Electric Palace and Essex University Kindertransport event

The Electric Palace Theatre and Essex University have joined forces to organise a film screening and talk on Monday, January 27.

Royal Historical Society president Prof Lucy Noakes will introduce a screening of One Life, a 2023 film starring Anthony Hopkins which focuses on humanitarian British stockbroker Sir Nicholas Winton, also known as ‘Nicky’.

He rescued 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia before the Second World War, bringing them to the UK via the rescue programme known as the Kindertransport.

They became known as ‘Nicky’s Children’.

The Kindertransport saw 10,000 mostly Jewish children sent to safety in Britain during 1938 to 1939.

Many arrived by ship in Harwich before being met at London Liverpool Street Station by Nicky and other helpers.

Focus – Professor Lucy Noakes has a particular interest in the experiences and memories of those who experienced the First and Second World Wars. (Image: University of Essex)Prof Noakes is director of the Centre for Public History at Essex University and is an expert on the social and cultural history of early to mid 20th century Britain, particularly the First and Second World Wars.

She will be introduced by Prof Sanja Bahun, who is an Electric Palace trustee and executive dean for the arts and humanities at the university.

Prof Bahun said: “The connection of this story with Harwich and the opportunity to learn about this significant part of local history makes this screening an ideal way to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

“Professor Noakes will offer a valuable introduction to the history of the Kindertransport and react on the significance of local social history in this context.”

The talk and screening will be on January 27 at 2.30pm. To book tickets go to: https://electricpalace.com/production/one-life.

There will also be a civic memorial service at 11am at the Kindertransport Memorial in Harwich.

For more information about Holocaust Memorial Week at Essex University, visit https://www.essex.ac.uk/event-series/holocaust-memorial-week.