'British Schindler' Sir Nicholas Winton remembered: Tamar Taylor speaks to Paul Calvert

"Those from among you shall build the old waste places. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations, and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in." (Isaiah 58:12)

With the Kindertransport memorial in Berlin having been vandalised recently, along with a frightening rise in antisemitism in the UK and elsewhere, stories of Holocaust rescue are vitally important to recount. To mark International Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January, Israel-based journalist, Paul Calvert, has been interviewing researchers and survivors.

Tamar Taylor is a British lady who completed a master's degree in Holocaust Studies, at Haifa University. She is now part of a ministry called 'Repairing the Breach', a group of British people seeking to make amends for mistreatment of Jewish people under the British Mandate, in particular the prevention of entry into then Palestine to desperate Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Europe in the 1940s. Paul Calvert spoke to Tamar about her interest in this subject.

Paul: Why did you want to study the Holocaust?

Tamar: Okay, it goes back a long way. Many years ago, when I was 16, I was a very new Christian. I was at a school in north London which had a lot of Jewish people attending. So my curiosity was already piqued a little bit about Jewish people and their faith. But I was studying History for my A-levels, and I went into the school library and just saw this word 'Holocaust'. And believe it or not, at that time, it really wasn't talked about. I just picked out a book, and the first book I read was Elie Wiesel's 'Night', which I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's his story as a boy being in Auschwitz. And I just wept through the whole book as a 16-year-old; I couldn't comprehend it. And I just believed then that God was doing something deep in my heart about just the horror of the Holocaust, and deeper than that, connecting me in a way to the Jewish people and then consequently to Israel. And when we came to Israel to actually do volunteer work, I saw an opportunity at Haifa University that they were offering an MA in Holocaust Studies. And although in that period of time, from 16-year-old, up to when I saw that, I just felt,

I need to learn more about this.

So, I went for it, and I got in, and it was just an amazing study time for me of really, really connecting with the whole story. And of course, consequently meeting many, many Holocaust survivors in Israel.

Paul: Is it a very emotional subject to study?

Tamar: Very emotional on one level... I love history, so, it was also learning really just historically the rise of Nazism, how the whole thing unfolded and became the Holocaust; and it was stages. And it's interesting because of what's going on now, you can just see some parallels, particularly with the rise of antisemitism that's going on right now globally. So yes, it was emotional when you heard personal stories, very, very emotional. But the historical part of it was also fantastic to learn.

Paul: One of your papers was about a man called Nicholas Winton. Can you tell us a bit about him?

Tamar: Well, there's a film that has just been released called 'One Life', and if you get an opportunity to see it, I would definitely say to go and see it because you will hear his story. And it's actually pretty much an accurate portrayal of him and the work that he did. He was actually a stockbroker working in London, just living a fairly ordinary kind of life, living with his mum at the time. But he had a friend who was a very keen Labour Party member, and he had gone out to Czechoslovakia. The background of the history was that this was after the Munich Agreement, trying to appease Hitler in the beginning of 1938, going right through 1938, and ended up with the allies, if you like, France, UK, Russia even, allowing Hitler to take over about 35 per cent of Czechoslovakia at the time, because he claimed that it was actually German land. This resulted in a massive flood of refugees into the rest of Czechoslovakia, and there were already people out there working. But this friend of Nicholas Winton said,

Can you come out? We're meant to be going on a skiing holiday, but can you come out and see this situation because it's absolutely horrendous.

And they had identified lots and lots of many unaccompanied children. And then as the months went on and things were getting worse and worse for families who were anti-Nazi, but particularly Jewish families, they were just fleeing from Germany, from Austria, and they were fleeing into Czechoslovakia.

So, Nicholas Winton, being an amazing organizer, he only spent actually three weeks in Prague, and he left behind an amazing team of other people there, who really got together to get these children out. And in the end, he succeeded in persuading the government to allow these children in as refugees, because it was quite a hard task that he had. And he managed to get families to sponsor these children. He got photographs of the children. Incredible task that he did in a very, very short time because, as you know, by September 1939, the war started.

But between March and September he managed to get 669 children safely out of Czechoslovakia and into Britain, with families that fostered them. Sadly, for most of those children who wouldn't have known at the time, most of them lost their parents in the Holocaust, so were actually orphaned.

And after all this happened, after the war, he kept this story to himself. It never became public until he was in his 80s. And you'll see the story in the film if you go to see the film. But basically, he starts to sort out all of the papers, and his wife is saying, "You need to sort all this out now." And he comes across a scrapbook, and it contains photographs of the children... 

