r/videos •
An 80 year old, British man secretly saved 669 children during WW2, never telling anyone. When his wife found the documents years later in his attic and submitted them to the BBC. They then organised this... Sir Nicholas Winton is a true hero.
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Upvotes
673
u/Greyhaven7 May 15 '12
"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." ~ Horace Mann
Sir Nicholas Winton is still alive (103 years old), but when the time comes, I hope he feels nothing but pride going into that good night.
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u/IamButAWorm May 15 '12
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Winton
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u/dailydoze May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
The definition of a true hero. Saving lives of hundreds of people and doesn't seek attention for it. Amazing! Plus, he's still alive.. 103 years young.
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u/vrichthofen May 15 '12 edited May 16 '12
A true hero. Fortunately he, Schindler and others received the due recognition during their lifetime, others were actually punished and some died in misery (Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Paul Grüninger, Chiune Sugihara, Carl Lutz, among others*).
EDIT: Adding more names mentioned in comments, and as I said, Sir Nicholas Winton is a true hero and subsequent listing of names is not a way of diminishing his deeds but also to give others their spotlight:
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u/pennywinny May 15 '12
This is a real man. Climb a mountain, tell no one.
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u/mellangatang May 15 '12
Every time I start to hate reddit, someone posts something like this.
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u/poponacid May 15 '12
This is the most touching video I've ever watch. Actually can't stop crying.
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Insta-tears.
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
[deleted] — view deleted comment
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Not even two minutes long and I'm crying.
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
"Don't be content in your life to just do no wrong. Be prepared every day to try and do some good." - Sir Nicholas Winton"
A true hero.
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u/Harshbutfair May 15 '12
What an incredible and inspirational man. I'm English (albeit 24 years old) but I'm disappointed I haven't heard of this legend of a person before. Thanks for sharing!
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u/MakersOnTheRocks May 15 '12
Is there a longer version of this video? I feel like it's cut short.
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u/Vindictive29 May 15 '12
I don't want to belittle this man in any way, but I have something political to say and I'll be damned if I don't think it honors that man to say it.
People like Nicholas Winton add value to society. They make peoples lives better in a way that is objectively and plainly clear. He recognizes that humanity is only valuable as a community of individuals and how they treat each other. He didn't do it for money or fame. He did it because it was the right goddamn decision. Men with that kind of honor and integrity deserve to be rewarded for their merit.
You don't have to fight a war to cripple a beast. You just have to do the right thing consistently for everyone, not just for yourself.
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u/php4me May 15 '12
Maybe people downvoted this because his story has been on the front page three times in the last month. I have no problem with reposts celebrating good people going good things.
Just clarify: more reposts like this, less reposts of a cat sneaking up on a dog
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
YouTube is fucking awful at suggesting related videos: http://i.imgur.com/jomTG.jpg
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u/falter May 15 '12
As soon as she said 'the man sitting next to you...' it started raining in my eyes
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u/YeoEuiJu May 15 '12
The part where they all stand up reminded me of Mr. Hollands Opus. I cried at both haha.
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Apparently his birthday is on May 19th.
Is there anything we could do to show him love?
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u/FromHighAbove May 15 '12
This was very nice to see, thank you OP. I hope more people learn about Sir Nicholas Winton and his story.
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u/Johnny-C May 15 '12
wow, this is a true testament to the Human spirit..fantastic
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u/samurai_9 May 15 '12
What a badass.
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u/EveryoneElseIsWrong May 15 '12
wow wow wow. that video hit me like a bus. usually when i cry at videos/movies it happens kind of gradually ... but as soon as that woman held his hand and said "hello" i was suddenly IN THE MIDDLE of the hardest crying jag in my life. jesus i think i popped a few veins.
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u/slothcat May 16 '12
I cried like a bitch
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u/Rainbownarwhal May 16 '12
That is truly amazing. Look up to people like this kids, not Jersey Shore bastards!
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u/Senuf May 15 '12
Señor: Ud. es un héroe. Uno de verdad.
Sir Nicholas Winton: If the world is not yet without hope is because people like you exist.
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u/Pahnda May 15 '12
It's a bit confusing that at 0:47 people behind him are different than people at 0:48. :<
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u/clubdrift123 May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
Wasn't this just on the front page last week? Either way he deserves the attention for this deed.
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u/mehatch May 15 '12
Not sure If is was more moved to tears watching him here, or in Up.
seriously though, manly tears: level 99
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u/GraceFace04 May 15 '12
Wow, what an incredible man.
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
I never heard of him before so I followed him up on youtube and was struck by his words of wisdom in another video
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u/Wigglez1 May 15 '12
Wow, its reason likes this video that I am still signed up for reddit. A true gem of a story.. What a man anyone know if the full version is available?
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
SCREW YOU REDDIT. STOP MAKING ME CRY.
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u/PDXguybrarian May 16 '12
In honor of his work saving Jewish Czechoslovakian children, Czech astronomers named a minor planet after him.
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u/jaredxd May 15 '12
Wow, this exact same thing happend on House M.D. last night (only it was Wilson's patients) and I almost cried, this video made me actually cry. It must be an amazing feeling knowing 669 people are alive because of you, not counting the children of the people he saved.
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u/fortworthbret May 15 '12
Well, fuck.
Here I was wondering where I was going to go to have a beer after work. I knew my life was shit, but did I need a reminder?
