Heroes of the Holocaust (Righteous Among the Nations)

Righteous Among the Nations Honorary title given to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust As of January 1, 2012, people have been awarded the title

Integrity Firm adherence to a moral code, especially in the face of adversity.

Chiune Sugihara Issued visas to help Jews escape Lithuania

What did Chiune do? Asked permission to issue visas but was denied Began issuing visas anyways Wrote about 300 visas a day for 29 days Was forced to leave Lithuania Continued to write visas on the train As the train pulled out he threw his visa stamp into the crowd

After the War Soviets imprisoned Chiune and his family in an internment camp in Romania for 18 months Returned to Japan in 1947 Japanese Foreign Ministry dismissed him from diplomatic service Met Joshua Nishri, one of his survivors in 1968 Died July Chiune issued visas to over 6000 people

Courage The state of mind that enables one to face danger, hardship, or uncertainty with composure and resolve.

Irena Sendler Smuggled around 2500 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto

“Every child saved with my help and the help of all the wonderful secret messengers, who today are no longer living, is the justification of my existence on this earth, and not a title to glory.” –Irena Sendler

What did Irena do? Joined Zegota, a Polish council formed to aid Jews Visited the Warsaw Ghetto daily Spoke with parents and offered to smuggle their children out Made false documents for children and placed them with families or convents Recorded the new and old identities and location of the every child

Irena’s Arrest October , Irena was arrested She was tortured by Gestapo for the names and addresses of families hiding Jews They broke her legs and feet but she never gave anything up Was sentenced to death but Zegota helped her escape Changed her identity and continued her rescues

After the War Dug up her jars containing the names of the children Tracked down the children and tried to reunite them with relatives Unfortunately most of their parents died in Treblinka Died May 12, 2008 Irena saved around 2500 children

Moral Leadership The ability to influence others to accomplish a goal arising from a sense of right and wrong.

Raoul Wallenberg Saved over people

What did Raoul do? Was given a task to do what he could to assist Hungarian Jews Worked with Swedish government and resistance groups Issued certificates of protection to Jews (protective passports) Established hospitals, nurseries, a soup kitchen and safe houses Stopped many deportations of Jews and secured the release of those with protective passports Gave passports to Jews as he stopped the deportations Raoul helped save over people

Social Responsibility A sense of obligation to ensure the welfare of others.

Varian Fry Helped Anti-Nazi refugees escape from France

I could not just sit and look on without doing anything. –Varian Fry

What did Varian do? Visited Berlin in 1935, seeing the Nazi abuse made him want to help Emergency Rescue Committee (American Organization) sent him to France with a list of who to save Saved everyone on his list and more Provided forged documents and escape routes for anti-Nazi refugees Hid Jews and non-Jews until they could be smuggled out Varian saved over 2200 people

Ingenuity Inventive skill or cleverness in confronting a challenge.

Oskar Schindler Saved over 1200 Jews by hiring them to work

What did Oskar do? Took over two Jewish owned factories Employed Jews for cheap labor Appalled by brutality, started to protect workers without worry of cost Persuaded SS to convert Emalia (his factory) into a subcamp of Plaszow Allowed Jews to spend the night in the factories Bribed police and soldiers

Discovered that any factories that didn’t help with the war efforts would be closed Moved to a factory in Brünnlitz to make anti-tank grenades Made a list of people to be sent to the new factory 1000 were his workers 200 were other prisoners

After the War Very poor because he spent all his money on bribes and supplies for the Jews Went bankrupt Left his wife Tried to open numerous factories but they all failed Died October 9, 1974 and was later buried in Jerusalem Oskar saved over 1200 Jews

Cooperation Working together toward a common goal or purpose.

Dimitar Peshev Saved Jews from deportation

"My human conscience and my understanding of the fateful consequences both for the people involved and the policy of our country now and in the future did not allow me to remain idle. And I decided to do all in my power to prevent what was being planned from happening; I knew that this action was going to shame Bulgaria in the eyes of the world and brand her with a stain she didn't deserve.” –Dimitar Peshev

Self-Sacrifice Giving up personal wants and needs for the sake of others or for a cause.

Aristides De Sousa Mendes Issued Visas for people

“If thousands of Jews are suffering because of one Christian [Hitler], surely one Christian may suffer for so many Jews”. -Aristides De Sousa Mendes

What did Aristides do? Under strict orders to not issue Portuguese Visas Despite that, issued visas to: Jews Political Dissidents Army Officers from occupied countries Priests and Nuns Was ordered to return to Portugal Before he left France, he issued visas to everyone outside the Portuguese consulate

After the War Dismissed from his position in the Foreign Ministry Unable to support his family of 13 Died poor in 1954 Aristides issued visas for people

Compassion A feeling of sympathy for the suffering of another and the desire to alleviate it

Olga Rajsek Hid and took care of a Jewish boy

What did Olga do? Took in a Jewish boy whose parents were imprisoned Passed him off as her cousin He was discovered and arrested Worked to release him Placed him in an orphanage Brought food to him everyday After the war, took him back to her house to be reunited with his father

Sir Nicholas Winton Rescued 669 children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia

"Save one life, save the world.” –Nicholas Winton

What did Nicholas do? Formed an organization to help children from Jewish families Czechoslovakia Raised money to help bring children to Britain Found families to house the children Organized eight transports from Prague to London Stopped when Britain declared war on Germany Didn’t tell many people about what he did Wife found his scrapbook of all the children in 1988 Nicholas saved 669 children

Giovanni Palatucci Falsified travel documents

“They want to make us believe that the heart is just a muscle, to prevent us from doing what our hearts and religion tell us to do” -Giovanni Palatucci

What did Giovanni do? Was in charge of the department of foreigners in Fiume, Italy Edited necessary residence papers for Jewish refugees Falsified documents and visas Instead of deporting Jews he secretly made plans to send them to Campania Destroyed records of around 10,000 Jewish refugees

Giovanni’s Arrest Gestapo found out what Giovanni was doing Was given a safe pass to Switzerland He gave the pass to his Jewish Fiancée Arrested September Deported to Dachau where he died February Giovanni saved thousands of Jews

Denmark Only occupied country that actively resisted Nazi Regime

What did Denmark do? Welcomed around 4500 Jewish refugees Did not make Jews wear a yellow star Allowed Jews to keep their property and businesses Stopped violence against Jews Hid Jews once searches began Helped over 7200 Jews and 700 non-Jewish relatives escape

Around 470 Jews were seized by German soldiers Citizens and leaders actively demanded to know where the Jews were being kept Kept their homes and businesses away from the Germans Around 120 Danish Jews died during the Holocaust

Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon Provided refuge for around 5000 people

What did Le Chambon-sur-Lignon do? Pastor Trocmé started by providing relief supplies to 30,000 Jews in internment camps Worked with Burns Chalmers Burns negotiated the release of many Jews from Southern Camps A French-Jewish child care agency helped transport the Jews Children were placed into private homes, boarding houses and houses made for sheltering

Didn’t just house Jewish Refugees, also housed: Anti-Nazi Germans Spanish Republicans Members of the French Resistance Frenchmen who wanted to avoid forced labor During raids by Vichy Police or German Security villagers helped bring the refugees further into the countryside Helped provide false travel documents and ration cards

Under German Occupation Germans occupied Southern France November 1942 French police arrested Pastor Trocmé and two other men February 13, 1943 They were released after 28 days Continued to rescue until late 1943 when they had to go into hiding June 29, 1943 German police raided a school and arrested 18 Jewish students as well as others involved in rescue efforts Saved 3,000-5,000 Jews