Nicky's Family - A Movie Review

 It happened a long time ago in a world far away from what we know.  It involved a man who saw the future and tried to change what he could before going on with his life, never mentioning it to anyone, even his wife.  It remained a secret until the day his journal was found and the world got a look at it.  If you asked him if he'd done something special, he'd tell you "No", he'd done what was right.

The place: Czechoslovakia

The year:  1939
The hero:  Nicholas Winton

Nicholas Winton was only 29 at the time.  He was in Europe getting ready to head off on a skiing trip when he received a call that changed his life.  Instead of skiing, he checked out the situation in Prague, a country Hitler wished to take over as part of the plan to take over Europe.  Nicholas saw a map of the proposed Third Reich, saw the changes in Germany with Hitler in charge, and knew.

So he set to work, writing any and every country begging them to let him send children so they'd be away from the madness but only one country responded to his letters.  All through this, he was watched but when they couldn't see him doing anything wrong, they sent in a beautiful spy who claimed she worked for the Swedish government and could save some children.  His friends knew but he kept dating her until she took 25 children to Sweden for him before disappearing.

The British Government said they would take children but there had to be a family waiting and the family had to have 50 pounds available to prove they could do it.  He set himself up as the head of a governmental body, made proper travel papers for each child, kept lists, made photos so people could choose a child and one day began moving them.  He got several transports out of Germany but the very last one, the biggest one didn't make it out because World War II started in September of 1939.

At this point, Nicholas put away everything, joined the RAF and went on with his life.  The children settled in and went on with their new families till after the war.  Some children learned about their families and some didn't but they all went on wondering about the man who saved them.  Then in 1988, his wife discovered his journal documenting the names of every child he swept out of Czechoslovakia and the names of those who took care of them.  His wife sent it to a journalist who researched it and in 1988 Nicholas Winton appeared on a British show where he was reunited with many of those he'd saved.

This man who worked tirelessly over a 9 month period managed to get 669 children out of the country before everything closed down.  He gave 669 children a chance to grow up, to marry, to have children and grand children.

Nicky's Family is a documentary about this man, the children, and how he got them out.  I watched it on Amazon using Amazon Prime.  It was awesome and well worth seeing because saving 669 children was no easy feat.  If you can, check it out.  I highly recommend watching it.

If you are wondering, Nicholas Winton was eventually knighted by the Queen and he died after living for 106 years in 2015.

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a good day.