If something isnt blatantly impossible, there must be a way of doing it Nicholas Winton In 1939, Nicholas Winton, a young stockbroker, saved the lives of 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia by bringing them across Hitlers Germany to his native Britain. Today, there are more than 6,000 descendants of the children Winton savedand all of them owe their lives to this gentle, unassuming hero, now over 100 years old. Twenty-six of the rescued children from all over the world are featured in the film, and many of them are taking Wintons example and helping others. Nickys Family is suitable for students in Years 7-12 undertaking:
Humanities History Holocaust Studies English Jewish Studies Religion and Society
Nickys Family is suitable
for units on the following subjects:
War and Peace
Change makers Memory Leadership Justice
Discussion questions for young children
1. What is your idea of a hero? 2. What makes Nicholas Winton a hero? 3. Do you think that anybody can be a hero? Why or Why not?
Discussion questions based on quotes
Nicholas Winton is so humble about what he did, he didnt tell a soul about it for 50 years. This movie shows humanitys worst and best. It shatters your soul and fills you with joy! It makes you feel agony and then gives you hope. It shows you arrogance and then grace, and above all, that the power of good cannot be snuffed out by evil and that true heroes really do exist. Dawn Underwood, Film Critic 4.What values can we learn from the film? Nickys Familyis a story of triumph. Triumph over tyrants. Triumph of freedom which meanseverything to many of us. The children saved and their descendants now number more than 5,700. These people, down to the young grandchildren, have been contributors to our society and have done amazing things. Many feel the need to emulate Sir Nicholas Winton in doing good works wherever they are needed. Kendra L Shrode, Mackinac Center for Public Policy 5. What do you think is the best way to honour Nicholas Winton? Family can have many meanings. For most of us it constitutes the people we live with - our parents, siblings and children. It can also have meaning to people that find they are more at home with their friends than with their biological family. Butfamily can also consist of some very special people people that put their own personal welfare aside for the greater good. And such is the case in Nickys Family. Kay Shackleton, film historian 6.What does your family mean to you?
Our Responsibility to Protect
There is a difference between passive goodness and active goodness which is, in my opinion, the giving of ones time and energy in the alleviation of pain and suffering. It entails going out, finding and helping those in suffering and danger and not merely leading an exemplary life, in the purely passive way of doing no wrong. Nicholas Winton, from a letter written in 1939
Following the1994 genocide in Rwandaand the international
communitys failure to intervene, former UN Secretary GeneralKofi Annanasked the question: When does the international community intervene for the sake of protecting populations? This led to a 2005 UN initiative called theresponsibility to protect(R2P). It consists of a set of principles, based on the idea that sovereigntyis not a right, but a responsibility.R2P focuses on preventing and halting four crimes:genocide,war crimes,crimes against humanity, andethnic cleansing, which it places under the generic umbrella term of,Mass Atrocity Crimes.The Responsibility to Protect has three pillars. 1. A state has a responsibility to protect its population from mass atrocities; 2. The international community has a responsibility to assist the state to fulfil its primary responsibility; 3. If the state fails to protect its citizens from mass atrocities and peaceful measures have failed, the international community has the responsibility to intervene through coercive measures such as economic sanctions. Military intervention is considered the last resort.
As you are reading this page, it is quite likely that a mass
atrocity is happening somewhere in the world. Some will be in the news, some will not. The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect applies an R2P lens to situations where populations are experiencing, or are at risk of, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing. For each population at risk they provide a background on the situation, an analysis of the factors putting populations at risk of mass atrocities, a timeline of the international response and a set of suggested necessary actions to protect populations and prevent further crimes. See: http://www.globalr2p.org/regions/ After you have read this website, ask yourself: 1. Was I aware of these mass atrocities happening in my world at the moment? Why/Why not? 2. Who are the victims and perpetrators in these mass atrocities? 3. How can I learn more and raise awareness about these mass atrocities?
Ittay Flescher is a Jewish Educator in Melbourne and a fellow of
Hebrew Universitys Senior Educators Program.
Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but, above all, thou shalt not be abystander. Professor Yehuda Bauer