r/MadeMeSmile • u/RoyalChris • Feb 25 '25

Wholesome Moments Nicholas Winton helped 669 Jewish children escape the Nazis and his efforts went unrecognised for 50 years. Then, in 1988, while sitting as a member of a TV audience, he suddenly found himself surrounded by the kids he had rescued, who were now adults.

109.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/Elastichedgehog Feb 25 '25

I'm a bit confused. How did this situation arise? Were they purposefully trying to surprise him?

Very heartwarming moment regardless. The guy's a hero.

23

u/jgbearjgbear Feb 25 '25

Yep. I forget the story, although there’s a recent film about it. I believe he never discussed the situation and his wife found old paperwork in the attic and then a TV show got hold of it and did some detective work. They invited him to a show without him realising that half the audience were kids he’d help to get out from occupied countries.

7

u/coffee_and-cats Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

The whole audience was children who had arrived to Britain on the transports.

He had contacted a museum about keeping the book safe. A historian was then contacted to verify the material as authentic. From there, the interest grew and the BBC were called to view the book. If I recall correctly, he had been reluctant to have third parties involved incase the info got lost somehow.

2

u/Elastichedgehog Feb 25 '25

Ah, interesting. Thanks!

6

u/jgbearjgbear Feb 25 '25

Per the other comments on here - the film is One Life, on Amazon Prime. Anthony Hopkins.

1

u/Rorviver Feb 26 '25

And the rest of the audience were children or grandchildren of those he saved