M14: Nicholas Winton - A Quiet Hero Exposed

In a world where self-promotion is everywhere, it’s easy to feel like staying quiet about your achievements means falling behind. While it was years ago, the story of Nicholas Winton is still relevant today. In 1938, Winton quietly orchestrated the rescue of 669 Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, never telling a soul—not even his wife. Decades later, his secret was revealed, and the world learned of his incredible selflessness. His humility serves as a powerful reminder that true impact doesn’t need an audience. Tune in to explore how quiet acts of kindness shape history and why meaningful contributions speak louder than words.

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M14: NICHOLAS WINTON - A QUIET HERO EXPOSED

WE LIVE IN A WORLD NOW WHERE SELF-PROMOTION IS ACCEPTABLE…IN FACT, YOU SEE IT EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK.

HUMBLE BRAGGING HAS TURNED INTO A BIT OF AN ARTFORM. I MEAN, THE WORD GYMNASTICS PEOPLE CAN EXECUTE IN ORDER TO DISCREETLY SHARE THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS WITH ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN….IS…. IMPRESSIVE IN A WAY.

BUT, IF YOU’RE SOMEONE WHO’S QUIET ABOUT YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS OR THE GOOD THINGS YOU DO FOR OTHER PEOPLE, IT MAY START TO FEEL LIKE YOU’RE, IN SOME WAY, LOSING GROUND. 

OF COURSE, YOU’RE NOT. YOU’RE EXPERIENCING A TYPE OF COGNITIVE BIAS REFERRED TO AS VISIBILITY BIAS. SINCE YOU ONLY SEE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SELF-PROMOTING, AND NOT THE MANY OTHER PEOPLE QUIETLY GOING THROUGH LIFE DOING THEIR GOOD THINGS, YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU’RE DIFFERENT.

ONE THING WE ALL APPRECIATE THOUGH, IS WHEN WE FIND OUT SOMETHING IMPRESSIVE ABOUT SOMEONE WITHOUT THEM TELLING US. IN A WAY, IT MAKES US GAIN THAT MUCH MORE RESPECT FOR THEM.

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT SOMEONE WHO SAVED HUNDREDS OF PEOPLES LIVES WHEN HE WAS YOUNG, BUT DIDN’T FEEL THE NEED TO TELL A SOUL…NOT EVEN HIS WIFE.

EPISODE

IN 1907, RUDOLPH AND BARBARA WERTHEIM, A YOUNG JEWISH COUPLE LIVING IN GERMANY, DECIDED TO MOVE TO LONDON TO RAISE A FAMILY. IN GERMANY, THEY HAD DEALT WITH HARRASSMENT FOR YEARS DUE TO THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, SO WHEN THEY MOVED, IN ORDER TO GIVE THEIR FUTURE CHILDREN A FRESH START, THEY CHANGED THEIR NAME TO WINTON AND CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY.   

THE MIDDLE OF THEIR THREE CHILDEN WAS NICHOLAS. EDUCATED AT THE RENOWNED STOWE SCHOOL, HE LAUNCHED HIS CAREER IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY. BANKING TOOK HIM FROM LONDON TO GERMANY TO FRANCE AND EVENTUALLY BACK TO LONDON TO BECOME A BROKER ON THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE. AS ANTI-SEMITISM GREW IN EUROPE IN THE 1930S, NICHOLAS GOT INVOLVED WITH GROUPS OPPOSED TO APPEASEMENT, FEARING THE MOMENTUM THE NAZI PARTY WAS GAINING IN GERMANY.

IN 1938, JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS, THE UNMARRIED NICHOLAS WAS HEADED TO SWITZERLAND FOR A SKI VACATION, WHEN HE WAS ALERTED TO A SITUATION IN PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA WHICH CHANGED HIS PLANS. AT THE TIME, GERMANY HAD JUST BEGUN BRINGING TROOPS INTO THE CZECHOSLOVAKIA AND JEWISH RESIDENTS FEARED THE WORST, SO MANY FAMILIES SCRAMBLED TO FIND A PLACE FOR THEIR CHILDEN TO FIND SAFETY.

LONDON’S HOUSE OF COMMONS QUICKLY APPROVED A MEASURE TO ALLOW ANY JEWISH CHILD FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA UNDER THE AGE OF 17 INTO BRITAIN AS A REFUGEE. AS GERMAN FORCES QUICKLY MOVED INTO PRAGUE, NICHOLAS WINTON, TREVOR CHADWICK, DOREEN WARRINER, AND BEATRICE WELLINGTON LED A QUIET OPERATION TO HELP THESE YOUNG JEWISH CZECHS CROSS OVER TO ENGLAND.

THE WORST OF ALL OF THEIR FEARS CAME TRUE. NAZIS ROUNDED UP JEWISH CITIZENS AND SENT THEM TO CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN POLAND AND GERMANY, BUT NOT BEFORE NICHOLAS WINTON AND THE OTHERS, WITH THE HELP OF WINTON’S MOTHER FINDING HOMES FOR THE KIDS, MANAGED TO BRING A TOTAL OF 669 CHILDREN TO SAFETY IN BRITAIN. 

