but it worked out.
441
00:38:32,533 --> 00:38:36,292
There were five boys
sitting on suitcases,
442
00:38:36,293 --> 00:38:38,333
waiting for somebody to pick us up.
443
00:38:42,293 --> 00:38:47,892
Nobody picked us up.
It was late at night and, uh...
444
00:38:47,893 --> 00:38:51,372
a taxi driver came over
445
00:38:51,373 --> 00:38:55,012
and asked us, "Have you been here
since seven o'clock in the morning?
446
00:38:55,013 --> 00:38:57,492
"Are you hungry?"
447
00:38:57,493 --> 00:39:00,692
And he drove us not far away
from the station,
448
00:39:00,693 --> 00:39:03,332
to a fish and chip shop.
449
00:39:03,333 --> 00:39:08,532
Later, he took us to his own wife
and small child
450
00:39:08,533 --> 00:39:12,412
in a single-bedroom apartment
451
00:39:12,413 --> 00:39:16,053
in which he put us up -
the five of us.
452
00:39:17,373 --> 00:39:22,972
English people as a people...
are extremely kind
453
00:39:22,973 --> 00:39:26,893
and I would say the, uh...
454
00:39:29,853 --> 00:39:33,214
..the poorer they were,
the kinder they were.
455
00:39:35,454 --> 00:39:38,933
And we all were ushered into
a big hall
456
00:39:38,934 --> 00:39:42,133
and there were hundreds
of the children.
457
00:39:42,134 --> 00:39:45,573
And I was left sitting there...
458
00:39:45,574 --> 00:39:48,133
trembling at the knees.
459
00:39:48,134 --> 00:39:53,093
And suddenly the door opened
and a little lady ran towards me,
460
00:39:53,094 --> 00:39:57,333
laughing and smiling
at the same time,
461
00:39:57,334 --> 00:40:01,654
with tears streaming down her face
as well and she hugged me.
462
00:40:03,174 --> 00:40:05,733
Mr and Mrs Num,
463
00:40:05,734 --> 00:40:11,573
the family that took us in,
they were Methodists, farmers
464
00:40:11,574 --> 00:40:15,693
in Redgrave in Suffolk, East Anglia.
465
00:40:15,694 --> 00:40:20,333
Their cottage had a thatched roof.
I'd never seen a thatched roof.
466
00:40:20,334 --> 00:40:23,093
My cousin and I went around
the walls, knocking -
467
00:40:23,094 --> 00:40:25,214
we were afraid it may fall down!
468
00:40:26,854 --> 00:40:29,693
And, for instance,
the toilet was outside.
469
00:40:29,694 --> 00:40:34,133
There was no electricity.
And they were good to us.
470
00:40:34,134 --> 00:40:38,614
They were true Christians
in the real sense of the word.
471
00:40:40,934 --> 00:40:44,893
And the only people who objected
to what I was doing
472
00:40:44,894 --> 00:40:50,053
was when one day a couple of rabbis
arrived at home
473
00:40:50,054 --> 00:40:56,293
and said that they understood that
some of the good Jewish children
474
00:40:56,294 --> 00:40:59,733
I was bringing over to this country
were going to Christian homes
475
00:40:59,734 --> 00:41:01,973
and that must stop.
476
00:41:01,974 --> 00:41:06,093
And I said, "Well, it won't stop and
if you prefer a dead Jew in Prague
477
00:41:06,094 --> 00:41:10,773
"to a live one who is being
brought up in a Christian home,
478
00:41:10,774 --> 00:41:13,093
"that's your problem, not mine."
479
00:41:13,094 --> 00:41:16,653
As the months passed, Winton knew
the end was nearing and so
480
00:41:16,654 --> 00:41:21,654
he kept on pressing even harder
for permits for more children.
481
00:41:24,574 --> 00:41:29,774
There were thousands of children
on the list who wanted to get out.
482
00:41:31,655 --> 00:41:36,494
We had organised eight transports
from Prague.
483
00:41:36,495 --> 00:41:39,854
No transport completed
the operation.
484
00:41:39,855 --> 00:41:43,694
It was an operation without end.
