Who are the Righteous Among the Nations?
The Righteous among the Nations are non-Jews who helped the Jews during the Holocaust. They chose to save Jews sometimes at the risk of their own lives and the lives of their families. The majority of Europeans remained silent without intervening and some collaborated with the Nazis, but a few others chose to lend a helping hand to the Jews in distress. There were “Righteous among the Nations” in each of the countries where the Jews were threatened. The State of Israel (founded in 1948) and Yad Vashem, the National Shoah Memorial in Israel, created special distinction by law in 1963, to be awarded to individuals who came to the aid of Jews threatened by Nazism. Each case is presented to Yad Vashem by survivors who were saved by non-Jews and is studied carefully before the award “Righteous among the Nations” is granted. The award is given based on testimony of individuals who were saved or on the basis of eye-witnesses and reliable evidence. Today, the Yad Vashem Institute has awarded t
“Righteous Among the Nations,” or “Righteous Gentiles,” refers to those non-Jews who aided Jews during the Holocaust. There were “Righteous Among the Nations” in every country overrun or allied with the Nazis, and their deeds often led to the rescue of Jewish lives. Yad Vashem, the Israeli national remembrance authority for the Holocaust, bestows special honors upon these individuals. To date, after carefully evaluating each case, Yad Vashem has recognized approximately 10,000 “Righteous Gentiles” in three different categories of recognition. The country with the most “Righteous Gentiles” is Poland. The country with the highest proportion (per capita) is the Netherlands. The figure of 10,000 is far from complete as many cases were never reported, frequently because those who were helped have died. Moreover, this figure only includes those who actually risked their lives to save Jews, and not those who merely extended aid. • Question: Were Jews in the Free World aware of the persecution
