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Who were the civilian heroes of World War II who rescued the Jews?

They were men, women and children; they were peasants, teachers, diplomats and clergy of all faiths. They were people who. during a desperate and deadly period in our history had the courage to care.

Amidst the horrors of the concentration camps and the deaths of millions, a courageous group of individuals dared to challenge the Nazi regime. In every country occupied by the Nazis during World War II, stories of the rescue of Jews by non-Jews are known. They are honored as the "Righteous Among the Nations," a recognition established by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Israel.

The Avenue of the Righteous, modelled after the Jerusalem site of the same name, is located within Ingraham Park, adjacent to the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Avenue. The creation of the park is part of an ongoing effort to educate the public on the role played by Righteous Gentiles in the rescue of Jews during World War II.

The Righteous

As of 2001, the following have been honored by the Avenue of the Righteous. The countries where they were living are given in parentheses. To read their individual stories, click on their names:

Ignas and Elena Anuzis (Lithuania)

Ignas and Elena Anuzis, Ceslovas and Helena Anuzis Lithuania

Ignas and Elena Anuzis lived in a small apartment in the old city of Vilna. Their means were meager, but they were willing to shelter Hasia Green-Gaslevitz, sent to them by a Catholic Nun from a nearby monastery. When the Church was no longer considered a sanctuary, people like Hasia were sent to individual homes. As home searches became more frequent, Hasia was sent to the home of Ignas and Elena's married son, Ceslavos, in Kovna. This was part of a plan to protect the rescuers as well as those needing rescue.

There is evidence that the Family Anuzis helped others. They rescued two Jewish girls from the Vilna Ghetto and found shelter for them at the home of a pharmacist in Lyda. They also provided false documentation for other Ghetto escapees.

To escape the deprivations of the post WWII period, members of the Anuzis family immigrated to Michigan. Hasia had a chance to visit them there under more favorable circumstances.

Myndert and Janny Blom (Holland)

Myndert and Janny Blom (Holland)

When mass arrests and deportations to the concentration camps intensified in Holland in 1942, Janny Blom traveled to the home of her former employer, Dr. Vreedenburg, to invite him and his family to relative safety of her home. As the situation for the Jews became increasingly dangerous the Vreedenburgs fled by ship through the Port of Amsterdam to the Blom family home. For three years the Vreedenburgs stayed hidden in an upstairs attic, the door always locked.

The entire Blom family joined in the effort to obtain food for the hidden family. At great risk to their family and without hesitation, Myndert and Janny blom had taken the fleeing Vreedenburg family and guarded their safety.

After the war the Bloms moved to Detroit, Michigan.

Helena, Ignazy and Cezary Chorazyczewski (Poland)

Helena, Ignazy and Cezary Chorazyczewski (Poland)

Abram Kashtan escaped from the Sarno Ghetto and fled into the countryside. Remembering that his father had done business with the Chorazyczewskis, he ran 25 kilometers to their farm. He asked for shelter telling of the death of his family in a Concentration Camp. For the next year he hid in their barn. To sustain Abram, the Chorazyczewski family provided food and water cleverly hidden in the false bottom of garbage cans.

Though they were out in a rural area, life became increasingly dangerous for the rescuers as well as the rescued. Helena and Ignazy left the farm with their younger children. Their eldest son, Cezary, led Abram and two other Jewish boys safely across the occupied territory. Three days later the farm that had been a refuge was burned to the ground.

After WWII Helena left the many problems and privations of post war Europe and moved to Michigan. For the rest of his life, Abram called Helena, "MAMA."

Berendina "Diet" Eman (Holland)

Berendina "Diet" Eman (Holland)

Shortly after turning 20, Diet's life changed drastically with the invasion of her homeland. The way Jewish acquaintances were being treated was of particular concern to her and her Christian friends. They began to turn their beliefs into action on behalf of a Jewish friend whose house had been confiscated by the occupation forces. For this person and many others they found shelter with Dutch farmers willing to provide Jews with a place to stay.

