Dutch WWII hero Johan van Hulst dies at age 107

War hero and former CDA senator Johan van Hulst passed away at the age of 107. Van Hulst was best known for saving Jewish children from the hands of Nazis and their supporters during the Second World War, ANP reports.

During the war Van Hulst was the director of a school on Plantage Middenlaan in Amsterdam, across the street from the Hollandsche Schouwburg, from where Jews were deported to the Westerbork transport camp. Next to Van Hulst's school was a nursery where babies and toddlers were accommodated in anticipation of their deportation.

Babies and young children were snuck over the hedge between the nursery and Van Hulst's school and then taken to safety. It is believed that Van Hulst helped save hundreds of children in this way. He was awarded the Yad Vashem medal of the museum of the same name in Jerusalem for his bravery in 1973.

Van Hulst died in Amsterdam on Thursday, his family announced on Monday.