Winton Train
The Winton Train was a private passenger train that travelled from the Czech Republic to Great Britain in September 2009 in tribute to the wartime efforts of Sir Nicholas Winton, described as the 'British Schindler' for his part in saving refugee children from Czechoslovakia.
As a result of Sir Nicholas' efforts in the months leading up to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, a total of seven locomotives transported 669 Czechoslovak children of mainly Jewish heritage from Prague to safety in Great Britain.[1]
Sir Nicholas' kindertransport efforts remained largely unrecognised until 1988, when they came to public attention after his wife found a scrapbook in their attic documenting the details. Only then did the individuals whom Winton arranged to have transported to safety as children learn the story of how they survived the Holocaust. As the majority of 'Winton's Children' (as they came to be known) were Jewish, it is believed this saved them from certain death had they stayed in Czechoslovakia. As of 2009, the direct descendants of Winton's Children numbered over 5000 people.
The 2009 tribute Winton Train carried some of the individuals Sir Nicholas arranged to have transported to safety in 1939, along with their families, as it retraced the original kindertransport route taken by the trains on which they rode as children to safety in Great Britain 70 years earlier. The Winton Train departed on 1 September 2009, the 70th anniversary of the eighth, and intended last, train arranged by Winton to carry children to safety but was prevented from doing so due to the outbreak of World War II on that very day.
The tribute train was the centrepiece of a wider cultural awareness project known as 'Inspiration by Goodness', organised by the
Background
Original Winton trains
Between March and September 1939, the months leading up to the outbreak of
In 1939, Winton cancelled a trip to a Swiss holiday resort to go to Prague, having heard of a growing refugee crisis resulting from the
Winton organised the transfer of the children from the Nazi-appointed
Beginning in March, Winton organised eight trains, which in total transported 669 mainly Jewish children from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia to Great Britain.[4][7][8] A ninth and final train with 250 children on board was stopped at the last minute, due to the outbreak of the war.[4] Only two children on this ninth aborted train survived the war.[3][9][10] According to Channel 4 News reporting on the 2009 Winton Train, "Sir Nicholas has said many times that the vision that haunts him most is the families waiting at Liverpool Street for the train that never arrived".[11]
The original trains left from Prague Wilson railway station (now Prague Main station).[12] While most of the children were met by their new families at London's Liverpool Street station, some of the children got off the trains at Harwich, where they were placed with local families.[13] Few if any of the Winton children saw their parents again.[2][3]
Winton's efforts did not come to public light until 1988, when his wife discovered papers in their loft, whereupon Winton began to publicly talk about his work, and he came to be known as the 'British Schindler', in comparison to Oskar Schindler.[14] Sir Nicholas himself believed this was undeserved, because unlike Schindler, his life had never been in danger.[2][3]
Inspiration by Goodness project
A project to run a train in tribute to the original Winton trains was announced on 21 January 2008 as the Train Prague – London project, and the organisers were negotiating to have the train named after Sir Nicholas.
The project was to follow on from the work of documentary film maker Matej Mináč about Sir Nicholas, including his new film project Nicky's Family.[12] While travelling on the train, Mináč filmed scenes for a new version of the Winton story.[6] The Czech Senate President Přemysl Sobotka said of the project that it "should warn against rising extremism and anti-Semitism in Europe and in the world".[5]
2009 Winton Train
Journey
The motive power for the train journey was provided by six different
On 1 September the train departed
On this final day the train departed Harwich International railway station at 09:12.[13] It travelled via Colchester and Chelmsford, arriving at Liverpool Street station at 10:37 on Platform 10.[7] Platform 10 was the platform number that the original Winton trains had used.[2]
Sir Nicholas, now 100 years old, met the train at Liverpool Street as guest of honour.[7][16]
Also at Liverpool Street to meet the train was Štefan Füle, the Czech Minister for European Affairs, and a former Czech ambassador to Britain.[17]
Motive power and rolling stock
Travelling through the Czech Republic from
Travelling through Germany from
As the train travelled through the Netherlands from Emmerich am Rhein to Hook of Holland, it was hauled by Locomotive No. 01 1075. No. 01 1075 is a preserved steam locomotive built in 1940 and based at the Stoom Stichting Nederland (SSN) railway museum in Rotterdam.[15]
Travelling through England (from Harwich to London), the train was hauled by No. 60163 Tornado, a British mainline steam locomotive built in 2008 by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, the construction of which began in 1994 and was completed in 2008.[7]
The passenger rolling stock for the European leg from Prague to Hook of Holland comprised nine historic railway carriages of Hungarian and German origin, with a capacity for 240 passengers.
