Sir Nicholas Winton, 105, a British man who saved more than 669 Czech children in WWII, was awarded by the Czech Republic with highest state honor on Tuesday.
Winton, the man dubbed as "Britain's Schindler", received the Order of the White Lion, Czech Republic's highest state honor, at a ceremony in Prague Tuesday. He was recognized by President Milos Zeman of Czech for helping save 669 Czech children, mostly Jews, from the hands of Nazis during the eve of World War II.
A former stockbroker in London, Winton was 29 years old when he rescued 669 children from certain death in concentration camps by arranging a total of eight "Kindertransport" trains to transport the children from Czechoslovakia to London and helped them find foster families. He knew very well the urgency of the situation.
In BBC Radio 4's Today interview before the ceremony in Prague, Winton said, "I knew better than most, and certainly better than the politicians, what was going on in Germany."
The President described Winton as "an example of humanity, selflessness, personal courage and modesty".
In a speech he said, "Thank you all for this enormous expression of thanks for something which happened to me nearly 100 years ago - and 100 years is a heck of a long time. I am delighted that so many of the children are still here to thank me."
He also thanked the British people "for making room" for the refugee children and accepting them in their families.
Winton went to Prague to receive Czech's highest honor through a plane arranged by the Czech defense ministry. He also met some of the children he saved, now in their 80s, in the awarding ceremony.
Sir Nicholas Winton now lives in Maryland. He did not tell anyone about his heroic act until his wife found his scrapbook containing the photos and whereabouts of the children he saved and their foster families.
