New York, NY, May 1, 2006 … Sir Nicholas Winton, who together with a few volunteers helped to save 669 mostly Jewish Czech children from almost certain death at the hands of the Nazis, was honored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) with its Courage to Care Award, which recognizes rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust.

The award was presented to Sir Nicholas, known as "Britain's Schindler," at a ceremony on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day during the League's Shana Amy Glass National Leadership Conference, April 24 in Washington, D.C.  Although Sir Nicholas, 96, was unable to attend, the award was accepted on his behalf by three of the children he helped to rescue: Vera Gissing and Uta Klein, both of the United Kingdom, and Alice Masters of Bethesda, Maryland.

The award was presented by Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor who was hidden during World War II by his Polish Catholic nanny, Bronislawa Kurpi.

"From his greatness of heart and spirit, from his courage and compassion, Sir Nicholas rescued 669 Czech children from doom in the Nazi concentration camps," Mr. Foxman said.  "How different history would have been had there been more Oscar Schindlers, more Bronislawa Kurpis, more Nicholas Wintons, more righteous men and women who, to quote Sir Nicholas himself, 'I saw what was going on and did what I could to help.'"

Sir Nicholas arranged for the transport of 669 children of refugees who fled from the Nazis in western Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. Working through his organization, "The British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia, Children's Section," he arranged for foster parents to look after each child and raised money to publish newspaper ads and post photos of the children around England.  A London stockbroker, Sir Winton kept his wartime humanitarian efforts secret until his wife came across a scrapbook of the children's photos and documents in 1988.  For his heroism, Mr. Winton was granted an Honorary Citizenship of Prague and, in 2002, he received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to humanity.

Also representing Sir Nicholas at the Courage to Care presentation were Chuck and Rita Gelman, founders of the Gelman Educational Foundation, which helped to produce "Nicholas Winton: The Power of Good" a video documentary about his life.  The Czech producer of the film, Matej Minac, and his assistant, Martina Stolbova, also were in attendance.

In 1987, ADL initiated a unique award to honor rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust era.  The ADL Courage to Care Award is a plaque with bas-reliefs depicting the backdrop of the rescuers' exceptional deeds – the Nazis' persecution, deportation and murder of millions of Jews.  It is a replica of the plaques which constitute the Holocaust Memorial Wall on the façade of ADL's National Headqarters in New York City. The Courage to Care program is sponsored by Eileen Ludwig Greenland.

Past recipients of the ADL Courage to Care Award include: Jan and Miep Gies, Aristides De Sousa Mendes, Jan Karski, Selahattin Ulkumen, Chiune Sugihara, the French town of Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon, Emilie and Oskar Schindler, The Partisans of Riccione, Italy and Johanna Vos.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.