Objective: Students will learn about Nicholas Winton’s humanitarian efforts during World War II and reflect on the impact one person can have on the world, while exploring how individuals like Winton inspire change in the face of global crises.
You’d need a heart of stone not to be touched by this extraordinary true story of Nicholas Winton, the “British Schindler”, and by the simplicity and heartfelt directness with which it’s told by screenwriters Nick Drake and Lucinda Coxon and director James Hawes. It’s a story of wartime Europe and postwar memory, and also a noble and inspired moment in the history of British popular TV. The Guardian.
Introduction
- Historical Context:
- Provide a brief overview of Europe on the brink of World War II.
- Discuss the rise of Nazi persecution of Jews and the refugee crisis that many countries faced.
Main Activities:
1. Movie Screening – “One Life” (90 minutes)
- Purpose: To introduce students to the life of Nicholas Winton and his heroic actions during World War II.
- Instruction:
- Before the screening, provide context about the historical setting and Nicholas Winton’s role in organizing the rescue of 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia.
- Encourage students to pay attention to the key moments in Winton’s life where his personal values, empathy, and courage influenced his decisions.
- Pre-Watching Question: Ask students to consider what personal risks and challenges Winton might face during the film.
2. New York Times Interactive Feature – Follow-up Activity
- Purpose: To deepen understanding of Winton’s efforts by engaging with multimedia resources and testimonies.
- Instruction:
- Guide students through the New York Times Interactive Feature on Nicholas Winton, highlighting its personal stories and interactive visualizations.
- Encourage students to explore the testimonies of the children Winton saved, gaining insights into their lives and reflecting on Winton’s long-term impact.
- Discussion Prompt:
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Guida TV Sky Cinema e NOW: One Life, Lunedi 17 Giugno 2024 Emotional Impact: How do the personal stories of the children saved, and those who were separated from their families, enhance the emotional depth of Winton’s actions portrayed in the movie?
- Generational Impact: How did Winton’s actions affect not only the children but also their descendants and future generations?
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3. Discussion – The Legacy of Nicholas Winton
- Purpose: To critically examine Winton’s motivations, the challenges he faced, and the lasting impact of his actions.
- Discussion Questions:
- What motivated Nicholas Winton to take action, despite the personal and political risks involved?
- How did Winton’s actions change the lives of the children he saved and their families?
- What challenges did Winton face when organizing the rescue, and how did he overcome them?
- How do the personal stories from the New York Times article demonstrate the long-term impact of his actions on those who were never reunited with their families?
- Reflection on That’s Life! Reunion:
- Show a clip from Winton’s reunion with the children on That’s Life! and discuss how the surprise meeting emphasized the emotional significance of his actions.
- Reference The Guardian’s review, describing the reunion as a moment of “secular grace.” Why do students think it had such a powerful emotional impact?
4. Research Activity – Comparative Humanitarian Efforts
- Purpose: To broaden students’ understanding of humanitarian action by comparing Winton’s work with other notable efforts during WWII.
- Instruction:
- Divide the class into groups and assign each group a different humanitarian figure: Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg, or Irena Sendler. See info below.
- Have each group research their assigned figure’s motivations, methods, and outcomes.
- Each group will present their findings, comparing and contrasting their figure’s work with Winton’s. Focus on questions like:
- What motivated these figures to act?
- How were their approaches similar or different from Winton’s?
- What were the outcomes of their actions?
5. Reflection Writing – “The Difference One Person Can Make”
- Purpose: To encourage personal reflection on the power of individual action in shaping history.
- Instruction:
- Have students write a short essay reflecting on how Nicholas Winton’s actions made a difference and what lessons can be drawn from his story.
- Encourage them to use examples from the movie, the New York Times feature, and their research on other humanitarian figures.
- Essay Prompt: “How can one person’s courage and empathy create a lasting impact on history?”
6. Conclusion and Reflection Sharing
- Purpose: To synthesize key takeaways and relate Winton’s legacy to modern-day activism.
- Instruction:
- Invite students to share key points from their essays and discuss the broader implications of individual action in shaping history.
