Nicholas Winton and one of the rescued children. (1938)
Nicholas Winton and the Power of Good
In December 1938, Nicholas Winton--a British stock-broker on holiday in Prague--recognized the danger posed to the Jewish community by the impending Nazi takeover of Czechoslovakia. Setting up an office in the lobby of his hotel, Winton helped raise money and secure paperwork for the transport of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia to England. In the following months, Winton was able to secure the transport of 669 Jewish children, sending them to England and putting them out of the reach of the Nazi regime.In January 2008, the Gelman Education foundation of Ann Arbor donated $25,000 to the Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in order to send the archive's director, Professor Sidney Bolkosky, to Israel where he conducted interviews with 11 of the children who were saved by Winton.
These unique interviews, along with two previously conducted ones, are available to the public via the Voice/Vision website. They are the result of a wonderful collaboration with Charles and Rita Gelman, who introduced the Voice/Vision Archive to Winton's remarkable story of courage and selflessness. Without their encouragement and support, these interviews could not have been conducted. They are also our tribute to Mr. Winton, whose story inspired us to look beyond the void left by the Holocaust and recognize what the determination of one person can do.
The Interviews:
Zyta Eliahu
Ruth Federman
Zivia Fischler and Baruch Spergel
Vera Gissing
Lisa Kallai
George Korper
Hugo Marom
Hanna Ramras
Tamara Sessler
Helen Stransky
Kurt Stern
Malka Sternberg
A preview of Director Matej Minac's documentary film, Nicholas Winton and the Power of Good (2002)
Order a complimentary copy of the film and study guide created by the Gelman Education Foundation
and distributed by the Voice/Vision Archive
"There is nothing that can't be done if it's fundamentally reasonable." --Sir Nicholas Winton