Lisa Kallai - January 28, 2008
Thoughts on Nicholas Winton II
Well, let me, let me see what else I can ask you. Um, you've seen The Power of Good.
Yes.
Were you at that television show?
Uh, which?
When...
When they showed it in Tel Aviv with, with Winton present, you mean?
Yes.
Yes.
You were there.
Yes, yes.
Was that the first you met him?
No, I had met him on a previous occasion when he was in Israel.
I understand he has a wonderful sense of humor.
Absolutely.
How do you think he did that? That he managed to, to get eight trains with 670 children on it?
Amazing but unless...and it's amazing how he managed to do that but I think it's even more amazing that he decided that he had to do it. He was a young man, you know, no background of that kind.
Right.
Just went there, saw it and decided he had to do something about it. And that is the most amazing thing I think. Just got back and uh, got down to it.
And what he saw was discrimination against Jewish children.
I think what he saw was mostly...as far as I gathered...was the desperate plight of the refugees from Sudeten.
From the Sudetenland first.
Mm-hm. And he stresses all the time it's not Jewish children, it's children in distress. He makes that point every time.
Of course all but a f...only a few were, were not Jewish
Right but his point is...
That he rescued children.
...that he rescued children, not Jewish children.
That's important to remember I think about him...
Mm-hm.
...as well as the...
Yeah.
...as well as the project. Uh, has there been...have there been other reunions since, since that one?
There have been several reunions. I haven't been...I have been to the big one in London and to a couple reunions here with Winton.
So...
There have been others but, uh...
...you know some of the other uh, children.
Well, only from the reunion, not, uh...
But the ones who live in Israel you...
Well, not then other than at the reunion. No personal contact ???
So there's no big group of, of the Winton children?
There's a group of children's trans...Kindertransport that meets regularly. I must admit...I belong but I must admit I don't very often go.
In Detroit, where...
Mm-hm.
...where we live there's a hidden children's organization...
Mm-hm.
...and they meet every month...
Mm-hm.
...and I, I attend and it's, it's very good. They give each other support um, and there is also a Kindertransport group as well.
Yes, as I said, there is one here and they meet a couple of times a year or something and have a newsletter and so on.
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