485
00:41:43,695 --> 00:41:46,734
For the beginning of September,
we had arranged
486
00:41:46,735 --> 00:41:51,934
our biggest transport which would
have comprised 250 children.
487
00:41:51,935 --> 00:41:53,774
All the paperwork was done,
488
00:41:53,775 --> 00:41:57,254
all the families were prepared
to take the children,
489
00:41:57,255 --> 00:42:00,775
all the children were
waiting in the train.
490
00:42:34,575 --> 00:42:38,134
Our greatest regret was
that our biggest transport,
491
00:42:38,135 --> 00:42:40,254
which was 250 children,
492
00:42:40,255 --> 00:42:43,054
which was due to leave at
the beginning of September,
493
00:42:43,055 --> 00:42:46,454
was cancelled because war started.
494
00:42:46,455 --> 00:42:51,654
I was in London. We watched the
planes coming over, dropping bombs.
495
00:42:51,655 --> 00:42:55,694
I remember the houses fell down
496
00:42:55,695 --> 00:42:59,894
like cards or domino sticks.
497
00:42:59,895 --> 00:43:01,495
Just collapsed.
498
00:43:08,575 --> 00:43:13,014
During the Battle of Britain, bombs
were raining down on us every night.
499
00:43:13,015 --> 00:43:17,494
I was then an apprentice cook
at the Bailey's Hotel in London
500
00:43:17,495 --> 00:43:20,094
as a dishwasher and pot washer
501
00:43:20,095 --> 00:43:25,135
and every night, practically,
we ended up in the air raid shelter.
502
00:43:26,615 --> 00:43:30,054
My mother wrote us long letters.
503
00:43:30,426 --> 00:43:32,866
"My dearest children,
504
00:43:32,867 --> 00:43:37,307
"I'm very happy that you're over
there and don't know about evil.
505
00:43:38,987 --> 00:43:43,266
"All Jews under 50 here
must work in labour camps.
506
00:43:43,267 --> 00:43:48,547
"We will come through it somehow
and you mustn't worry about us.
507
00:43:50,307 --> 00:43:52,787
"But I'm very happy
that you are not here."
508
00:44:01,787 --> 00:44:04,786
We learnt about
the concentration camps
509
00:44:04,787 --> 00:44:09,827
and the possibility that our parents
might have been taken to them.
510
00:44:11,427 --> 00:44:15,946
We all hoped that nothing awful
happened to them,
511
00:44:15,947 --> 00:44:18,587
that they were well.
512
00:44:19,987 --> 00:44:24,466
The last letter from my father
came in 1942.
513
00:44:24,467 --> 00:44:28,386
He wrote that they had received
orders to pack up,
514
00:44:28,387 --> 00:44:31,786
that they were being transported
somewhere else.
515
00:44:31,787 --> 00:44:34,826
And in which he...
516
00:44:34,827 --> 00:44:36,827
wrote to his sons...
517
00:44:38,507 --> 00:44:40,706
..telling them...
518
00:44:40,707 --> 00:44:45,426
not to forget the precepts
they were taught at home.
519
00:44:45,427 --> 00:44:50,666
And he hoped the Almighty
would allow us to grow up
520
00:44:50,667 --> 00:44:54,347
into just and decent men.
521
00:44:57,987 --> 00:45:01,227
And that was the last thing
I heard from my parents.
522
00:45:30,027 --> 00:45:34,987
Nothing that happened
prior to the war starting
523
00:45:34,988 --> 00:45:38,268
was really of any importance
any more.
524
00:45:39,228 --> 00:45:41,027
What was done was done,
525
00:45:41,028 --> 00:45:44,907
what couldn't be done couldn't be
done, what had been done was done.
526
00:45:44,908 --> 00:45:48,787
Once you can't stop a war
and there is a war you, I suppose,
527
00:45:48,788 --> 00:45:52,308
go to the defence of your country
and I joined the RAF.
