Leipzig/Prague – Nicholas Winton, the savior of hundreds of Jewish children, will arrive in Prague at the end of October, where he will receive the country’s highest honor, the Order of the White Lion. The president confirmed this on Thursday at the celebration of the fall of communism in Leipzig Miloš Zeman. He would hand over the command to Winton on October 28, a public holiday.

“I know Sir Winton is looking forward to Prague, and I am looking forward to it,” said Zeman. The media previously reported that Winton wanted to come to Prague, but his health condition was good.

Zeman invited Winton several months ago, Winton said in late September during his 105th birthday celebration that he would come if he could.

Simple British citizen organized the transport of 669 Czechoslovak Jewish children from the Nazi protectorates of Bohemia and Moravia to England before the outbreak of the Second World War. The first train with children left in May 1939. The train, which was supposed to leave Prague on September 1, 1939 with another 250 children, was banned by the Nazis.

People have not known about Winton’s advantages for a long time. Holocaust historian Elisabeth Maxwell helped publish it. Winton came to public attention in a 1988 BBC documentary.

Winton was awarded a number of British and Czech awards. He was elevated to royal status in 1998 by the then president Vaclav Havel was awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigu Masaryk and in 2010 he received a Holocaust Hero medal from former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Traditionally, Prague Castle does not publish in advance the list of people who will receive awards on the occasion of celebrating the founding of Czechoslovakia’s independence. However, Zeman previously announced that he would honor five soldiers killed in Afghanistan in July. Czechia’s highest honor will also be awarded in memory of Russian dissident Natalya Gorbanevská.