This is the story of the Czech Kindertransport and Sir Nicholas Winton. A remarkable man – still with us at the age of 104 saved 669 Jewish children from the Nazis between December 1938 and August 1939. Winton, then a British stockbroker, established the Czech Kindertransport and worked with a team in Prague to save the children, most of whose parents perished at Auschwitz. Winton raised money, organized transports, and when necessary, forged papers to save the children.

Nicholas Winton with one of the children he rescued.

Winton was so modest about his role in the Kindertransport that it was only revealed in 1988 when his wife Grete found detailed records in their attic. It contained lists of the children, including their parents’ names, and the names and addresses of the families that took them in.

Eighty of “Winton’s children” were located in Britain and reunited on the BBC television programme That’s Life! as you can see in the heart-warming clip below.

If you are doing family research in this area, Winton’s list is available here.

According to Wikipedia, in the 1983 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Winton was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his work in establishing the Abbeyfield homes for the elderly in Britain, and in the 2002 New Year Honours, he was knighted in recognition of his work on the Czech Kindertransport.

Update 1 Jul 2015:  Nicholas Winton, Rescuer of 669 Children From Holocaust, Dies at 106.