12 October 2007
A British man who saved hundreds of Jewish children from the Nazis by the 'Kindertransport' has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Sir Nicholas Winton helped Czech Jewish children to be transported from Prague, shortly before World War II began, to foster families in Britain. At least 669 Jewish children were thus saved from Nazi extermination camps. Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg said the 98-year-old's nomination had been sent to the Nobel selection committee. Sir Nicholas was awarded the Cross of Merit of the First Class, the Czech Republic's highest military decoration, by defense minister Vlasta Parkanova in a ceremony on Tuesday.
A petition by more than 32,000 Czech students has also been collected to support Sir Nicholas's Nobel nomination. Prior to World War II, Sir Nicholas had to organize the provision of departure permits for all the children from the German occupation authorities, as well as permits to enter Britain. In addition, he found British families willing to look after the children. The first train was dispatched from the Prague Main Station in May 1939, followed by five other transports which rescued more children. The sixth transport of 251 children, which should have left at the beginning of September 1939 was hindered by the outbreak of the war. Sir Nicholas said: "I never thought that what I did 70 years ago was going to have such a big impact as apparently it has. I think the Nobel Peace Prize is something that is quite out of my category."