528
00:46:20,858 --> 00:46:22,244
529
00:46:22,268 --> 00:46:24,707
♪ There's a garden, what a garden
530
00:46:24,708 --> 00:46:27,147
♪ Only happy faces bloom there
531
00:46:27,148 --> 00:46:29,547
♪ And there's never any room there
532
00:46:29,548 --> 00:46:31,827
♪ For a worry or a gloom there
533
00:46:31,828 --> 00:46:34,067
♪ Oh, there's music
and there's dancing
534
00:46:34,068 --> 00:46:35,907
♪ And a lot of sweet romancing... ♪
535
00:46:35,908 --> 00:46:41,867
We decided to go to town to see how
everybody was celebrating and...
536
00:46:41,868 --> 00:46:44,987
Trafalgar Square,
I remember, in London,
537
00:46:44,988 --> 00:46:49,107
where everybody went around
putting up their two V for Victory.
538
00:46:49,108 --> 00:46:52,787
Everybody laughed. That was so gay.
539
00:46:52,788 --> 00:46:55,788
We were dancing
with American soldiers.
540
00:47:03,748 --> 00:47:05,787
The war was over.
541
00:47:05,788 --> 00:47:07,787
But still no news of our families.
542
00:47:07,788 --> 00:47:11,267
Many of us came back to
Czechoslovakia to look for them.
543
00:47:11,268 --> 00:47:14,867
I came to Prague,
here to this building behind me,
544
00:47:14,901 --> 00:47:19,220
which served as a clearing house
for separated families.
545
00:47:19,221 --> 00:47:23,900
Inside, wall upon wall filled with
notices put up by people
546
00:47:23,901 --> 00:47:26,420
looking for their missing
loved ones.
547
00:47:26,421 --> 00:47:29,340
Of my parents, though, not a trace.
548
00:47:29,341 --> 00:47:32,180
I know they were deported to Poland
549
00:47:32,181 --> 00:47:36,062
but to this day, I'm not certain
how they came to die.
550
00:47:37,502 --> 00:47:43,421
My first stop in Prague was the house from
which my parents were deported to Terezin.
551
00:47:43,422 --> 00:47:48,062
There was a minimal chance
that they would have come back.
552
00:47:51,382 --> 00:47:56,862
I lingered for a while, as if I were
waiting for them to appear suddenly.
553
00:47:59,622 --> 00:48:01,222
But in vain.
554
00:48:04,262 --> 00:48:06,501
My mother and my brother,
555
00:48:06,502 --> 00:48:09,981
together with about
ten other children,
556
00:48:09,982 --> 00:48:11,582
arrived to Auschwitz...
557
00:48:14,382 --> 00:48:17,741
..and were sent to the gas chamber.
558
00:48:17,742 --> 00:48:23,181
An old friend of the family
who took care of the dead bodies
559
00:48:23,182 --> 00:48:26,581
immediately recognised my mother.
560
00:48:26,582 --> 00:48:31,381
He told her, "Take your children,
go in, sit down in the corner
561
00:48:31,382 --> 00:48:34,341
"and start to sing with them.
562
00:48:34,342 --> 00:48:42,062
"Because if you sing and you inhale
the gas, "you will die very quickly."
563
00:49:00,631 --> 00:49:08,498
564
00:49:53,983 --> 00:49:57,022
When my parents went to
concentration camps
565
00:49:57,023 --> 00:50:01,502
and when they saw other children
around them, young boys and girls,
566
00:50:01,503 --> 00:50:04,342
being taken to gas chambers
and so forth,
567
00:50:04,343 --> 00:50:06,343
they must have then...
568
00:50:16,343 --> 00:50:18,943
They must have then
realised what they...
569
00:50:20,983 --> 00:50:23,023
..what they had done...
570
00:50:28,903 --> 00:50:30,943
..when they sent the children.
571
00:51:00,463 --> 00:51:02,782
My family...
572
00:51:02,783 --> 00:51:04,862
my parents...
573
00:51:04,863 --> 00:51:07,902
none of these people survived.
574
00:51:07,903 --> 00:51:13,942
So after the war we had to continue
living, to overcome the past.
575
00:51:13,943 --> 00:51:19,703
We were all young, we were
beginning, we had to build careers.
576
00:51:21,263 --> 00:51:23,342
When you're young you take
everything in life,
577
00:51:23,343 --> 00:51:25,462
including survival, for granted.
