Futility Closet

In 1939, as the shadow of war spread over Europe, British stockbroker Nicholas Winton helped to spirit hundreds of threatened children out of Czechoslovakia. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Winton's struggle to save the children and the world's eventual recognition of his achievements. We'll also consider some ghostly marriages and puzzle over a ship's speed. Intro: There's a "technical version" of "A Visit From St. Nicholas." Critic A.E. Wilson translated Hamlet's nunnery soliloquy into "Americanese." Sources for our feature on Nicholas Winton: Barbara Winton, If It's Not Impossible--: The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton, 2014. William Chadwick, The Rescue of the Prague Refugees 1938-39, 2010. Andrea Hammel and Bea Lewkowicz, The Kindertransport to Britain 1938/39: New Perspectives, 2012. Rod Gragg, My Brother's Keeper: Christians Who Risked All to Protect Jewish Targets of the Nazi Holocaust, 2016. Ivan A. Backer, My Train to Freedom: A Jewish Boy's Journey From Nazi Europe