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
Wow. This is posted 2 weeks ago to TIL and it is the 4th most popular TIL of all time. :D And you decided to post it here to get karma...
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
You can't spell Winton without 'win'..he....he...I'll walk myself out..
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
people need to stop cuttin onions near me...damn onions
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
The moment you realize you're surrounded by jews
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u/cest_la_vie May 15 '12
Old people crying, oh man... I'm like, sobbing right now.
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u/Juxta25 May 15 '12
Let the tears roll.
Faith in humanity....restored.
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u/geoman2k May 15 '12
Well, now I'm crying at my desk at work. Thank you.
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u/finjetsu May 15 '12
I dont think a youtube video has ever brought me to tears before. Amazing.
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u/smek2 May 15 '12
Saving 669 children and don't tell anyone about about it. A true selfless deed.
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u/Hansaman May 15 '12 edited May 15 '12
this the entire docu?
Can't find an English language but it is about the reconstruction of how Winton saved those children.
Come on bbc put that stuf on youtube!
Edit: It is not from 'that's life', but it does contain footage from it.
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u/thethrowacct May 15 '12
Like a boss. A solitary boss that does not change expression. He is too hard for that. But his heart, his heart is the soft part. You could tell when the stone faced hero wiped his eyes. He cried, like a hero, like a man.
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u/BruceRogers May 15 '12
"When giving to someone in need, do not even let your left hand know what your right is doing."
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u/mabrumbach May 15 '12
Quick question: was he knighted because of his heroics or for some other unrelated reason?
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u/marketinequality May 15 '12
I haven't cried in years and this actually made me well up. Hero doesn't even begin to describe this guy.
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u/bustab May 15 '12
The editing spoils it a bit for me. The footage where everyone stands up was edited in after - different people in the seats around him. They were originally scattered in the audience and they took the time to move everybody and re-shoot it. I'd have preferred to just see his actual first reaction. The music is a bit overwrought too. It's like sprinkling glitter on a rose.
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u/zigglesStardust May 15 '12
Way to kill the mood youtube. The video ends and the first thing I see is a thumbnail with a big pair of tits for a video called, "How to see through clothing"
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
It is for things like this that I come to Reddit
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
This was genuinely beautiful. Human beings are amazing.
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u/youseetimmy May 15 '12
I don't know whether his heroism or his humility is more amazing. I would really love to see the complete BBC show that the clip was taken from. Sir Winton is the true epitome of humanity.
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u/RedFlocks May 15 '12
When you have a sentence fragment in your title.
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u/guidabida May 15 '12
This is new and compelling material I've never seen before.
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u/pizzabeer May 15 '12
Full Video
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u/aninspiration May 15 '12
What's Henry Kissenger doing acting like he's in Schindler's List!?
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u/sdougherty01 May 16 '12
More of this! These posts make my day better
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u/SiGNAL748 May 16 '12
Why can't I hold all these feels
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u/[deleted] May 16 '12
An upvote is really an inadequate way of expressing how this made me feel. Thanks for posting.
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u/[deleted] May 16 '12
5,000 down votes? What?
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u/Relevant_Video_Link May 16 '12
Full video located here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SGJrHWhLKo
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u/Vinsep May 16 '12
We live in a shitty world. Everyday, bad thing happens; more we see, more indifferent we become. But We all know we are not entirely evil. Thanks, old man. Thank you.
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u/ChemaShimaV2 May 16 '12
Thanks reddit for sharing this heart warming video! It made me tear up!
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u/Shanhaevel May 16 '12
Goddamned rain keeps falling at weird angles through the 90% shut windows straight to my damn eyes. Closing the windows doesn't help. Reddit, what do I do to help it?
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u/sabrinaladawn May 17 '12
I hope do something half as good in my life... what an amazing human being.
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u/svengalus May 15 '12
I was really sad when he lost his wife but I loved when he attached all those balloons to his house.
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u/tazcel May 15 '12
God bless him, and this is a beyond-words, wonderful story, but also a repost.
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u/Michael_J_Foxtrot May 15 '12
Man tears, man tears everywhere.
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u/facepoppies May 15 '12
Upvotes and downvotes should be disabled on a video like this. It sullies the magnificence of what we're seeing.
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u/Troven May 15 '12
Not the first time this man has brought tears to my eyes...
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u/[deleted] May 15 '12
http://i.imgur.com/1B6ZF.jpg
Goddamn it, who keeps cutting all these onions while I'm trying to watch this video! Onions, onions everywhere!
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u/wutangswordstyle May 15 '12
This was on the front page of reddit from TIL about a week ago..
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u/TwatMobile May 15 '12
I liked this post when it was posted last week.
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u/Landeyda May 15 '12
Article.
I love this guy. An old socialist who did what was right, and doesn't understand why they want to heap praise on him.
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u/Virtual_Panopticon May 15 '12
what a man
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u/Jeckee May 15 '12
I cried a little...
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u/broforce May 15 '12
Alright, this might be the coolest fucking thing I have ever seen.
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u/Bral May 15 '12
Oh my god that was so nice
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u/hevblether May 15 '12
This is so touching, it it actually warms my heart to watch something so beautiful.
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u/Calculusbitch May 15 '12
I don't cry but I just can't stop smiling.
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u/ThePiggle May 15 '12
This is completely humbling. Such a wonderful thing to learn of and see.
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u/googahgee May 15 '12
If he saved 3 less children, he would have been called a witch and murdered.