Diet and her friends carried out many underground activities to support their efforts until she was arrested in 1944. She gained release by telling a bold lie. Though against her principles, she used the inspiration of the Biblical character, Rahab, who had lied and was blessed for it. After release from prison she continued rescue work and was asked to spy for the Dutch resistance movement.

Her life continues to be one of helping others as a volunteer with the International Red Cross Disaster Services. She also spends some time speaking out against those who claim that the Jewish people and others were not treated brutally during the Hitler era. She can speak forcefully from her perspective as a rescuer.

Johannes "Hans" Fittko (Germany)

Johannes "Hans" Fittko (Germany)

Hans was born in Finsterwalde, Germany, in 1903 and died in Chicago in 1960. Though his formal education ended at the age of 12, he read widely in history and wrote about political issues. In time he became accepted as a journalist and was involved in activities opposing the Hitler regime. He had to flee his homeland in 1933.

In October 1940, the Emergency Rescue Committee recruited Hans and his wife, Lisa. This was a group organized to help political refugees cross safely from occupied France to Spain. Those seeking to escape were people noted for their work in the arts, literature and science. Lisa has said this of their work with the escapees: "We never asked anyone if they were Jewish, but, of course, many were. I am Jewish. Hans was not. Ours was a purely humanitarian action against a Fascist regime."

The safe route established by Hans and Lisa went from Banyuls sur Mer in France, across the Pyrenees Mountains to Port Bou, Spain. Without any expectation of payment for their services, the Fittkos saw more than 100 people to safety across the mountains. All this took place from October 1940, until April of 1941.

Stephania Hingler and Kazimierz Peirz (Poland)

Stephania Hingler and Kazimierz Peirz (Poland)

Stephania, a retired opera singer, was in the sixth decade of her life when circumstances called for her to be a rescuer. She provided safe hiding for Ziegfried Rappaport for two years. Stephania also sheltered Ziegfried's wife, Lidia, for one year. Lidia sought refuge after a failed attempt to escape the region in the guise of a Polish woman.

Stephania became concerned that her neighbors would become suspicious of what she was doing. The additional food being brought in and extra laundry on the line seemed a bit out of the ordinary. She asked a trusted neighbor, Kazimierz Pierz, if he would provide some of the food and take in part of the washing. Kazimierz did this as well as deliver correspondence between the hidden couple and their family elsewhere in the area.

Lidia's father later wrote to Kazimierz, "You are a real hero who deserves honor."

Paula Huelle (Germany)

Paula Huelle (Germany)

A widow who owned a tobacco store in Berlin, Paula Huelle gathered the children of Jewish people she knew and hid them in her home. By bribing a Gestapo official with cigars and cigarettes she was able to learn when registration of Jews was to take place. Fearing for the children's safety she purchased property in the country and smuggled the children to the farm she built there. Once a woman of means, Paula Huelle sold her jewelry and used her savings to provide food and shelter for those she rescued.

Ms. Huelle was a resident for 19 years at the Lutheran Home for the Aged in Arlington Heights, Illinois, until her death in 1992.

Stanislawa Kowalczyk Israelowicz (Poland)

Stanislawa Kowalczyk Israelowicz (Poland)

Though Stanislawa's home country is listed as Poland, her hometown, Lvov, must have presented special identity problems for her. During her lifetime it went from being the capital of the Austrian province of Galicia, to being part of Poland, then to being seized by Soviet troops, followed by its occupation by German military forces from 1941 to 1944. It is during this latter period that Stanislawa became part of a blessed group of rescuers. This is when she is credited with sheltering many Jewish families.

Among those she rescued were Eugenie Juran-Urich and her son, Roman. They had escaped from the Warsaw ghetto and, somehow, were able to travel all the way to Lvov. This city, possibly because of its unusual history of shifting loyalties, was a magnet for fleeing Jews. Eugenie and Roman, along with other refugees, were hidden in an attic space in the home of Stanislawa.

In another twist of events, Dr. Leon Izraelowicz, became one of those sheltered by Stanislawa. He had been practicing medicine in Lvov, but had been sent to a ghetto. He managed to escape and was ultimately given refuge by Stanislawa. As is obvious from her full name listed above, rescuer and rescued became bonded in marriage.

