Thursday, September 3, 2009
One person
Nicholas Winton. Do not let his name go unremembered. He is personally responsible for saving nearly 700 children's lives. Now over 100 years old, he proves that one person can make an incalculable and wonderful difference. (H/T London Telegraph article)
Yesterday, the "Winton Train" arrived in London, having recreated the trip that the rescuing trains took from Prague to the North Sea and then to London. The passengers on the anniversary train included some of the original passengers as well as their families.
And now there are over five thousand descendants of the children who came to England on the Kindertransport. People who would not have existed were it not for Nicky Winton and his trains. It shows that things can be done and that there are good people.
England itself deserves credit, too. Winton must have possessed remarkable powers of persuasion but England deserves enormous credit for being persuadable.
(Side note. I do not believe that people would buy fewer magazines and newspapers nor watch less televised coverage of it, were the world's media to spend less time blaring photos and words about celebrities who push white powder up their noses or down their throats, or dress scantily, or shop a lot, than writing about thoughtful and extraordinary people like Nicholas Winton. Do you?)
Yesterday, the "Winton Train" arrived in London, having recreated the trip that the rescuing trains took from Prague to the North Sea and then to London. The passengers on the anniversary train included some of the original passengers as well as their families.
On 1 September 2009, a special "Winton train" set off from the Prague Main railway station. The train, consisting of an original locomotive and carriages used in the 1930s, headed to London via the original Kindertransport route. On board the train were several surviving "Winton children" and their descendants, who were welcomed by Sir Nicholas in London. The occasion marked the 70th anniversary of the intended last Kindertransport which was due to set off on 1 September 1939 but never did because of the outbreak of the Second World War. At the train's departure, Sir Nicholas Winton's statue was unveiled at the railway station.It's dreadful to separate families but many if not most of these children would have died in eastern Europe had English generosity in accepting so many children not have been there. In fact, apparently none of their family members survived.
And now there are over five thousand descendants of the children who came to England on the Kindertransport. People who would not have existed were it not for Nicky Winton and his trains. It shows that things can be done and that there are good people.
England itself deserves credit, too. Winton must have possessed remarkable powers of persuasion but England deserves enormous credit for being persuadable.
(Side note. I do not believe that people would buy fewer magazines and newspapers nor watch less televised coverage of it, were the world's media to spend less time blaring photos and words about celebrities who push white powder up their noses or down their throats, or dress scantily, or shop a lot, than writing about thoughtful and extraordinary people like Nicholas Winton. Do you?)
Labels: anniversaries, people of note, u.k.
