Nicholas Winton

Nicholas Winton

(Nicholas Winton and Hansi Neumann at the Prague Airport in Czechoslovakia in January 1939 before flying to London, England and Nicholas Winton later in life.)

Nicholas Winton was born Nicolas George Wertheim on May 19, 1909 in London, the United Kingdom.

His Parents. Rudolph Wertheim and Barbara (née Wertheimer) were Jews from Germany who moved to the United Kingdom in 1907, converted to Christianity and changed their Last Name to Winton in order to integrate better into British Society.

His Mother was the Sister of the Psychiatrists Fredric Wertham and Ida Macalpine.

Nicolas was the middle of three Children.

He volunteered at the Midland Bank while taking Night Courses.

He then went to Hamburg, where he worked at the Behrens Bank and then the Wasserman Bank in Berlin.

In 1931, he moved to France and worked for the Banque Nationale de Crédit in Paris.

He also earned a Banking Qualification in France.

Nicolas then went back to London and became a Broker at the London Stock Exchange.

Right before Christmas 1938 he had planned to go on a Ski Trip to Switzerland, but instead went to Prague, Czechoslovakia (Present day: Prague, the Czech Republic) to help a Friend, Martin Blake, at the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia.

The British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia was created in September 1938 to help Refugees fleeing Nazi Germany and the Areas it Occupied like Austria (in March 1938 and the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in October 1938.)

After Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) in November 1938 where the Germans murdered 2,000 Jews, arrested 30,000 Jewish Men and destroyed 1,400 Synogauges and 7,000 Jewish Businesses across Germany and Austria the British House of Commons approved a Measure to allow Refugees younger than 17 years old into the United Kingdom provided they each had a Warranty of £50 (equivalent to £2,910 in 2026) and a place to stay in the UK.

Nicholas spent three weeks in Prague helping the Refugees and left in January 1939.

In March 1939 the Germans occupied all of Czechoslovakia including Prague.

Nicholas and a Group of other Hard Working British, American, Canadian and Czechoslovakian Men and Women worked to help get Jewish Boys and Girls out of Nazi Germany and German-Occupied Austria and German-Occupied Czechoslovakia.

Nicolas worked back in London to raise the Funds needed for each Child, to get each Child a place to stay and to get the British Government’s Immigration Permission for each Child.

669 Jewish Boys and Girls were able to escape the Nazis thanks to Nicolas’ help.

A last train of Children were supposed to leave Prague for the UK on September 1, 1939 but it was stopped because of Germany’s Invasion of Poland and the British declaration of War on Germany.

Of the 250 Children that were supposed to be on that train only 2 survived the Holocaust.

After War was declared Nicolas registered as a Conscientious Objector working as an Air Raid Precautions Section Worker and at a British Red Cross Ambulance Unit.

In1940 he rescinded his Conscientious Objector Status and joined the Royal Air Force.

By February 1945 he was promoted to the War Substantive Rank of Flying Officer.

In May 1954 he left the Royal Air Force with the Honorary Rank of Flight Lieutenant.

Following World War 2, Nicolas worked for the International Refugee Organization and then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Paris.

In Paris he met  Grete Gjelstrup, a Danish Secretary.

They married in her Hometown of Vejle, Denmark on October 31, 1948.

They had 2 Sons (Nicholas Jr. and Robin) and a Daughter Barbara.)

Robin had Down’s Syndrome and instead of being sent to an Institution as was common at the time Nicholas and his Wife raised Robin at home.

Robin died of Meningitis the day before his 6^th Birthday.

In the 1983 Birthday Honours, Nicholas was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "services to the community in Maidenhead, Berkshire,”

The World did not know about Nicholas’ work saving the 669 Children until February 1988 when he appeared on the British Television Show “That’s Life.”

He was awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Fourth Class, by the Czech President Václav Havel in 1998.

In the 2003 New Year Honours, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for "services to humanity, in saving Jewish Children from Nazi-Occupied Czechoslovakia, 1938–39.”

In 2003, he also received the Pride of Britain Award for Lifetime Achievement.

In 2008 he was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Minister of Defense, Grade I by the Czech Government.

In 2009 a  statue of Nicholas was unveiled on Platform 1 of the Praha hlavní nádraží Railway Station in Prague.

In 2010, Nicholas was named a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British Government.

In 2013 he received the Wallenberg Medal.

In 2014, a book entitled “If it's Not Impossible... The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton’, written by his Daughter Barbara Winton, was published.

In October 2014, Nicholas was awarded the Order of the White Lion (Class I) by Czech President Miloš Zeman, the Czech Defense Ministry having sent a special Aircraft to bring him to Prague.

In February 2015 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London.

Nicholas Winton died in his sleep from Cardiac Arrest on the morning of July 1, 2015 at the Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, England.

He was 106 years old.

On May 19, 2016, a Memorial Service for Nicholas was held at London's Guildhall, attended by 400 People, including 28 of those he saved, and Czech, Slovak and UK Government Representatives.

In 2024, the Movie “One Life” was made about Nicholas Winton’s saving the 669 Children.

Johnny Flynn played Young Nicholas and Anthony Hopkins played the Older Nicholas.