Jan and Boukje Jeninga (Holland)

Jan and Boukje Jeninga (Holland)

The home of Jan and Boukje was one of several select houses of refuge for Jewish children established by the Dutch Resistance. Amsterdam was the gathering point for Jews before they were sent to concentration camps. With parental approval and by various ruses, children were separated from their families to be sheltered and cared for in places such as the Jenninga household. It is difficult to imagine the enormous amount of trust parents must have had to give up their children under such circumstances and the pain suffered by all upon separation.

One of the children sent to the Jeninga home was five-year-old Stella Lenz-Barendse. In addition to Stella there was a teen-age boy, a two-year-old girl and an infant. The remarkable thing about this was that Jan and Boukje already had 10 children of their own. Stella remained with the Jeninga family for four years after the end of WWII. She then moved to the house of a family that had rescued her sister. The other members of her family did not survive the ordeal of the concentration camp.

Except for one son, all members of the Jeninga family immigrated to the United States.

Zofia Kuklo (Poland)

Zofia Kuklo (Poland)

Zofia Kuklo displayed uncommon courage when she and her husband Franciszek sheltered a family of eight Jews throughout all of World War II. They did this even though they had young children of their own and Franciszek was fighting the Nazis with the Underground. They took the family in after the Jews had initially stayed with the Kuklo's neighbor, a Gestapo collaborator. The Kuklos told their neighbor that if anything happened to the Jews, he would be the next to die.

Franciszek went into hiding and for the next four years Zofia alone protected her own four small children as well as the eight people in the Jewish family she sheltered. Zofia's oversize purchases of goods in the village aroused suspicion and the SS would come to her house to interrogate her. She once had to swear on a crucifix that she sheltered no Jews. Another time the SS raided her house and put a gun to her head. When asked if she sheltered Jews, Zofia again answered, "No."

Zofia also provided temporary shelter for other Jews and food to those she could not hide. Later in the war, when the danger of nighttime Nazi raids increased, she took her own children and slept in the fields, cellars and barns, telling the Jews to do the same. Her children became sick from these conditions but Zofia never wavered from her determination to save the family.

Zofia later moved to Chicago. She died in 1998, surrounded by loving children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Albina Kusek (Poland)

Albina Kusek (Poland)

Albina and Dennis Przybyszewski lived in Stydyn, a small Polish town. (They were trying to survive during the difficult times of the Nazi occupation.) When the Nazis began to take away the Jews, Albina and her husband took several young Jews into their home in the hope of saving them.

In May of 1943, a young Jewish man, his wife, and her sister were hidden in their home. The sister, Ita, had gone to another village when the Ukrainians under German command attacked the house. The young couple were killed and Dennis Przybyszewski was taken away and subsequently killed. Albina ran to another village and when she returned she saw what had happened. Ita went to another place temporarily. But they met again in July 1943 in Sarny when they were being deported to labor camps in Germany. Ita was with another young Jewish girl, Batia. During the processing for departure the officials called out the name Przybyszewski, the people who stepped forward were Albina, her mother, Albina's two young daughters (Barbara and Jadwiga), Ita and Batia. During their entire stay in Germany until the end of the war, they lived together as one family enduring many terrifying incidents.

The two women whom she rescued, one now living in Canada and one in Israel, are forever grateful for Albina's determination to save them. Albina, a resident of the Chicago area for many years, now resides in Florida.

Kazimierz and Zophia Lazowski (Poland)

Kazimierz and Zophia Lazowski (Poland)

Some of the encounters between rescuer and rescued were of a relatively short duration, maybe several months up to a few years. For Kazimierz and Zophia their role as rescuers lasted throughout WWII. They hid two Jewish couples in their home outside Warsaw: Alexander and Barbara Heling, Edward and Blanko Goldberg. Alexander's mother also was in need of shelter and care, however the Lazowski household lacked sufficient space. They sought and found a place for her elsewhere. In addition, they pretended not to know that a young woman renting a room in their home was actually Jewish.