ROUGHLY FIFTY YEARS LATER, IN 1988, WINTON’S WIFE OF FORTY YEARS WAS CLEANING OUT THEIR ATTIC, WHEN SHE STUMBLED UPON A SCRAPBOOK. IT CONTAINED A LONG LIST OF NAMES, ADDRESSES, AND IN SOME CASES, ASSOCIATED HEADSHOTS. SHE TOOK IT TO NICHOLAS, WONDERING WHAT THE SCRAPBOOK WAS, AND HE EXPLAINED THE ENTIRE THING. SHE LEARNED THAT FIFTY YEARS EARLIER, BEFORE THEY EVEN MET, HE HAD HELPED CHILDREN EVADE THE NAZIS, PRIOR TO WORLD WAR II BEGINNING, AND THE BOOK WAS THE DOCUMENTATION OF THE JEWISH REFUGEES, THEIR PARENTS, AND ADDRESSES TO WHICH THE CHILDREN WERE SENT.

EVENTUALLY, IN AN EFFORT TO DOCUMENT AND PRESERVE THE HISTORICAL INFORMATION, WINTON’S WIFE CONVINCED HIM TO HAND THE SCRAPBOOK OVER TO ELISABETH MAXWELL, A WELL-KNOWN HOLOCAUST RESEARCHER.

LATER THAT YEAR, AT 79 YEARS OLD, NICHOLAS WINTON WAS INVITED TO BE AN AUDIENCE MEMBER IN A SERIES OF TV SHOWS ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST ON THE POPULAR BBC TELEVISION SHOW, THAT’S LIFE.

NICHOLAS ACCEPTED THE INVITATION, AND SAT QUIETLY IN THE AUDIENCE AS THE HOST, ESTHER RANTZEN SHARED PARTS OF THE STORY, AND SHOWCASED PAGES FROM THE SCRAPBOOK.

THEN, SHE TURNED HER ATTENTION TO NICHOLAS AND INTRODUCED HIM TO THE AUDIENCE, WHICH GREETED HIM WITH A LONG OVATION.

SHE FOLLOWED THIS WITH A STORY OF ONE OF THE REFUGEES, VERA GISSEN. THE CAMERAS SUDDENLY TURNED TO THE AUDIENCE AND SHE WAS REVEALED….AND TO EVERYONE WATCHING’S AMAZEMENT, SHE WAS SITTING DIRECTLY TO THE LEFT OF THE MAN WHO ORCHESTRATED HER SURVIVAL. IT CAUGHT HIM BY SURPRISE, AND HE VERY HUMBLY WIPED THE TEARS FROM HIS EYES AND WAS GREETED WITH A WARM HUG FROM VERA AS THE AUDIENCE CHEERED.  

ON THE SECOND SHOW, IT HAPPENED AGAIN. THE HOST INTRODUCED ANOTHER REFUGEE THEY HAD TRACKED DOWN FROM THE INFORMATION IN THE SCRAPBOOK. ONCE AGAIN, THERE WAS A WARM EMBRACE BETWEEN NICHOLAS AND THE SECOND PERSON, WHO THANKED HIM FOR ALL HE HAD DONE, AND AGAIN, NICHOLAS WAS OVERCOME WITH EMOTION TO THE CHEERS OF THE CROWD.

FINALLY, AT THE END OF THE SHOW, THE HOST ASKED THE AUDIENCE TO STAND IF THEY HAD BEEN CZECHOSLOVAKIAN REFUGEES THAT NICHOLAS WINTON HAD SAVED, OR THEY WERE THE CHILDREN OF THOSE REFUGEES.  

THERE WERE SEVERAL PEOPLE AROUND HIM THAT STOOD UP, AND..AS THE SECONDS PASSED, YOU COULD HEAR A COMMOTION ON THE SET. THE CLEARLY HUMBLED AND SLIGHTLY SHAKEN WINTON, EVENTUALLY STOOD UP TO SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING AROUND HIM….HE TURNED AROUND, AND OBSERVED THE ENTIRE STUDIO AUDIENCE STANDING BEFORE HIM.

IN 2025, THE LOUD VOICES OF SOCIAL MEDIA CAN MAKE IT SEEM LIKE WE’RE IN A BATTLE WITH ONE ANOTHER FOR ATTENTION. IT’S EASY TO WORRY THAT WE’RE THE ONLY ONES NOT GETTING SOMEWHERE FAST ENOUGH.

NICHOLAS WINTON’S STORY, AND THE QUIET LIFE HE LIVED, IS A GREAT REMINDER THAT NOBODY NEEDS TO KNOW FOR US TO HAVE A LASTING IMPACT.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Winton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqqbM1B-mPY