By, Naomi Firsht
1 min read
ByNaomi Firsht, Naomi Firsht
A man of 105 known as the "British Schindler" was awarded the highest Czech state honour for saving hundreds of children from the Nazis.
Sir Nicholas Winton organised trains out of Czechoslovakia for 669 children, most of whom were Jewish, and found them foster homes in London.
He received the Order of the White Lion from the Czech president in a ceremony at Prague Castle.
He said: "I am delighted that so many of the children are still about and are here to thank me.
"I thank the British people for making room for them, to accept them, and of course the enormous help given by so many of the Czechs who were at that time doing what they could to fight the Germans and to try to get the children out."
The Maidenhead resident, of German, Jewish descent, was working as a stockbroker in London when he visited refugee camps in the Nazi-occupied Sudetenland and saw the children.
He arranged British permits for them and managed to bring eight trains from Prague to London before war broke out.
Maidenhead Rabbi Jonathan Romain said: "He does not like being dubbed the English Schindler but that's exactly who he is: someone who saved Jewish lives at a time when others ignored their plight."