A rare screening of an award-winning film about a British man who rescued almost 700 Jewish children from the Nazis was held in central London last night.
Sir Nicholas Winton MBE, who was raised and baptised in a Christian family, organised the evacuation of 669 children by train and boat from Czechoslovakia to England from 1938 to 1939.
Working at considerable personal risk, the then 29-year-old stock-broker persuaded the British authorities to allow him to transport the children to adoptive families in the UK.
The full story was detailed in the moving documentary film 'Nicky's Family', which showed the heartache of Czech and Slovak parents who gave their children away to strangers in the UK. Many of these parents later died in Auschwitz.
The 104-year-old could not be at the screening due to poor health but members of his family, and five of the children he saved - also known as Nicky's family - were in attendance.
Sir Nicholas' motto of "If something isn't blatantly impossible there must be a way of doing it" has inspired further charitable work among children throughout the world. Nicky's Family has now grown to almost 6,000 people.
The man dubbed 'The British Schindler' did not speak about his work for over 50 years. It wasn't until his wife discovered a scrapbook in the couple's attic in 1988 that contained lists of the children he saved, that his exploits became public knowledge. Some 261 children have been identified so far and Sir Nicholas has had emotional encounters with many of them.
Opening the evening, which was held as part of Holocaust Memorial Week, Judy Littler Manners called Mr Winton "brave, determined, humble and brilliant", and said: "We are here because we know we must never forget that tragic moment in history."
Guests at the sold out event were touched to hear that Sir Nicholas had saved the same number of children as people who were currently in the room.
All profits from the event are to be donated to three charities that work with Holocaust survivors across the world, including International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem's (ICEJ) home for Holocaust Survivors in Haifa, Israel.
The evening also featured a panel discussion hosted by Broadcaster Clive Anderson and music from Comnor House Choristers.
Last year a petition bearing the names of more than 212,000 people was presented to the Nobel Prize committee urging it to honour the Holocaust hero.