Screen shot of *that* That's Life programme

It contains letters to the government... It's a whole archive, really, of his story of what he did, and what others did, in Czechoslovakia. And to cut a long story very short, he then went on to a programme called 'That's Life', through different contacts who began to hear this amazing story. He went on 'That's Life', with Esther Rantzen in the late 80s, and it's a very moving story of how, when he turns around and they ask people who were the children on these transports - who are now grown up with families of their own - and every single one in the audience stands up. Very moving time.

A statue of Sir Nicholas unveiled in 2009 at Prague Main railway station to mark the 70th anniversary of his his remarkable rescue

And from that time on, in his 80s, of course, the story just flooded, and he actually received a knighthood eventually. He had a film made about him in Czechoslovakia. There's a statue of him with children in Prague, in the railway station where the trains left. And he always did mention that there were many other people in Czechoslovakia, Prague, that really did risk their lives to get these children onto the trains. And they accompanied them... until they were forced to leave when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia and took over the whole country. So, an amazing story about him. 

The Royal Mail’s Sir Nicholas Winton’s stamp – issued following a Jewish News campaign backed by 106,000 people.

Paul: So he was a real hero to the Jewish people, wasn't he? Many lives were saved because of him.

Tamar: He was an absolute hero. And many of the children spoke afterwards, after the TV programme, and basically said that they had spent years trying to find the person who had helped to rescue them, without success, until this programme came. Some of the children ended up in Israel, but many of these children stayed in the UK and made lives for themselves there, and built up a lovely relationship with Nicholas Winton, who didn't actually die until he was 106!

Paul: Wow. I imagine you're really pleased they made a movie about him and what he's done.

Tamar: I can't believe it. And because I love Anthony Hopkins anyway, and he plays the part so well, because... the greatest sorrow to him was that there was one more, I think it was the largest number of children that were about to leave, 250 children that were about to leave Prague when war broke out... and they were not allowed to leave. They sealed the borders. And we only know of one child out of that transport that survived. All the rest perished.

You just see that moment when he's just so emotional .... he always said that he wished that he could have saved more because there were, at one time, I think he had details of over 5000 children that were desperately trying to leave. But even so, he has been called the "British Schindler". He wasn't very comfortable with that title, but I would see very much parallels with Oskar Schindler's efforts to save the Jewish people.

Keep an eye on this blog for Part 2 of Paul's interview with Tamar: The Story of the SS Patria.

To listen to Paul's interview click here

World’s Oldest Journalist Celebrates Centenary - Part 2

By The Jerusalem Report

Courtesy Walter Bingham

Following on from Part 1 of Walter's story, he continues to write in The Jerusalem Report:

The date of my discharge from the army was December 31, 1947; I declined the opportunity to stay on.

“Here are your civilian clothes and the railway ticket to your chosen destination”

were the last words I heard before I was totally alone as I stepped out into the street. It was hard to adjust to civilian life. After all, for four years the army cared for my every need. Unlike today, there was no aftercare. Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, was not recognized in military veterans. I just had to persevere.

Bingham was honored with a visit to his Jerusalem home by President Isaac Herzog for his 99th birthday. Photo by the President's Office

Much later, and on my own initiative, still while trying to make a living, I enrolled in the Open University and graduated with an upper 2nd degree in politics and philosophy. I followed that with a post-graduate study of political philosophy at London University’s Birkbeck College. Once again, God guided me in the right direction.

I married my wonderful wife, my rock for 40 years until her untimely death in 1990. But her spirit lives on in our daughter, Sonja, who also lives in Jerusalem and takes good care of me.

Bingham with his daughter, Sonja Kent, during an International March of the Living trip in Germany in October. Courtesy Walter Bingham

Without her help, I could not function as well. Having made aliyah at age 80, it is difficult to master the modern Hebrew language. However, I settled in Jerusalem, where English suffices and my knowledge of Yiddish is a good standby. My studies in London enabled me to enter a career there in print and radio journalism, which became my passion.

Today, at age 100, I am proud to be the oldest working journalist and active radio show host in the world, for which I hold both Guinness world records and still broadcast on two Israeli radio stations.

For some years as a sideline in England, I took up acting, worked as an advertising model, and dressed as Santa Claus in London’s largest department stores, Harrods and Selfridges. I appeared in numerous TV shows and movies, including a wizard in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

As I always do things from which many others of a similar age shy away, my hobby, until my eyesight deteriorated, was piloting airplanes. In 1971, I flew a fully instrumented plane, solo, from London to Israel and back! I have since had to change to the relatively benign sport of skydiving.

I jumped out of a plane on my 95th birthday, and God willing, will do my next sky dive sometime soon.

Bingham produces a radio show called ‘Walter’s World’ for Israel National News (Arutz 7). Courtesy Walter Bingham

Besides all that, I still travel to Europe to speak to schools, and at the end of January I am scheduled to be taken to England for a second time within three months for events organized by the International March of the Living.

