“…I believe that it was really due to Lorenzo that I am alive today; and not so much for his material aid, as for his having constantly reminded me by his presence, by his natural and plain manner of being good, that there still existed a just world outside our own, something and someone still pure and whole, not corrupt, not savage, extraneous to hatred and terror; something difficult to define, a remote possibility of good, but for which it was worth surviving.
…But Lorenzo was a man; his humanity was pure and uncontaminated, he was outside this world of negation. Thanks to Lorenzo, I managed not to forget that I myself was a man.”
- Primo Levi describes his rescuer, Lorenzo Perrone, from his book If This Is A Man
They were from all walks of life - physicians, peasants, priests and public figures; the highly educated and the illiterate; men and women, neighbors, coworkers, and complete strangers – all humanitarians, most ordinary people confronted with extraordinary circumstances, the moral collapse of society. They responded to the inhuman treatment of their fellow man with courage and compassion, often at great risk to their own life.
…But Lorenzo was a man; his humanity was pure and uncontaminated, he was outside this world of negation. Thanks to Lorenzo, I managed not to forget that I myself was a man.”
- Primo Levi describes his rescuer, Lorenzo Perrone, from his book If This Is A Man
They were from all walks of life - physicians, peasants, priests and public figures; the highly educated and the illiterate; men and women, neighbors, coworkers, and complete strangers – all humanitarians, most ordinary people confronted with extraordinary circumstances, the moral collapse of society. They responded to the inhuman treatment of their fellow man with courage and compassion, often at great risk to their own life.
Israel calls these humanitarians The Righteous Among the Nations, non-Jews who actively risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The term was taken from the Jewish tradition – from the literature of the Sages, and originates with the concept of “righteous gentiles”, a term used in rabbinical Judaism to refer to non-Jews, as ger toshav and ger tzedek, who abide by the Seven Laws of Noah.
It was difficult visiting Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, difficult revisiting the horror behind those war-torn years and the senseless loss of so many men, women and children. Millions stood by and did nothing in the face of such atrocities. If there was any good to come out of the Holocaust, it was in walking the Avenue of The Righteous Among the Nations, in truly understanding first hand those who gave true meaning to a verse from the Hebrew Talmud, “whoever saves a single life saves the entire universe.”
It was difficult visiting Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, difficult revisiting the horror behind those war-torn years and the senseless loss of so many men, women and children. Millions stood by and did nothing in the face of such atrocities. If there was any good to come out of the Holocaust, it was in walking the Avenue of The Righteous Among the Nations, in truly understanding first hand those who gave true meaning to a verse from the Hebrew Talmud, “whoever saves a single life saves the entire universe.”
Admission to the Garden of the Righteous as well as the entire Holocaust Memorial is free to all visitors.
Trees, a symbol of the renewal of life, were initially planted when the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations was inaugurated in 1962. Today, persons recognized as Righteous are awarded a specially minted medal bearing their name, a certificate of honor, and the privilege of their names being added to the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. The Yad Vashem Law also authorizes Yad Vashem "to confer honorary citizenship of the State of Israel to the Righteous Among the Nations, and commemorative citizenship if they have passed away, in recognition of their actions."
Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
Recipients who choose to live in the State of Israel (approximately 130 of the 25,000 recognized have chosen to do so) are entitled to a pension equal to the average national wage and free health care, as well as assistance with housing and nursing care.
The following Righteous are just a few of the hundreds of featured stories of heroism behind Yad Vashem’s Garden of the Righteous available via their website. Most don't see themselves as heroes; they feel they are ordinary people who simply chose decency and compassion over apathy and hatred.
The following Righteous are just a few of the hundreds of featured stories of heroism behind Yad Vashem’s Garden of the Righteous available via their website. Most don't see themselves as heroes; they feel they are ordinary people who simply chose decency and compassion over apathy and hatred.
Oskar and Emilie Schindler; Oskar Schindler was a shrewd German businessman (he formally became a member of the Nazi party in 1938) during the war who saved the lives of over a thousand Polish Jews when he created a list of fictitious jobs in his enamel and ammunitions factory outside Krakow for over a thousand Jewish men, women and children in an effort to convince the SS-officers that these employees were vital to the war effort. The epic historical drama, Schindler's List, by Steven Spielburg, was devoted to Oskar's courageous story.
This tree was planted in 1962 in recognition of Oskar and Emilie Schindler.
Iren Sendler, a 29-year-old Warsaw social worker, helped provide food and medical supplies to Jews living in the infamous Warsaw ghetto. She also helped smuggle Jewish children out of the ghetto and set up hiding places for them. Despite Poland being the only country where providing help to a person of Jewish faith or origin was punishable by death, 6,195 Poles have been recognized as Righteous by Yad Vashem, the largest number from the 44 countries and nationalities recognized since 1992 when Yad Vashem’s Garden of the Righteous Program was initiated by Rabbi Jeffrey A Wohlberg.
Memorial for the Unknown Righteous Among the Nations, dedicated 1987.
Aristides De Sousa Mendel, Portugal’s consul-general in Bordeaux, France, disobeyed a direct government order when some 30,000 refugees, including 10,000 Jews, congregated at the Portuguese consulate hoping to obtain the visa that would extricate them from then German-occupied France. Mendel set up an improvised office in the consulate and wrote visas over a three-day period, allowing 1,575 Jewish refugees to escape. Ultimately Mendel’s actions cost him his job. Destitute, he was unable to support his family of 13 children. When asked to explain his actions, Mendel said, “If thousands of Jews are suffering because of one Christian (Hitler), surely one Christian may suffer for so many Jews.”
As time reduces the number of Holocaust survivors, it seems very fitting the Righteous are recognized (a special commission determines those eligible for the honor from nominations submitted by Jews only), for their sake as well as ours.
"And so we must know these good people who helped Jews during the Holocaust. We must learn from them, and in gratitude and hope, we must remember them."
-- Eli Wiesel, Romanian-born Jewish-American professor and political activist, famous for his Holocaust story of survival, Night
As time reduces the number of Holocaust survivors, it seems very fitting the Righteous are recognized (a special commission determines those eligible for the honor from nominations submitted by Jews only), for their sake as well as ours.
"And so we must know these good people who helped Jews during the Holocaust. We must learn from them, and in gratitude and hope, we must remember them."
-- Eli Wiesel, Romanian-born Jewish-American professor and political activist, famous for his Holocaust story of survival, Night
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