- Reference The Guardian’s review of “One Life,” particularly how Winton’s modesty and recognition underscore the lasting impact of individual actions.
7. Incorporating Elisabeth Maxwell’s Role (10 minutes)
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- Purpose: To provide historical context on how Winton’s story was rediscovered.
- Instruction:
- Briefly discuss how Elisabeth Maxwell helped bring Winton’s work to light by passing his records to Esther Rantzen, leading to his TV appearance on That’s Life!.
- Discuss the importance of recognizing unsung heroes and preserving historical memory. See info below.
Research Assignment:
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- Ask students to choose another time or global crisis where a single individual made a significant impact in saving lives or promoting change (e.g., the Rwandan genocide, Syrian refugee crisis). They should write a report comparing that individual’s efforts to Winton’s.
- Reflection on the New York Times Interactive Article:
- Encourage students to explore the full New York Times interactive feature and write a response reflecting on the long-term impact Winton’s actions had on the lives of the children and their families, and how this story resonates today.
Additional Resources:
- New York Times Interactive Feature: A primary resource for personal stories and historical context related to Winton’s rescue efforts. The New York Times
- The Guardian Review of One Life: A valuable source for analyzing the emotional and historical significance of Winton’s story. The Guardian
Key Aspects of Elisabeth Maxwell’s Life and Work
1. Background and Early Life
- Born: March 11, 1921, in La Grive, France.
- Education: Elisabeth Meynard was educated in France and later attended Oxford University, where she pursued her scholarly interests.
Holocaust Research and Advocacy
- Focus on Holocaust Studies: Despite her family and public obligations, Elisabeth developed a deep interest in the Holocaust, particularly after learning about her husband’s Jewish heritage and the experiences of his family during the war.
- PhD and Research: She earned a PhD from the University of Oxford in 1981. Her dissertation, “The Refugee Experience in Europe: 1939-1955,” reflected her interest in the Jewish refugee experience during and after World War II.
- Scholar and Author: Elisabeth became a respected scholar of Holocaust history, authoring works such as “A Measure of Compassion” (1990), which dealt with Christian responses to the Holocaust, and “Silence or Speaking Out: Christian Responses to the Holocaust” (1993).
- Philanthropy and Education: She was a passionate advocate for Holocaust education and worked with several Jewish organizations to promote awareness of the Holocaust’s historical significance.
Oskar Schindler:
- Halina Silber, a Holocaust survivor who was number 16 on Schindler’s list, shared her personal story at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event. She described Schindler as “an angel” and “a single individual who had the courage and dared to make a difference.”
- Silber recounted how Schindler saved her and other workers from Auschwitz by transferring them to his factory in Czechoslovakia. She said, “His kindness gave us hope…. And above all, he gave us our dignity.”
- Despite initially seeming like other German industrialists profiting from the war, Schindler underwent a transformation. He later risked his life to protect his Jewish workers, spending his fortune on bribes and black market purchases to keep them alive.
Raoul Wallenberg:
- Tom Lantos, a U.S. Congressman who was saved by Wallenberg as a young man in Budapest, paid tribute to him: “During the Nazi occupation, this heroic young diplomat left behind the comfort and safety of Stockholm to rescue his fellow human beings in the hell that was wartime Budapest.”
- Wallenberg’s disappearance after being taken by Soviet forces in 1945 led to decades of mystery and investigations. His family and supporters continued to search for information about his fate for many years.
Irena Sendler:
- Sendler led a secret operation to smuggle 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto, saving them from almost certain death. She kept meticulous records of the children’s true identities in hopes of reuniting them with their families after the war.
- Even when tortured by the Gestapo, Sendler never revealed the names or locations of the children she had rescued.
- Later in life, Sendler was cared for by Elzbieta Ficowska, one of the children (then six months old) whom she had smuggled out of the Warsaw Ghetto
- .Despite her heroic actions, Sendler remained humble, stating: “We who were rescuing children are not some kind of heroes. That term irritates me greatly. The opposite is true – I continue to have qualms of conscience that I did so little.”. Holocaust matters.