Prague Street Named After British Man Who Saved Jewish Children From Nazis

A new street in Prague 7 has been named after Nicholas Winton, who relentlessly cajoled and shamed immigration authorities to provide visas for 669 children, sparing them the horrors of the Holocaust.

Jan Čižinský, the mayor of the Prague 7 district, spoke of Winton’s “heroism, courage, and humility”. When complete, the street will pass by the railway station and memorials to “the dark side of world history”.

The naming of the street coincides with the 85th anniversary of the last planned Kindertransport from Prague, which was prevented from departing due to the outbreak of the second world war. The 250 children onboard the train were deported to Nazi concentration camps; two survived the war.

Winton’s heroic actions were depicted in a recent film, One Life, starring Anthony Hopkins. The former stockbroker, who was knighted in 2003 and nominated for the Nobel peace prize in 2008, died in 2015 at the age of 106.

Among those attending the naming ceremony in Prague on Tuesday were four surviving “Winton children”, members of Winton’s family, and a delegation from the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR).

Michael Newman, the chief executive of the AJR, said: “It is hugely symbolic that [Winton’s] endeavours are recognised and celebrated as well as to acknowledge the heroism of many others with whom he worked.

“In remembering Sir Nicholas, we also honour the parents who sent away their children to an uncertain future as well as the foster families who gave sanctuary to the youngest victims of Nazi oppression. It is our fervent hope that the salvation of the Kindertransport will never again be needed.”

Winton’s actions in 1939 were unacknowledged until television personality Esther Rantzen brought together dozens of “Kinder”, their children and grandchildren with Winton for a remarkable episode of That’s Life in 1988.

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