A friend recently asked me, “When will you retire?”

I had to look up the meaning in the dictionary and I then replied,

“You will have to put up with me for many more years because I am looking forward to being a part of Israel’s bright future in 2024 and beyond.”

Although there are currently some hiccups around the Abraham Accords, there is no doubt that in the smoke-filled rooms of the Arab leadership meetings, there is an air of optimism because, having applied the brakes as a result of Israel’s problem with Hamas and Hamas’s connection with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the Arab states which until now have only covertly been talking to Israel, will hopefully be able to openly consider establishing diplomatic relations in the near future. That will also give extra meaning to the slogan Am Yisrael chai! The nation of Israel lives!

Parts 1 and 2 of Walter's article were published as one feature in The Jerusalem Report, on 8 January 2024.

World’s Oldest Journalist Celebrates Centenary

A Glimpse into 100 years of my multifaceted life

The Jerusalem Report

Courtesy of Revital Yakin Krakovsky

An inspiration to us all, Jerusalemite Walter Bingham turns 100 years old today, 5 January. A Holocaust survivor who was rescued to Britain on the Kindertransport, Bingham went on to become a war hero (gaining both the British Military Medal and the French Legion D’Honneur) and an esteemed journalist. He holds the Guinness World Records title for both the oldest journalist and oldest active radio show host. Defying even further odds, the indefatigable adopted Brit made the ‘big move’ alone, as a widower. Yes, at the grand age of 80, Walter became a proud Israeli and a further blessing to many. His daughter also lives in Jerusalem. With thanks to The Jerusalem Report, here are some excerpts from Walter’s own article, written to mark his centenary.

Who would have thought that following the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, and the almost unanimous international condemnation of antisemitism, the slogan ‘Never again’ would today sound hollow? For reasons we cannot fathom, once again, God allowed an enemy to rise up, trying to destroy the Jewish people. But like always in history, we shall see our persecutors destroyed.

My first three years at school before Hitler were uneventful, but after 1933, as a Jew, going to school became a harrowing experience. I had to endure taunts and physical attacks. Complaints did not bring a reaction from the teachers. The Aryan boy who sat next to me copied my work and received good marks, while my work was marked down. Eventually, I had to sit at the back of the classroom. Soon, all Jewish students, as well as educators throughout Germany, were expelled. A temporary Jewish school was established in my city, and during that time, my marks rose considerably!

It was 1938 when my parents saw an opportunity for a year of further Jewish education and sent me to the city of Mannheim, where I was accommodated in the kosher orphanage. Every day, I walked to the schoolroom in the synagogue building. The school year began after Passover, and I enjoyed the experience, which only lasted seven months. During my stay there on October 28, I learned that Polish Jews had been arrested. As my family was part of that community, I was afraid and wanted to return home. “Stay where you are,” said my mother on the telephone; “they have just taken your father away.” I never saw him again.

Writing about Kristallnacht, the night Walter says that the Holocaust began, he recalls the following:

Hamburg 1945, courtesy Walter Bingham

As usual, on that morning I walked to school. Even on the way I felt the strange atmosphere; there were many more people in the streets, and as I approached the synagogue I realized why… Masses of people were staring at the building that was still smoldering. The fire service stood idly by in order to protect the neighboring properties from being damaged! It then became clear to me what was happening. Having gathered my thoughts, I returned to my accommodation, telephoned my mother and said, “I am coming home.” I remember clearly that I took the 3:22 Diesel train and, on arrival, found that in Karlsruhe as well the story was the same.

In order to earn some money, I used my skills to repair electrical appliances by adapting irons and other items from 220 to 110 volts for immigrants to the US. I also helped to clean up damage in the Jewish hotel.

Having lost their businesses or after having been dismissed from their employment, many Jewish families were trying to immigrate to the

US or the UK; however, they required sponsorship or proof of financial independence, making it almost impossible, and this applied to my own family.

The Jewish establishments in those countries did not pressure their governments sufficiently to accept Jewish refugees because they feared that “too many Jews cause antisemitism.” So my mother and I had no opportunity to leave Germany. It’s interesting how times and attitudes in Europe have changed, so that even illegal immigrants are being welcomed and cared for.

About the Kindertransport initiative of the British Government, he writes:

Walter near his childhood home: Sascha Schaefer

Following Kristallnacht, there was an appeal by European Jewish communities to British Jewish philanthropic organizations to save Jewish children from Nazi Europe. It bore fruit when they succeeded after pressure on the government to act. It was miraculously approved very quickly, and visas for 10,000 children were issued.

