Elliot A. Cantor
Period 4 English Honors 10
In World War II the Nazis were committing atrocities against all different types of people including children of all races and religions, especially Judaism. Very little was done to protect these children from getting sent away to death camps and to never be seen or heard from again. Realizing the full extent of the Nazi horrors Nicholas Winton set out to European countries to save as many children as possible. Winton was a native to London and born into a Jewish family in 1909. When he was in his late teens he attended night school while volunteering at a bank. Later he went to Germany where he worked at some banks and then moved to France where he worked in the banking industry. Eventually he moved back to London and became a stockbroker. Finally in 1938 instead of going on vacation in Switzerland he went to the Czech Republic to help a friend in providing Jews places to go as refugees. While in the Czech Republic he established an organization out of a hotel room that had a goal of aiding children in Jewish families that were at risk of extermination by Nazis. Winton had to face many troubles when helping the children move out of the country. For instance, the Netherlands were not letting Jewish people through to their border in fear of provoking Germany. But Winton had a deal with Britain which stated that all children under 17 years of age could enter Britain if they had a place to stay and 50 pounds that would be used to return them to their country of origin when it was safe. He ended up saving 669 childrens’ lives. He would have saved another 250 children but the train was cancelled as Germany invaded Poland and started World War II so no trains could leave. It is believed that these children perished in Nazi camps soon after the Wars beginning. Nicholas Winton is a prime example of a do gooder as he dropped everything for no selfish reason to help children in a far away country. He asked for nothing in return from anybody and didn’t even tell anyone detailed information about it for 50 years after he saved the children. He was the exact opposite of a bystander and because of his will and determination he saved the lives of more than half a thousand children. Some of the children even because great leaders in governments of countries. Nicholas Winton is a do gooder beyond all measure due to his courageous act of going straight into hostile territory to save the lives of people he didn’t know or even meet yet.
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