Nicky's Family

While the story of Nicholas Winton is relatively well known in the UK today, many people outside the country still have no idea who he is and why he's recently become famous. This story is about how this man's actions just before World War Two have made a huge impact on the world today.

Back in very late 1938, Winton was traveling across Europe. He happened to go to Czechoslovakia instead of his original choice, Switzerland. When he arrived in Prague, he was amazed at the virulence of the new Nazi regime against the Jews and he was one of the few outsiders who recognized this for what it was. Most at the time thought the anti- Semitism would just blow over--Winton recognized that it could mean death to all these people. Some of the Jews in Czechoslovakia also thought that the Nazis intended to kill them and soon Winton organized a scheme to get as many Jewish children out of Nazi-controlled Czechoslovakia as they could. All in all, he was responsible for organizing an effort which saved almost 700 children--sending them off to live in the UK for the duration of the war. For this, some folks have referred to him as 'Britain's Schindler'.

Oddly, Winton's efforts went mostly unnoticed after the war and Winton himself didn't talk about it. In fact, he didn't even tell his wife until they were very, very elderly. She was amazed and decided to do something about it--and she went to the BBC and other agencies to talk about her husband's pre-war activities. The story resonated with the TV service and soon they began contacting as many of the surviving refugees that Winton's efforts saved in order to honor the man. Then, in his upper 90s, Winton was finally publicly recognized for his actions on television.

However, the film is NOT just about Winton. While he is very important to the beginning and ending of the film, so much fills in the middle portion of the documentary. Had it been just about Winton, it would have been an exceptional picture. Instead, it also focuses on the children--their experiences at the time and their lives after the war. Additionally, like the analogy they give of a stone being tossed into the water, the 'ripples' created by these lives is what makes the film so incredibly special. There is also a lot of focus is on children today throughout the world who are now celebrating Winton's legacy by giving back to others--and in effect, these are all members of 'Nicky's family'. The many volunteer activities kids do today as well as a huge celebration of Winton and the Czech refugees make the film magical to watch--and will definitely bring a few tears to your eyes. So, while the story is incredibly sad since the parents of these refugee children died horribly, this isn't the end of the story--there is hope and goodness.

So who is the audience for this film? I'd say just about anyone. Because the film is careful to thoroughly explain Nazi anti-Semitism, the climate of the late 1930s as well as the Holocaust, it's excellent for kids who don't yet know about WWII and the massacres. And, it's also appropriate because although it talks about these horrors, it lacks the extremely gory images you might find in many documentaries about the Holocaust. Now I am not being critical of films which do--but because this one doesn't, parents can rest assured that the kids will learn about these events without worrying about there being age inappropriate content. As for adults, they, too, will enjoy the film and draw great inspiration from the folks in the Nicky's Family. All in all, it's one of the most inspiring and heart-felt films I have seen in a long, long time. Be sure to watch it with a box of Kleenex handy.

Nicky Winton now 104 years old is shown to be a key figure in the Kindertransport. This was an active program to move at risk children in the Czech republic, who are sure to be harmed by Hitler's regime changes.

He is able to save 669 children before the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. A lot of these children lost their parents in the concentration camps. Not surprisingly, most of the kids who were not able to get to England also perished in these camps.

There are interviews with the children he brought over and we see them with their families. Due to Sir Winton's actions, his family has grown to over 5,700 persons (survivor, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren).

What struck me is how humble Sir Nicky Winton about all that he did during this operation. For a long time, these children did not know who was responsible for saving their lives, because of his humility.

There is a book being released about Sir Winton in May 2014, I hope the book is as good as this movie.

Nicky's Family (2011) is a Slovak/Czech documentary. It was co-written and directed by Matej Minac.

The film describes the incredible feats of Sir Nicholas George Winston, dubbed "The English Schindler." Sir Nicholas quietly--and effectively--was able to bring 669 children out of Czechoslovakia and into England after the Germans had occupied their country.

That's a remarkable story, well presented with some simulated scenes, some photos, and interviews with some of the people who were rescued.

The other remarkable part of the story is that no one knew what Sir Nicholas had accomplished until 1988--almost 50 years after the event took place. People only found out about his heroic work when his wife happened upon a scrapbook he had kept.

It's fascinating that, once war started and no children could be rescued, Sir Nicholas put the whole enterprise behind him. He didn't identify himself to the children he had saved. He didn't even tell his wife. This may not be totally accurate. He had mentioned what he had done when he ran for local office. (From Wikipedia.) However, the scrapbook and the BBC are what gave him international recognition.

Director Minac made a decision about the last part of the film with which I don't completely agree. He shows us that many people have been inspired to do charity work because of Winston's example. My thought is that this feel-good part of the documentary doesn't answer the questions I have about the man himself. Why didn't he follow up his work and stay connected with the children he had saved? What happened in his life between the end of the rescue operation and public fame in 1988? And, most importantly, why did he do what he did in 1938-39? Sir Winston died in 2015. We almost certainly will never know the answer to the last question.

We saw this film on the small screen, where it worked very well. It's a fascinating story, and the movie is definitely worth seeking out and watching.

I didn't know what to expect from this movie. After viewing so many Holocaust related films over the years, the themes seem to melt into one another. In my searches, I've learned about the name and location of the camps, the names of the most terrible people, and the sociology of a nation that surprisingly contracted, almost overnight, a deep mental illness that it did not wish to free itself from. That illness was hate.

This movie, however, after the first half of it, kept me in tears. I am a man who finds it extremely difficult to cry, except on occasions when I watch a touching movie or read a heartfelt book. Without those avenues, I am unable to shed a tear. But this film was so completely able to bring out of me tears by witnessing the impact the good deeds of one man can cause through a kind of domino effect.

Nicholas Winton, still alive today at 105, is a man worthy of all the honors bestowed on him. He is a hero of the highest caliber due to his unflinching commitment to save the lives of 700 Czech children during the advance of the Third Reich into Czechoslovakia in 1938.

What he did was provide for these children English families to adopt them. Tirelessly he worked to sometimes forge papers in order to save children he barely knew, all out of an altruistic character not often seen in stock brokers, which he was prior to making a visit with a friend to inspect for himself what Hitler was causing within Czechoslovakia. That visit changed his life forever, for the good of hundreds of Czech children.

Nicky wrote hundreds of letters seeking aid from all countries, and fashioned pictorial listings of all the kids for selection by their future parents, but only one country was willing to open their hearts to these desperate children, England.

Because of his work, Nicky now has a "family" of some 5800 offspring from the grown children he arranged to secure passage to a new life in England. The kindness of the English people shown to these children makes me extremely proud of British countrymen and women. It was stated on the film, that the poorest of English people were the most compassionate and loving.

Watch the documentary, but be sure to have Kleenex sitting by you as you will, without a doubt, be very moved.

I think I cried through most of the movie. Extremely touching story. A must see.