In 1988, the BBC showed a program honoring Nicholas Winton, who organized rail transports from Czechoslovakia to Great Britain. His story came to light only 40 years later and touched millions of people around the world, and a fragment of the program became a viral sensation. It turned out that the audience sitting in the studio with Winton were people he saved:
On April 19, his biography titled “One Life” hits cinemas. By juxtaposing the images of two historical periods (1938 and 1988), the authors emphasize the long-term impact of the events of World War II. Winton is played by two actors: Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn.
On this occasion, we give voice to those who, thanks to the heroic attitude of Nicholas Winton, survived the war nightmare and had the opportunity to start a new, happy life in Great Britain. – I was eight years old then and I only knew that moving out was necessary – says one of the rescued people. – I caught Nicholas Winton’s last train from Prague, which left on June 30, 1939. A week after reaching England, I turned six years old – recalls another. Watch the video where they tell their story. Descendants of those rescued by Winton also comment below.
Children and grandchildren remember
“Our responsibility to this story was to invite as many families as possible to come from all over the world to take part in the recording,” explains producer Iain Canning. In the reconstruction of fragments of the BBC program, we see the descendants of the real participants of those events. – Recreating the scene from “That’s Life” was a very touching moment. Everyone on the set had tears in their eyes, he recalls. “The appearance of all these descendants was striking, it was hard not to be too sentimental in such moving circumstances,” Hopkins comments.
My dad’s name was Curt Taussig. In June 1939, he got off one of Nicholas Winton’s trains. He was 15 years and ten months old. They took children up to the age of 16. He was in the studio for the recording and stood up along with other survivors (in 1988 on the BBC program “That’s Life” – author’s note). Today I am here on his behalf
– says Richard Taussig. – It’s a very interesting experience. It’s nice to be involved in the continuation of something he did in the late 1980s. There are a lot of interesting stories associated with it. He died three years ago at the age of 96. He said that thanks to Sir Nicholas he lived happily ever after – he adds.
– My mother was one of the children from Nicholas Winton’s Kindertransport – Lily Belak. It’s on the list. She came on the last transport to arrive. I think he left on September 1, 1939. She didn’t talk much about it, but I know a few stories. She talked about the younger children she took care of. I didn’t know much about it as a child. I wasn’t supposed to stand out. The parents believed that this distinction was the reason for the deportation and all these terrible experiences – says Ian Breirley.
– The fact that Anthony Hopkins plays Nicholas is amazing. This actor is able to convey what I saw in Nicholas back then. Someone else played my grandmother. My grandmother had a huge influence on me, say Nicola, Clive and Christian Gissing, adding: It’s amazing that Winton’s story has come to light and that my mother has been included. I am very happy with the choice of Henrietta (Garden as Vera Gissing – editor’s note) for the role of mother. Henrietta looks a lot like her mother. He has her warmth and temperament.
– The message of this story is very simple. It appeals to me very much. An individual can do a lot. Instead of believing that others will take care of everything (…) Mom would be happy. I think so, says one of the Gissings.
– My name is George Baines and my connection to the film comes down to the fact that my mother was one of the children from the Kindertransport. And I’m Simon Paddock and my mom is George’s mom’s half-sister. They came together. Milena and Eva. In Great Britain, their guardians were waiting for them – Mr. and Mrs. Radcliffe from Ashton-under-Lyne. They welcomed Milena and Eva. Afterwards, everyone kept in touch. The mothers called them “Mama and Papa Radcliffe”. My mom is the person who talks to Nicholas in the movie. For me it’s amazing. She is presented by Esther Rantzen herself. Eva was already in the United States at that time. I only found out about it after the program. Every time I watch it I get goosebumps. Strong material. Especially the moment when Nicholas stands up and turns to us. Then the emotion reached its zenith (…) Including us in this was extremely emotionally intelligent. This type of commitment means a lot, especially now. On a global scale. This is particularly important in the light of the events in Ukraine. People all over the world empathize with this situation (…) My mother was young then, so she doesn’t remember much from that period. And she didn’t share her memories. It was similar with my mother. I knew she was Czech, but not much else, say George Baines and Simon Paddock.
– Our dad’s name was Paul Cohen. He was one of Nicky’s children. He was Austrian, born in Baden. After the Anschluss, when the Germans entered Austria, my dad’s family fled to Bratislava. Dad went to school there. One day two policemen showed up. They told him he was not from Czechoslovakia. They took him home and told him he had to flee to Austria. Father said it didn’t matter. The family slept under the bridge. They bribed a truck driver to take them to Czechoslovakia. Then he found out from somewhere that ten children, Nicky’s children, could save themselves by going to England. Only ten could be selected from their area. Dad was one of those children and they went to England (…) It took place in June 1939. This was one of Nicholas Winton’s first trains. Dad and another child were adopted by a pastor and his wife. They had no children of their own. They took care of them like parents. They took care of them during the war. They even organized kosher food for them. Whenever possible, they brought them from London. They even organized a barmitzvah for them at the back of the church. In 1945, dad moved to secondary school in London. After 10 years, in 1949, he returned to his parents. The separation lasted 10 years. Without Nicholas Winton, we wouldn’t be here today – say Galia, Daniel and Leora Kohn.
– We took part in the meeting with great pleasure. Surely Dad is smiling somewhere there. We flew in especially from Israel. There was no discussion. In 1988, no one was writing about Winton as if they didn’t know about him. Then the movie about Winton came out and Winton came to Israel. We met then and dad started opening up and talking about Kindertransport. And write about Nicholas. There has been some change in the approach to this matter. He didn’t mention it when we were younger, they added.
– Mom left Prague on the last Kindertransport. She was eight years old. Her ten-year-old brother was with her. She was constantly looking for her mother in the crowd. He remembers that during the later stages of the journey, people threw sweets into the train. Until the end of the war, she lived with her uncle, aunt and grandmother. Great people. She never saw her parents again, says Erika Barnes. – Growing up, we learned a lot of great stories about this campaign. However, we thought that only she suffered such a fate. We haven’t met anyone who would talk about such a thing.
In the 1980s we watched the show “That’s Life”. During the first program, we called each other and said: “It’s about us!” We contacted the manufacturer and were invited to come the next day. Mom was in the audience when the famous display occurred and everyone stood up. I’m kind of happy to take over her role now.
– She was wearing this necklace at the time. I thought it would be nice if I could take her with me in some way. We have a lot of photos of him sitting with other transport children. It’s nice to hear that some of these children are still alive and looking forward to the movie. My mother didn’t know until she saw the program that it was Nicholas Winton who saved her. It’s important to me that I can share my mother’s story with others. Additionally, Anthony Hopkins wonderfully captured the moment when everything became clear. The survivors wanted to know who saved them, and this was for them, Barnes says.
– My mother came to England when she was seven. Alexandra Pfeffer. She appeared on the program “That’s Life”. We were at a recording of this show in 1988. We sat among the audience. Something amazing. We remember those first programs. We were present during the shooting of one of them (…) As for the film, the actors are amazing. They pay great attention to details. It’s impressive. Let’s hope that something will remain after this and people will not forget these events. It’s easy to say that we need to remember, especially in light of the war in Ukraine and everything that is happening in the world. It’s good to draw people’s attention to this issue. It’s good to have some part in all this. To pay tribute to their memory, added John and Helen Goldsmith, continuing: The family who welcomed her were wonderful. We called them: grandma and grandpa, aunt and uncle. We still feel connected to them. And mom never told us anything. She was silent like Winton. She didn’t confide in anyone about this. But when she appeared on the show, the phone rang and rang. And before that, no one knew anything.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
