Imagine planning a three-week vacation and ending up altering the course of hundreds of lives instead. That’s exactly what happened to Nicholas Winton in December 1938. His story is not just remarkable; it’s a blueprint for living a life that transcends the ordinary by embracing compassion and action.
Winton had planned to go skiing in Switzerland, but a friend’s request took him to Prague instead. There, he was thrust into the heart of a growing crisis as the dark shadow of Nazism spread across Europe. From his base at the Europa Hotel in Wenceslas Square, Nicholas began a mission that was anything but a holiday.
His task seemed mundane on the surface. He wasn’t dodging bullets or making dramatic rescues; he was doing paperwork. But what paperwork it was! Winton meticulously recorded the names and took photographs of Jewish children, securing their safe passage out of impending doom. He navigated the bureaucracy to obtain British entry permits for them — a feat made possible by recent British legislation allowing refugees under 17 to enter the UK, provided they had a host family and a £50 deposit for eventual repatriation.
Nicholas didn’t stop at securing the paperwork; he found homes and foster families for these children, arranging for their travel to Britain. His efforts culminated in saving 669 children from the…