Two Women Who Helped Save Thousands of Lives in Czechoslovakia

The Story of Marie Schmolková 

Marie Schmolková, born in 1893 in Prague, was one of the leading figures in social work for refugees in Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s. When the Nazis rose to power in Germany in 1933, Marie played a crucial role in assisting refugees, especially German communists and social democrats, by arranging visas, housing, financial aid, and jobs.  

Due to her experience, she became the president of the National Coordinating Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia and the country’s only representative at the Évian Conference in France. From 6 to 15 July 1938, representatives from 32 countries and observers from 24 voluntary organizations took part in a conference that addressed the Jewish refugee crisis in Évian-les-Bains, on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Her meeting with Doreen Warriner and Organising the “Kindertransporte” 

In September 1938, the Munich Agreement forced Czechoslovakia to give up the Sudetenland region, resulting in a refugee crisis with over 100 000 Czech Jews and political opponents of Nazism. Marie Schmolková gathered evidence and appealed for help, but only the United Kingdom agreed to take in unaccompanied Jewish children. 

It was during this time that Schmolková met British woman Doreen Warriner, feminist and internationalist with an interest in Eastern Europe. Warriner had arrived in Prague in October 1938 as a representative of the British Committee for Refugees (BCRC). Both women, overwhelmed by the number of refugees needing assistance, turned to Martin Blake and Nicholas Winton to help implement the “Kindertransport” (transport for children) plan that Warriner has developed.

Schmolková provided lists of children in danger, and together, they worked urgently to rescue as many children as possible, ensuring their safe passage to the UK. Initially, they focused on political refugees before shifting to Jewish children as Czechoslovakia was facing occupation by Nazi Germany. In total, they managed to evacuate 669 children from Czechoslovakia to Britain. This rescue operation is often associated with Nicolas Winton’s name, but it’s important to recognize that many other brave men and women, including Doreen Warriner and Marie Schmolková, played vital roles in making it happen.

Escape to the UK 

When Nazi Germany annexed Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939, Marie Schmolková was arrested by the Gestapo (German Secret State Police) and imprisoned for two months, enduring harsh interrogations in adverse circumstances, as she was diabetic. Schmolková was released in May 1939 due to protests from feminist and suffrage activist Františka Plamínková, who was later executed by the Nazis. Doreen Warriner also left Czechoslovakia upon learning that the Gestapo planned to arrest her. 

In 1941, Warriner was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her efforts in helping refugees in Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. She continued her meaningful work, including leading the food-supply division of the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration’s Yugoslavian mission. Later, she returned to academia, teaching at the University of London’s School of Slavic and East European Studies.

Overlooked stories 

Although some historians and history enthusiasts are working on making stories of women more visible, most of the names and deeds remain forgotten or overshadowed by men’s stories. Nicolas Winton, for instance, was nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize and celebrated in several films, has often been hailed as the hero of the children’s transports.  

While Winton unquestionably acted heroically, the majority of those involved in conceiving and organizing the relief work in both Britain and Czechoslovakia were women. Doreen Warriner and Marie Schmolková were among those who helped save thousands of lives. Their courage, dedication, and compassion deserve to be remembered.

Sources:  

Brade, Laura E. and Rose Holmes. "Troublesome Sainthood: Nicholas Winton and the Contested History of Child Rescue in Prague, 1938–1940." History & Memory, vol. 29 no. 1, 2017, p. 3-40. Project MUSE, https://dx.doi.org/10.2979/histmemo.29.1.0003. 

Warriner, Doreen. “Winter in Prague.” The Slavonic and East European Review, vol. 62, no. 2, 1984, pp. 209–40. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4208852. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

London, Louise. "Refugees from Czechoslovakia". Whitehall and the Jews, 1933-1948: British Immigration Policy, Jewish Refugees and the Holocaust. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-53449-6. 

Hájková, Anna. “Marie Schmolka and the Group Effort.” History Today, vol. 68. 2018. ISSN 0018-2753.