For the British leg, behind Tornado and her
Passengers
The 2009 Winton train carried 170 passengers, including 22 of those originally rescued, who came to be known as 'Winton's Children'.[11][16] Passengers included the first, second, or even third generation of descendants of the original children rescued by Sir Nicholas.[12] The descendants of the children Sir Nicholas rescued had by 2009 grown to number 5,000 people.[5][8] Passengers on the 2009 train also included Sir Nicholas's daughter Barbara.[5] Other survivors who did not travel on the reunion train instead met it at Liverpool Street.[3]
Subsequent projects
It was the hope of the project to follow up the 2009 Winton Train to London with other Winton Trains to other European cities, and for it to become a tradition.[12] In May 2011, an exhibition entitled Winton's Trains opened in London at Liverpool Street station.[19]
References
- ^ a b Simon, Bob (Correspondent) (27 April 2014). Saving the Children (Television Production Transcript). 60 Minutes. CBS News. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d Stephen Adams (2009-09-04). "Sir Nicholas Winton, the 'British Schindler', meets the Holocaust survivors he helped save". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g Karolina Tagaris (2009-09-04). "Jews who escaped Nazis as kids recreate train trip". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Retracing a life-saving journey". BBC News. 2009-08-31. Archived from the original on 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ a b c d e f g ČTK (2009-09-02). "Train in honour of Jewish children rescuer Winton leaves Prague". České noviny. Neris s.r.o. Archived from the original on 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ a b c "Czech evacuees thank their saviour". BBC News. 2009-09-04. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ A1 Locomotive Trust. 2009-08-30. Archived from the originalon 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ a b "Intro". Official website, Nicholas Winton section. The Winton Train project. n.d. Archived from the original on 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ Tom Berman - September 2009
- ^ Interview with Vera Gissing, April 22, 2006.
- ^ a b "Winton train arrives in London". Channel 4 News. 2009-09-04. Archived from the original on 2009-09-05. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ a b c d e f "Winton Train Project". Official website, About the Project. The Winton Train project. n.d. Archived from the original on 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ a b "The train that saved our lives". BBC Local, People and Places, History. BBC Essex. 2009-09-04. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ "Nicholas Winton, 'English Schindler': Profile". The Telegraph. 2009-09-02. Archived from the original on 2009-09-05. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Historical Train". Official website, Train's Log. The Winton Train project. n.d. Archived from the original on 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ a b c "WWII rescue train trip recreated". BBC News. 2009-09-04. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ "Winton Train arrives in London for emotional reunion after 70 years". Radio Prague. 2009-09-04. Archived from the original on 2009-09-06. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ "The Statesman Land Cruise Train". statesmanrail.com, Pullman Carriages. Statesman Rail Ltd. n.d. Archived from the original on 2009-06-07. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ "Winton´s Trains exhibition opened in London". Embassy of the Czech Republic in London. 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
Further reading
External links
- Footage of Green Anton and carriages in Prague
- Footage of the Czech leg
- Footage of the German leg
- In pictures: Winton Train departs Harwich
- Footage of the British leg and Liverpool Street station
- Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines talks about her memories of being on 'The Last Train Out Of Prague'