The remarkable true story of the man who saved 669 children from the Nazis

5-6 minute read

By Ellie Ayton | January 25, 2024

The 2024 film One Life starring Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn and Helena Bonham-Carter recounts Nicholas Winton’s quest to rescue children in German-occupied Czechoslovakia just before the outbreak of the Second World War. But did you know it’s a true story?

The horrific tale of the Holocaust is one that perpetuates World War 2 history. Millions of people were murdered in concentration camps by the Nazi regime. The victims were mainly Jews, but also targeted were the disabled, homosexuals, political opponents, and the Roma.

There were some who foresaw the consequences of dangerous rhetoric perpetuated by the Nazis, and they took action. This is only one such story.

What was the Kindertransport?

As antisemitism began to rise in Germany and beyond, particularly after the violence of the Kristallnacht of 1938, many became worried for the welfare of Jews, especially children. Between 1938 and 1940, the British government agreed to allow unaccompanied minors into Britain from Germany and German-annexed territories, spurred on by refugee aid committees and the British public.

Newspaper article from 1938, reporting on hateful rhetoric used by Goebbels about Jews.

Just one of the front page articles from November 1938 following the violence of Kristallnacht, from The Leeds Mercury, November 12 1938. Please be aware: you may find some of the language used in this article upsetting.

Through such efforts, some 10,000 children were saved and brought to Britain. The records for some of these children can be found in our Kindertransport collection – it’s not a complete list of all children rescued, but the records can give a unique insight into the experiences of the children from their arrival in Britain to the end of World War 2.

Nicholas’ tale is just a part of that effort. He and the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia managed to bring 669 children to Britain. Most of their families were murdered in the Holocaust.

The work of Nicholas and others (Doreen Warriner, Trevor Chadwick, Nicholas Stopford, Beatrice Wellington, Josephine Pike and Bill Barazetti) came to light in 1988, when Esther Ranzen’s popular UK television show That’s Life! interviewed Nicholas and tried to reunite him with some of the children he saved. Before then, his work went largely unrecognized.

We managed to find the first contemporary evidence of Nicholas’ work in our newspapers. But first, who was this man who saved 669 children from the horrors of the Holocaust?

Who was Nicholas Winton?

Nicholas George Wertheim was born in 1909 in Hampstead, to parents Rudolf and Babi. They were both Jews who had moved to London a few years before. Rudolf was from Moscow, and Babi from Bavaria. The family later converted to Christianity.

We can see the family here in the 1921 Census living at 5 Cleve Road, Kilburn, Hampstead. Nicholas’ siblings are seen here too – Charlotte, aged 13, and Robert, aged 6.

Nicholas Winton and his family in the 1921 Census.

In 1938, the family renounced their original surname, as seen in the Gazette, changing their names by deed poll from Wertheim to Winton.

This London Gazette record shows Nicholas and his family changing their surname.

By 1938, Nicholas was working as a stockbroker. Just before Christmas, he was planning a ski trip to Switzerland when he was asked to help a friend named Martin Blake, who was in Prague working for the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia.

Nicholas didn’t hesitate, given what he’d seen and heard of Jews being persecuted. Alongside other volunteers, Nicholas worked in Prague for a month to organise the rescue of Jewish children at risk from the Nazis.

The British government allowed entry of refugees under 17, provided they had a place to stay and a warranty of £50. This was the next part of Nicholas’ problem – he worked tirelessly to find homes for these children in Britain and beyond.

Some examples of how Nicholas went about finding homes for the child refugees, pictured in the Sunday Mirror, 28 February 1988.

Some examples of how Nicholas went about finding homes for the child refugees, pictured in the Sunday Mirror, February 28 1988.

Sadly, the last group of children were unable to leave Prague – Hitler’s invasion of Poland happened that same day, and thus the Second World War began.

Possibly the only contemporary mention of him and his work can be found in our newspapers, from August 14 1939:

The first contemporary mention of Nicholas’ work, in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, 14 August 1939.

The first contemporary mention of Nicholas’ work, in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, August 14 1939.

"Mr Nicholas Winton, the hon. Secretary of the child refugees from Czechoslovakia organisation, told me he had 6,000 children on his books waiting to be brought to this country, His committee had already brought 500 to England."

He and those he worked with saved 669 children from the horrors of the Holocaust, but many more might have been saved. According to this article, as many as 6,000.

Shortly after this article, and just after World War Two began, we find Nicholas as a Member of the London Stock Exchange, living with his brother Robert, a wireless engineer, and a woman called Berthelma Scherkl (a domestic worker, 1916), at 20 Willow Road in Hampstead. Robert is also an ARP warden.

Nicholas Winton in the 1939 Register. You can view the full record here.

Six years of war followed, and millions were murdered in the Holocaust.

But it wasn’t until 50 years after Nicholas first went to Prague that his story was told.

Nicholas Winton and That’s Life!

Following World War 2, Nicholas met and married his wife Grete Gjelstrup, and they had three children. Sadly, their youngest son Robin, who had Down’s syndrome, died of meningitis just before his sixth birthday.

We skip ahead to 1988, when Grete came across a scrapbook in their loft – it contained lists of the children Nicholas saved, parents’ names, addresses, and details of those who offered a home. From there began a quest to track down some of the children – fifty years later.

Nicholas was invited into the audience of That’s Life! hosted by Esther Rantzen, where he met one of the children he rescued. In a later episode, more children were invited to be audience members for an emotional reunion.

There was a large, multi-page story in the Sunday Mirror from 1988. It was a call out for more of the children to come forward, fifty years after they were rescued.

Nicholas Winton with one of the children he helped rescue, pictured in the Sunday Mirror, 28 February 1988.

Nicholas Winton with one of the children he helped rescue, pictured in the Sunday Mirror, February 1988 28. View the article here.

It’s been suggested that around 370 of the children saved by Nicholas have never been traced.

Nicholas Winton died aged 106 in 2015 - 76 years to the day after 241 of the children he saved left Prague.

His story has been shared once again with the 2024 film One Life, starring Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn as Nicholas Winton, Helena Bonham Carter as Babi Winton, Romala Garai as Doreen Warriner, and Jonathan Pryce as Martin Blake.

You can read more moving stories of bravery from the past over at our History Hub.