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Stories of Personal Courage

Names of 700 Polish citizens who died while helping their Jewish neighbors

Dutch Rescuer
Dr. Julius Zubli

at Yad Vashem

She Hid Jews in a Nazi Officer's Villa

John Damski

Teenager Saved Jewish Neighbors in Poland

Women and Children

Holocaust books, videos, and DVDs

 

Yad Vashem - The Righteous Among the Nations

Number of Holocaust Rescuers - Righteous Among the Nations - per Country & Ethnic Origin - January 1, 2007*

The Yad Vashem museum in Israel, founded in 1953, honors both Holocaust martyrs and "the Righteous Among the Nations," Gentile (non-Jewish) rescuers who have been recognized for their "compassion, courage and morality" because they "risked their lives to save the lives of Jews." Poland ranks first among 40 nations with 5,503 men and women, almost one-third of the total, despite the fact that only in Poland were citizens (and their loved ones) immediately executed if caught trying to save Jews.

Many prominent Jews and their families owe their lives to these brave but rarely acknowledged people. For example, Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith/USA, was saved by a Polish Catholic nanny who had him baptized as a Catholic and began raising him as her son in order to save him. - Edward Lucaire

Poland  - 6,004 Netherlands*** - 4,767
France - 2,740 Ukraine - 2,185
Belgium - 1,443 Hungary - 685
Lithuania - 693 Belarus - 576
Slovakia - 465 Germany - 443
Italy - 417 Greece - 271
Yugoslavia (Serbia) - 124 Latvia - 103
Czech Republic - 118 Austria - 85
Croatia - 106 Russia - 124
Albania - 63 Romania - 53
Moldova - 73 Switzerland  - 38
Bosnia - 35 Norway - 41
Denmark** - 21 Bulgaria - 17
Great Britain (incl. Scotland)- 13 Macedonia - 10
Sweden - 9 Armenia - 10
Slovenia - 6 Spain - 3
Estonia - 3 USA - 3
Brazil - 2 China - 2
Luxembourg - 1 Portugal - 1
Turkey - 1 Japan - 1
Georgia (Gruzia) - 1  

Total Persons 21,758 *

*These figures are not necesarily an indication of the actual number of Jews saved in each country, but reflect material on rescue operations made available to Yad Vashem.

** The Danish Underground requested that all its members who participated in the rescue of the Jewish community, not be listed individually but as one group.

Source: http://www.yadvashem.org.il/righteous/index_righteous.htm

© 2007 Terese Pencak Schwartz

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