578
00:51:25,463 --> 00:51:28,862
As I grew older, though, I began to
wonder more and more how it was
579
00:51:28,863 --> 00:51:31,862
that when so many died,
our parents, friends,
580
00:51:31,863 --> 00:51:34,502
families and millions of others,
581
00:51:34,503 --> 00:51:37,383
how it came to be
that we fortunate few
582
00:51:37,384 --> 00:51:40,623
on those trains from Prague
were spared.
583
00:51:40,624 --> 00:51:45,743
That is, until 50 years later
when this scrapbook surfaced.
584
00:51:45,744 --> 00:51:49,743
The scrapbook and its story
gathered dust for decades
585
00:51:49,744 --> 00:51:51,383
in the Wintons' attic,
586
00:51:51,384 --> 00:51:55,463
until one day Nicky's wife,
Grete, found it, opened it,
587
00:51:55,464 --> 00:51:58,903
became fascinated,
and yet was puzzled.
588
00:51:58,904 --> 00:52:01,743
And so 50 years after it happened,
589
00:52:01,744 --> 00:52:08,224
Nicky Winton finally told his wife
what he had for so long kept secret.
590
00:52:09,984 --> 00:52:12,743
And his wife went to London
and she tried to
591
00:52:12,744 --> 00:52:16,903
give this story to several people
592
00:52:16,904 --> 00:52:18,783
but nobody was interested
593
00:52:18,784 --> 00:52:24,823
until she came to me. I was given
the scrapbook and this list of names
594
00:52:24,824 --> 00:52:27,343
and I thought it was very moving
595
00:52:27,344 --> 00:52:30,783
because they were ordinary names
596
00:52:30,784 --> 00:52:34,423
of people and Czech children.
597
00:52:34,424 --> 00:52:36,863
For instance, Berman, Thomas,
598
00:52:36,864 --> 00:52:38,703
Bekefi, Jiri,
599
00:52:38,704 --> 00:52:40,703
Benedict, Ruth.
600
00:52:40,704 --> 00:52:43,583
And we wrote to every one of them
601
00:52:43,584 --> 00:52:50,663
and from these...
over 600 names, we got 250 answers.
602
00:52:50,664 --> 00:52:53,503
And most of the children
were delighted.
603
00:52:53,504 --> 00:52:55,343
They did not know who had saved them
604
00:52:55,344 --> 00:52:58,623
and they did not know
their own story.
605
00:52:58,624 --> 00:53:04,503
It caught the eye of Esther Rantzen,
who was working for the BBC.
606
00:53:04,504 --> 00:53:07,423
So we did some research
607
00:53:07,424 --> 00:53:10,823
and we managed to track down
some of those children,
608
00:53:10,824 --> 00:53:12,863
now adults, living in England.
609
00:53:12,864 --> 00:53:15,023
We were absolutely thrilled.
610
00:53:15,077 --> 00:53:18,076
This lady said to me,
"What's your name?"
611
00:53:18,077 --> 00:53:22,036
So I said, "Pinkasovic."
612
00:53:22,037 --> 00:53:26,677
When I saw my name and my brother's
name printed in this...
613
00:53:28,117 --> 00:53:30,277
The biggest shock of my life.
614
00:53:33,237 --> 00:53:36,357
I couldn't speak,
I couldn't breathe.
615
00:53:36,358 --> 00:53:39,478
I had goose bumps all over my arms.
616
00:53:41,518 --> 00:53:43,998
All these years, 50 years.
617
00:53:49,678 --> 00:53:54,557
Nobody knew who masterminded our
rescue and then out of the blue,
618
00:53:54,558 --> 00:54:00,317
I was asked to take part in a
television show - That's Life! -
619
00:54:00,318 --> 00:54:02,678
where, to my joy and...
620
00:54:04,398 --> 00:54:07,517
..oh, such fulfilment,
621
00:54:07,518 --> 00:54:10,277
I came face-to-face
622
00:54:10,278 --> 00:54:13,237
with the man who saved my life.
623
00:54:13,238 --> 00:54:17,237
They got me there, in a way,
under false pretences.
