Sir Nicholas Winton, recognized as the "British Schindler" for helping rescue more than 600 Czech children fated for death in Nazi concentration camps, died Wednesday at the age of 106.
Born May 19, 1909 in London, Winton, died with his daughter Barbara and two grandchildren by his side, reported the Rotary Club of Maidenhead. Winton was a former president of the club.
With World War II on the horizon in 1939, Winton helped parents in German-occupied Czechoslovakia protect their children by taking advantage of a new British law allowing minors to relocate to the United Kingdom as refugees. In his heroic role, Winton became the key orchestrator in securing funds, transportation and new homes for 669 Czech children, most of whom were Jewish, before their parents headed to Nazi concentration camps.
Winton grew up in a Christian household but his parents were Jews who converted when they immigrated to England.
His rescue efforts went widely unknown for half a century, until 1988 when his wife found documents in their attic listing the resettled children's names. That year, he was brought on to an episode of the BBC's "That's Life" for a surprise reunion with some of the now-grown children he'd saved. Footage of the tear-jerking reunion resurfaced in 2009 and has since racked up more than 22 million views on YouTube.
Following the revelation, Winton was bestowed with several top honors, the BBC noted. He was knighted in the UK in 2003 and received the Cross of the 1st Class, the Czech Republic's highest military decoration, in 2007. Last year, he traveled to Prague to accept the country's highest honor, the Order of the White Lion.
Winton's feat is often compared to that of Oskar Schindler, a German man who rescued 1,200 Jews in World War II and inspired the 1993 Oscar-winning film "Schindler's List."
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