Czech Republic: Sir Nicholas Winton to receive the Order of the White Lion

Sir Nicholas Winton, the man who saved hundreds of Jewish children in Czechoslovakia from the Holocaust, will be awarded the Order of the White Lion later this year. Czech President Miloš Zeman has decided to award him the country’s highest state honor.  

Zeman has invited the Briton, who is celebrating his 105th birthday today, to visit Prague. The Czech President sent Sir Winton a birthday letter conveying his intention to award him the honor. 

The Czech News Agency has seen a copy of the letter. The honor will be given to Sir Winton on 28 October, the day that marks the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia.

"Those who make it into historical memory in particular are those whose original intention was not to become famous and who never thought of their actions as extraordinary," Zeman writes in the letter. The president said he believes Winton’s story is an example of humanity, personal courage, and selflessness.

"That is why I have decided to award you the Czech Republic’s highest honor on the occasion of our state holiday on 28 October of this year," the Czech President wrote. According to Jiří Ovčáček, the spokesperson for Prague Castle, Zeman would be glad if Sir Winton could actually visit Prague this fall.  

"Everything, of course, will depend on Sir Winton’s state of health," Ovčáček told the Czech News Agency. Should the honoree be unable to travel to the Czech Republic, it is possible that a representative of the President would present him with the Order of the White Lion.

The modest Briton organized the transportation of 669 Czechoslovak Jewish children from what was then the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia into Britain. He arranged for their documents and for them to be taken in by British families.