624
00:54:17,238 --> 00:54:22,398
I was sat in a seat which was
focused on the camera and...
625
00:54:25,198 --> 00:54:27,037
..I became part of this programme.
626
00:54:27,038 --> 00:54:30,477
I didn't know I was going to
meet for the first time
627
00:54:30,478 --> 00:54:33,637
the children that I'd brought over
so many years before.
628
00:54:33,638 --> 00:54:37,477
..managed to save 664 children.
629
00:54:37,478 --> 00:54:41,837
This is his scrapbook. There are all
kinds of fascinating pictures in it.
630
00:54:41,838 --> 00:54:45,117
Perhaps you can see - this is
a picture of Nicholas Winton himself
631
00:54:45,118 --> 00:54:47,397
with one of the children he rescued.
632
00:54:47,398 --> 00:54:50,637
If you look at the very back
of this scrapbook...
633
00:54:50,638 --> 00:54:53,957
Fascinating things in it,
all the letters...
634
00:54:53,958 --> 00:54:57,917
But back here is the list
of all the children.
635
00:54:57,918 --> 00:55:01,557
This is Vera Diamant,
now Vera Gissing.
636
00:55:01,558 --> 00:55:04,597
We did find her name on his list.
637
00:55:04,598 --> 00:55:07,877
Vera Gissing is with us here
tonight. Hello, Vera.
638
00:55:07,878 --> 00:55:10,517
And I should tell you
that you are actually
639
00:55:10,518 --> 00:55:12,637
sitting next to Nicholas Winton.
640
00:55:12,638 --> 00:55:14,158
Hello.
641
00:55:39,959 --> 00:55:41,279
Thank you.
642
00:55:43,399 --> 00:55:45,878
I wore this around my neck
643
00:55:45,879 --> 00:55:50,718
and this is the actual pass that
we were given to come to England.
644
00:55:50,719 --> 00:55:53,879
And I'm another of the children
that you saved.
645
00:55:59,279 --> 00:56:04,278
Can I ask, is there anyone in our
audience tonight who owes their life
646
00:56:04,279 --> 00:56:07,799
to Nicholas Winton? If so,
could you stand up, please?
647
00:57:01,568 --> 00:57:04,001
648
00:57:04,073 --> 00:57:06,540
649
00:57:06,645 --> 00:57:08,975
650
00:57:09,037 --> 00:57:11,474
651
00:57:11,546 --> 00:57:13,775
652
00:57:14,199 --> 00:57:21,898
The handkerchief I'm holding
goes back to 1939.
653
00:57:22,599 --> 00:57:29,038
My mother saw me off on the
Kindertransport from Prague
654
00:57:29,039 --> 00:57:33,558
and she took a handkerchief
out of her bag,
655
00:57:33,559 --> 00:57:39,479
in order to wipe my tears
at our goodbyes.
656
00:57:39,480 --> 00:57:44,679
I knew I would never
see my parents again
657
00:57:44,680 --> 00:57:51,600
and I've kept this handkerchief,
newly laundered, ever since.
658
00:57:53,600 --> 00:57:57,719
I'm glad that I've shared my stories
659
00:57:57,720 --> 00:58:02,640
for the sake of being recorded
for posterity.
660
00:58:04,160 --> 00:58:12,119
Sadly, I don't think the world
has learnt lessons from the past.
661
00:58:12,120 --> 00:58:17,799
Everybody has to learn
to live with everybody else,
662
00:58:17,800 --> 00:58:21,880
regardless of creed or religion.
663
00:58:23,280 --> 00:58:28,239
I never thought what I did 70 years
was going to have such a big impact
664
00:58:28,240 --> 00:58:30,999
as apparently it has.
665
00:58:31,000 --> 00:58:33,519
And if it has now got a story
666
00:58:33,520 --> 00:58:38,039
which helps people
to live for the future,
667
00:58:38,040 --> 00:58:40,720
well, that will be an added bonus.
668
00:58:51,457 --> 00:58:53,857
669
00:58:54,594 --> 00:58:58,594
670
00:58:59,111 --> 00:59:04,111
57065
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