The Lazowski's son, Eugene, was not a part of the household. He had his own family and was living independently of his parents. As a member of the Polish Underground he had to be especially sensitive to what was occurring around him. When he guessed about his parents' activities as rescuers, he expressed concern. He was reassured by his mother with these words: "Everything is in the hands of God. It is my duty to do this."

Katherine Lipner (France)

Katherine Lipner (France)

During World War II southern France was controlled by the Vichy government which conspired with their Nazi "occupiers" to identify and deport Jews. Informers, Gestapo and the Vichy police were everywhere, enforcing Nazi dictates.

In September, 1942 Marie Catherine Rossi, known then as Katouchka and now as Kate Lipner, defied the Vichy government. Living alone, her mother deceased, 17-year-old Lipner sheltered the children of the Spruch family - Moses (age ten) and his younger sister. Too young to accompany their mother to Spain, the Spruch children were hidden in Lipner's apartment and attic for more than two years. Shortly before Liberation in 1945, Mrs. Spruch was able to send someone to bring her children to safety in Spain.

Through constant vigilance and perseverance Kate Lipner saved the lives of the Spruch children and demonstrated that even in the midst of terror one young individual could make a difference.

Kate has lived in the Chicago area since shortly after the end of the war.

Jan and Anna Namowicz (Poland)

Jan and Anna Namowicz (Poland)

When trying to tell the story of some rescuers the details surrounding their efforts are very meager. In the case of Jan and Anna the difficulty in compiling any information about the circumstances of their involvement is illustrative. Their grandson, Robert Gornik who lives in the United States, recalls what his grandmother told him about those she and hid grandfather rescued. Unfortunately none of the people they helped are still alive. Sometime within the period from 1942 to 1944 was when Jan and Anna were involved in their rescue work sometime between 1942 and 1944.

One document provides a brief glimpse into the life of Jan and Anna as rescuers. In a letter dated June 19, 1946, Max Goldman and Henrik Spiendler state that they owe their lives to Jan Namowicz. It goes on to say that they and two other Jews were hidden in the Namowicz household in Ponibejz, Lithuania, for a period of nine months. Furthermore, all this was done without any expectation of reward.

The authenticity of the letter's signatures was certified by the Secretary General and the Legal Advisor of the Jewish Committee of Lodz, Poland. No other details are available beyond this.

Josef and Josefa Paygert (Poland)

Josef and Josefa Paygert (Poland)

As with many stories of Jewish rescue, this one begins with a Jew and a Christian being acquainted with one another. The uncle of Hanka Nazemak wanted to spare his niece the rigors of ghetto life in Lvov. He sought help from the Paygerts, whom he knew. Jozef and Jozefa readily accepted Hanka into their household. Inquiries by the occupying authorities were made about her presence. They were told Hanka's parents were Polish nationals who had been deported to Siberia leaving her an orphan.

In addition to Jozef and Jozefa the Paygert home included a teenage daughter, Teresa, her three younger siblings and a grandmother. As an age-mate to Teresa, Hanka became well integrated into the family. Their relationship was described as that of sisters. Teresa wrote of her concern for Hanka having to live in the house, never going out for fear of detection. Later, in the two years Hanka was confined, Teresa became a member of the Polish Underground. She was able to obtain fake identity papers that allowed Hanka to move about more freely.

After WWII Hanka moved to Israel. The rescued invited the rescuer to visit her there for an extended period. They have since continued to carry on a correspondence.

Kamilla Pelc (Poland)

Kamilla Pelc (Poland)

Whether a person is among the rescued or is in the position of a rescuer can be influenced in profound and complicated ways simply by the time and place of one's birth. These are factors over which no one has any control. The story of Kamilla Pelc illustrates this very well. At one point the Pelc family was harassed from the East by the military forces of what was then the Soviet Union. Kamilla's husband died in a Soviet prisoner of war camp. She was left alone with her six-year-old son, Karol.

