HOMMAGE

Entre mars et août 1939, il a contribué à évacuer vers son pays natal 669 enfants...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Mort à 106 ans du «Schindler britannique» Nicholas Winton ...

Sir Nicholas Winton, le «Schindler britannique» qui avait sauvé 669 enfants tchèques et slovaques, juifs pour la plupart, d'une mort certaine dans des camps nazis, est décédé mercredi à 106 ans, a annoncé le Rotary club de Maidenhead (sud).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               «Symbole de courage» :

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          «C'est avec une grande tristesse que je dois annoncer que Sir Nicky Winton est mort paisiblement ce matin», indique un communiqué publié sur le site du club dont Sir Winton était membre et fut un temps président. «Le monde a perdu un grand homme. Nous ne devons jamais oublier l'humanité dont a fait preuve Sir Nicholas Winton en sauvant tant d'enfants de l'Holocauste», a réagi le Premier ministre britannique, David Cameron, sur son compte Twitter.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               The world has lost a great man. We must never forget Sir Nicholas Winton's humanity in saving so many children from the Holocaust.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) July 1, 2015

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          «Il restera à jamais un symbole de courage, de profonde humanité et d'incroyable modestie», a de son côté estimé le Premier ministre tchèque Bohuslav Sobotka, sur Twitter également.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  L'année dernière, Sir Nicholas Winton avait reçu l'Ordre du Lion blanc, la plus haute distinction tchèque, des mains du président tchèque Milos Zeman. «C'était un homme admiré pour son courage», a réagi ce dernier jeudi.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Fin 1938, alors jeune employé de la Bourse de Londres, Nicholas Winton s'était rendu à Prague à l'invitation d'un ami travaillant à l'ambassade britannique. Celui-ci lui demande de l'aide alors qu'une partie de la Tchécoslovaquie est sous la botte des nazis et que des camps de réfugiés sont mis en place.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Winton ouvre un «bureau» dans un hôtel de Prague, recevant des parents juifs pressés de mettre leurs enfants en lieu sûr. La tâche est ardue  : pour obtenir un visa pour la Grande-Bretagne, il faut trouver pour chaque enfant une famille d'adoption et verser une caution. Winton doit également rassembler les fonds pour le transport par train.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Winton estimait n'avoir rien fait d'exceptionnel :

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Entre mars et août 1939, le Britannique contribue ainsi à évacuer vers son pays natal dans huit trains 669 enfants. Un neuvième convoi, prévu le 3 septembre pour 250 enfants, fut bloqué par l'entrée en guerre de la Grande-Bretagne et tous ces enfants ont disparu.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Winton estimait n'avoir rien fait d'exceptionnel, bien que la presse l'ait baptisé le «Schindler britannique», en référence à l'industriel allemand Oskar Schindler qui a sauvé 1.200 juifs sous le Troisième Reich.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Cette modestie l'amènera à cacher, y compris à sa propre famille, son rôle déterminant dans la survie de ces enfants. Sa femme le découvrira par hasard, près d'un demi-siècle plus tard, en retrouvant dans une vieille sacoche enfouie au grenier la liste des enfants et des lettres de leurs parents.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Anobli par la reine Elisabeth II fin 2002, Sir Nicholas Winton avait reçu de nombreuses autres récompenses pour ses actes, dont l'ordre Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (l'une des plus hautes distinctions tchèques) en 1998 et le titre de «Héros britannique de l'Holocauste» en 2010.