Throughout Germany and Nazi-occupied areas, children – some as young as 18 months, up to the age of 17 – were selected by some obscure quota system. In Karlsruhe, my name was on the list. On July 25, 1939, at age 15 and a half, I left the city of my birth. It was a traumatic experience when my mother took me to the railway station, not knowing when we would meet again because everyone knew that

war was imminent. However, one dark cloud hangs over this humanitarian enterprise: It was an insensitive stipulation that children be sent unaccompanied, without their parents. That’s why my mother had to remain behind.

Since I was older, I was able to find a place by the window in order to wave goodbye as the train pulled out, taking me to safety. I often think of the parents’ emotions when they returned to their homes. They had sent their children into the unknown; remembering the faces of their small toddlers as they cuddled their doll or teddy bear, crying and thinking that they were being abandoned by their parents when they placed them into the arms of strangers and left the train. For the little ones, the trauma could only be compared with being abducted.

While heavily affected by this traumatic event, for me the trauma was initially mixed with some sense of adventure of going on a journey on an international train through foreign countries. But the reality quickly sank in as the train pulled out and I, too, felt alone.

As the ferry left the port at Hoek van Holland for the six-hour journey to England, in what was freedom.... as I stood as a youth at the rails of the open deck, the vivid memories from home flooded in. I remembered thinking, “Where are they taking me to? When will I see my Mama and Papa again? After all, I don’t know anybody and cannot really speak English. What will become of me?”

Walter describes being taken, as part of a group of kinder, to a beautiful but dilapidated castle in Abergele, North Wales, where he and other teenagers were given all manner of chores. He continues:

At some point toward the end of 1942, I was confident enough to leave for London in search of a new life. That came in an unexpected form when I was called up to join the Polish army in exile, which was stationed in the UK. Not knowing the language and having no real connection to that antisemitic country, I refused. However, the idea of fighting the Nazis appealed to me. After the Royal Air Force turned me down for a pilot’s course (even then, my eyesight was not 20/20), I joined the British Army instead. In wartime, many airmen die young; as I lived to be reunited with my mother after the war, I believe that divine providence played its part.

Going against the flow, Walter said he ‘ignored’ an unspoken rule in the army, never to volunteer, and became an ambulance driver:

For almost a year, I evacuated the wounded during heavy fighting through France, Belgium, and Holland. My application to be transferred to a job where my language knowledge of German would be useful was long delayed; but it was finally approved, just before the horrendous battle for the Rhine Bridge at Arnhem in September 1944, known as “A bridge too far.”

Once again God spared my life. That ended the first and most dangerous phase of my military service, which had an indelible effect on my life and maturity.

THE CONTRAST, Walter writes, from the battlefield to counter-intelligence training at a secret office at London’s Oxford Circus was stark but welcome. Imagine the feeling of soaking in a bathtub after much of the year in a dugout. It was heaven!

It was May 8, 1945: Victory in Europe Day when, after having spent time at HQ Intelligence Corps Brussels, I left for Hamburg to begin the work for which I had been trained – to evaluate Nazi documents and correspondence and to ascertain who among the suspects we interrogated fell into the arrest categories of the various Nazi organizations.

I had not long settled in when, in mid-June, I was asked to speak with a high-profile prisoner captured in the city. He turned out to be Joachim von Ribbentrop, the Nazi foreign minister. We sat about one meter apart in my office, just he and I. This ardent Nazi, who was in overall charge of everything that had happened in Nazi-occupied Europe, looked me in the eye and denied every knowledge of the Holocaust. When challenged, he claimed to have read about it in the newspaper. His arrogance and delusions of grandeur had no bounds. Faced with my camera, and imagining that it was for publicity, he rose and requested to have a shave first. That’s when I raised my voice and told him to sit down. Some more questioning followed before I had him removed.

At the Nuremberg war crimes trial, Ribbentrop was found guilty of conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity and was sentenced to death. He was the first to be hanged at 01:30 a.m. on October 16, 1946.

On his discharge from the army, on 31 December 1947, Walter was again totally alone…

Watch this blog to read the second part of his incredible story by The Jerusalem Report.

Speaking on the eve of his birthday to Revital Yakin Krakovsky, Deputy CEO of the International March of the Living, Walter said:

I've always felt a deep connection to the Jewish people and our homeland. I value the moments I've spent fighting against tyranny and promoting the truth through journalism. I could never have imagined that at the age of 100, I would be a witness to the horrific pogrom against Jews that took place on October 7 and the terrifying resurgence of antisemitism since [also covered by an interview with Walter in the Daily Telegraph]. As I celebrate today, I also pray for the future of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

Courtesy of Walter Bingham

Revital Yakin Krakovsky, Deputy CEO of the International March of the Living, contributed to this report.

Happy Birthday, Walter! Mazal Tov!