Proof once again that the good do not necessarily die young.
Sir Nicholas Winton died today at the age of 106. In 1938-39 he organized eight trains to carry 669 Czech Jewish children from Prague to Britain just before the outbreak of World War II. He died on the anniversary of the largest train load that saved 241.
Even more amazingly, he never said anything about it for almost 50 years when his wife found a scrapbook he had kept with the names of the children he had saved in the attic of their house.
Among those he saved were
the film director Karel Reisz, who made “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” (1981), “Isadora” (1968) and “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” (1960); Lord Alfred Dubs, who became a member of Parliament; Joe Schlesinger, a Canadian broadcast correspondent; Hugo Marom, a founder of the Israeli Air Force; Vera Gissing, the author of “Pearls of Childhood” (2007) and other books, and Renata Laxová, a geneticist who discovered the Neu-Laxová Syndrome, a congenital abnormality.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
By all accounts Sir Nicholas was an incredibly modest man who did not want to brag about what he did and was often stunned by the accolades he received for his actions.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2003 for "services to humanity".
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The Mourner's Kaddish
Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'mei raba.
B'alma di v'ra chirutei,
v'yamlich malchutei,
b'chayeichon uv'yomeichon
uv'chayei d'chol beit Yisrael,
baagala uviz'man kariv. V'im'ru: Amen.
Y'hei sh'mei raba m'varach
l'alam ul'almei almaya.
Yitbarach v'yishtabach v'yitpaar
v'yitromam v'yitnasei,
v'yit'hadar v'yitaleh v'yit'halal
sh'mei d'kud'sha b'rich hu,
l'eila min kol birchata v'shirata,
tushb'chata v'nechemata,
daamiran b'alma. V'imru: Amen.
Y'hei sh'lama raba min sh'maya,
v'chayim aleinu v'al kol Yisrael.
V'imru: Amen.
Oseh shalom bimromav,
Hu yaaseh shalom aleinu,
v'al kol Yisrael. V'imru: Amen.
Exalted and hallowed be God's great name
in the world which God created, according to plan.
May God's majesty be revealed in the days of our lifetime
and the life of all Israel -- speedily, imminently, to which we say Amen.
Blessed be God's great name to all eternity.
Blessed, praised, honored, exalted, extolled, glorified, adored, and lauded
be the name of the Holy Blessed One, beyond all earthly words and songs of blessing,
praise, and comfort. To which we say Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and all Israel,
to which we say Amen.
May the One who creates harmony on high, bring peace to us and to all Israel.
To which we say Amen
11:54 AM PT: Please check the second video on the BBC link where Sir Nicholas is given a surprise reunion with the now grown children he saved. It's very moving.
1:03 PM PT: Thanks for putting this man's extraordinary life on the Rec List.