100 year old Sir Nicholas Winton addresses over 300 at Oxford University Chabad Society

100 year old Sir Nicholas Winton addresses over 300 at Oxford University Chabad Society

Last Tuesday, on the 71st anniversary of Kristalnacht, the Oxford University Chabad Society hosted an historic event honouring 100 year old Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued six hundred and sixty nine Jewish children on the eve of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Introducing Sir Nicholas to over 300 students, faculty and community members, Rabbi Eli Brackman, Director of the Oxford University Chabad Society, explained that Sir Nicholas Winton’s role in World War II is a great inspiration to university students today showing how the courageous actions of one person can have an existential impact on the lives of tens of thousands of people, magnifying the Jewish teaching that one who saves even a single life is considered to have saved an entire world.

Following a buffet dinner at the Slager Chabad Jewish student centre, Sir Nicholas Winton spoke humorously about his views on a range of topics, including how very different and, in his view, better, it was growing up a hundred years ago without any of the technologies we take for granted today; his strong opposition to Chamberlain’s pacifism when the war broke out; his instrumental part in supporting the pre-State of Israel after the War by helping send 95% of the value of the melted Nazi looted gold from Jewish concentration camp victims to the treasury of the Jewish Agency; and how he defied those who thought that it was simply impossible to save the children from the Holocaust in Czechoslovakia.

The heroic rescue by Sir Nicholas Winton of almost 700 Jewish children was only publicised recently due to him not wanting to attract what he considered undue attention to himself. Sir Nicholas made clear that he did not do anything unusual. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time and did what anyone else could have done.

It began when the 29 year old Nicholas Winton called off a skiing holiday in order to come to Prague after being invited by a friend in the British Embassy to see for him self the deteriorating situation of the Jews in Prague in 1938. Upon arriving he immediately knew that he had to act to try and save as many Jewish children as possible.

Despite his humble view of himself, Sir Nicholas insisted “The outcome would have been different if in 1938 I had taken the advice of most of the people who were seeing exactly the same of what I was seeing in Czechoslovakia. There were limits to the number of families that could move and that meant that the children also couldn’t move. Could the children be moved without the families?  Everybody knew that it was a problem. Everybody I talked to was quite certain it’s hopeless - you won’t ever be able to get the permission to do that, but the truth is nobody had asked. So I think the thing is, have an open mind. Not to take no for an answer and be prepared to do the unexpected.”

Holocaust brought alive by ‘Winton Children’

To bring the story of Sir Nicholas Winton alive, the Oxford University Chabad Society invited a number of ‘Winton children’, Kindertransport refugees, including Rothschild and Sainsbury transportations, in addition to children of Holocaust survivors, to address the Society in introduction to Sir Nicholas Winton.

Emotions came to the fore when the ‘Winton children’ utilised this rare opportunity to thank, some for their first time in public, Sir Nicholas Winton, who they consider as their father for saving their lives from certain death in the Holocaust, where most of their parents indeed perished. Referring to Sir Nicholas as ‘Father’ made the horror and tragedy of the Holocaust feel incredibly tangible to the broad and diverse audience of students and community who were present.

Vera Gissing, a Winton Child, who is also Sir Nicholas Winton’s biographer, spoke about the difficulties that faced the war-time families who offered to take in an additional child as part of their family. The children in the family were in any event on tight rationings during the war and adopting a new family member increased the sense of sacrifice that the children had to encounter. The non-Jewish families nevertheless readily welcomed these young Jewish children from Czechoslovakia into their homes. Gissing described the impact it had on her when she arrived at her foster family and the mother affectionately assured her “you shal be loved”, she said.

Erich Reich, Chairman of the Kindertransport Committee, and youngest living member of the Kindertransport, whose both parents died in the Holocaust, also spoke in introduction on behalf of the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR). He described how his parents were forced to give their child away at the age of four to avoid capture by the Nazis and rapt the audience about his memories of escaping to England on a kindertransport.

Jewish community philanthropist and friend of the OU Chabad Society, Mr Mendel Tajtelbaum, who is son of a Holocaust survivor, expressed his thanks to the Oxford University Chabad Society for hosting the evening with Sir Nicholas, and said “To be here in the presence of Sir Nicholas is an honour for all of us,”. He recounted some of the deeds performed by his own father, a Holocaust survivor, who helped to save other victims by sharing his meagre rations during the war.

Victor Sperber said, "Chabad Society got together some exemplary people who in recounting their individual stories brought to life the reality and magnitude of Sir Nicholas Winton’s actions. They also exposed the great qualities in Winton which he himself makes slight of. I very much appreciated it”