In the Presence of Good — Nicholas Winton (Part 1)

What kind of investment do you need to make today?

Young Nicholas Winton was an ordinary 29-year-old man who was a clerk at the London Stock Exchange. His world was investments. However, he would soon make an investment of his own that would change many, many lives.

The year was 1938. He had been invited by a friend to come to Czechoslovakia and visit. During his visit, he became alarmed about the events that were unfolding. Czechoslovakia was on the verge of joining forces with Nazi Germany. They were already exporting the Jewish citizens in that country to concentration camps. He feared that not only would the adults be sent to the concentration camps, but the children as well.

He knew that he had to do something to save those children. He began to organize a way to get these children out of the country and into foster homes in Great Britain. He arranged for eight trains to take 669 children to London. Few of them would ever see their parents again. Meanwhile, as expected, these parents were taken away and put in concentration camps.

For 50 years, Nicholas Winton said nothing about his heroic action. He didn’t even tell his wife. Then one day, in 1988, while she was in the attic in their home, she came across a scrapbook. This was a scrapbook that Nicholas had kept during the time of the rescue, complete with pictures of the children as well as the names and addresses of their families. All of this had taken place fifty years ago.

His wife made public the story of his investment in the lives of 669 children. What unfolded was a wonderful story.

Nicholas Winton is now 100 years old. Just last week, some of these people gathered in Prague and rode a vintage train to London commemorating this rescue. When these people arrived in London, Winton was there to greet them.

Yet, this was not the first time that he had met them. The first time was in 1988 when he was a guest in a studio audience for a television show and then received quite a surprise.

(to be continued)