While waiting for my connection train in Prague, my eye fell on a group of bronze statues at platform 1 of Prague Central Station. A man and two children stand next to me. What’s the story behind them? The answer is: Nicholas Winton.
The Winton trains
Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Nicholas Winton organised several trains that carried Jewish children from Prague to England. As history later showed, this act most likely saved their lives.
“For the Child” (Pro dítě)
The memorial to those events is strikingly designed. The figures stand without a pedestal, virtually at the eye-level of waiting travellers on Platform 1 at Prague’s main station (Praha hlavní nádraží). The downward-held real flowers in the little girl’s hands intensify the sadness etched into her face.
A plaque reveals the artwork’s title: For the Child (Pro dítě). The text thanks Nicholas Winton, whose trains enabled 669 children to emigrate to England. But the plaque also issues a grim reminder: 15,131 Czech children perished in concentration camps.
I found out that the sculptor is Flor Kent. She may be familiar to me; a sculpture by her at Vienna’s Westbahnhof likewise commemorates the Kindertransporte to England.
The Prague memorial was unveiled on 1 September 2009, on the occasion of a commemorative journey. According to Wikipedia, the girl was modelled after the granddaughter of one of the rescued children. Sadly, I find no information about the adult male figure — is he a father bidding farewell to his children forever?
The 2009 commemorative journey
What particularly moves me is the 2009 commemorative ride. A historical train, assembled from vintage carriages and locomotives under the name “Winton Train,” retraced the route from Prague to London.
The passengers on this journey included some of the very children rescued back in 1939 — and many of their descendants. At the final station, London’s Liverpool Street, they met Nicholas Winton himself, who at age 100 was still alive and took part in the event.
Is there anything more powerful than looking into the eyes of those who came to life only because of such an act? It’s estimated that from the 669 rescued children, roughly 5,000 descendants sprang forth over the decades.
Sources / More info
- Nicholas Winton (Wikipedia)
- Winton Train (Wikipedia)