Next, the German forces from the West presented another kind of harassment, especially to Jews. In 1941, a Jewish family was seeking someone to care for their two-year-old child, Irene. The adults in the family were being sent away to a work camp. In a giant leap of faith and trust, they put their proposition to Kamilla. She agreed to take on the role of caregiver for this toddler. Little Irene became very much a part of the Pelc family as a daughter and a sister to Karol. Fortunately, Irene's parents survived the forced labor ordeal and returned for their child three years later. However, their gaunt appearance frightened the child and she did not want to leave with them. The only parent she had really known was Kamilla. Kamilla agreed to keep Irene for another six months. Happily, at the age of six, she was able to be acceptant of her birth parents and to live with them.

Jan Rosciszwewski and Stephania Wiluszynska Calow (Poland)

Jan Rosciszwewski and Stephania Wiluszynska Calow (Poland)

In 1942 Shalom Brayer and Jan were teenage classmates in a small Polish town. In the face 'of considerable uncertainty regarding their welfare, and placing a great deal of trust in his schoolmate, Shalom requested assistance in finding a hiding place for his family of four. Jan was equally uncertain as to whether he could trust some of his neighbors to be acceptant of sheltering Jews in the house of his parents. As an alternative Jan found an underground storage area. He brought food for the Brayer family.

Since doing this task all alone might arouse suspicion, Jan enlisted the help of his teenage cousins, Stefania and Janina. After ten days on his own, they shared the burden of preparing and bringing the food. All this was done with the full knowledge of the youths' parents. However, the planning and execution of their rescue effort was carried out by the young people.

The Brayer family was sheltered successfully for six weeks. They then connected with an underground group and left to be on their own. They survived the war and went on to live in Israel.

Janina Wiluszynska Maciuba (Poland)

THIS NAME IS A BROKEN LINK ON WEBSITE- CAN'T ACCESS

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Chiune Sugihara (Japan)

Chiune Sugihara (Japan)

In 1939 the Japanese Government named Chiune Consul General to Lithuania. In September of that year his diplomatic life became quite complicated. Nearby Poland was invaded by the German Army, and Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union. A steady flow of Polish Jews crossed the border seeking refuge in Lithuania. Since they could not stay in that country, three links in a rescue chain were needed to pull them out of harm's way: a nation willing to receive refugees, an entry permit to that country, and a transit visa allowing them to get there.

The Soviet Union was agreeable to having Jewish refugees cross their country, but only with proper documentation. Chiune provided this crucial link. Though Japan forbade the issuance of transit visas, Chiune chose to follow his deep commitment to the his neighbors. With help from his wife, Yokiko, he issued over 300 handwritten visas per day. This enabled thousands of Jews to cross the Soviet Union to Japan and then to safety elsewhere.

In 1947 Chiune was dismissed from the Japanese Foreign Service. His legacy as a rescuer was lost until 1969 when one of those he rescued testified about Chiune's role in saving many, many Jews.

Marisia Szul (Poland)

Marisia Szul (Poland)

When in her teens Marisia lived near the town of Zdorow on a farm owned by her family. This place was in the path of Golda Schacter, a young widow with two small children, in search for food and shelter. Golda had recently fled from a ghetto and had sought help from some Christian friends in the city. While sympathetic to her plea, they felt that the cries of her nine-month-old son would present a special problem. It would expose their hiding place and all would be in danger of punishment by the occupying authorities. Golda's friends could at least be credited with refusing to turn her and her children over to the authorities.

Here is where the lives of Marisia and Golda intersect. Golda had taken to the fields, hiding by day and begging for food at night. When they approached the Szul farm, Marisia accepted them willingly. She constructed a bunker-like shelter for them under the barn. Later the group was joined by thirteen-year-old Mania Birnberg who was also seeking food, shelter, and protection. For two years Marisia and her mother, at great personal risk to themselves, cared for the refugees hidden on their farm.

Marisia has since moved to Canada. The rescuer frequently visits with the rescued living in the Chicago area.

NOTE: LINKS HERE To read more about the play based on Marisia Szul's life, Angel in the Night, go to Polish Rescuers Project under Resources.

Peter and Adriana Termaat, Jacob Balder (Holland)

Peter and Adriana Termaat, Jacob Balder (Holland)

Peter and Jacob belonged to a thirteen-member Dutch resistance unit during WWII. By definition, their activities were marked by stealth and secrecy. Piecing together bits of available information gives us a story about this unusually brief relationship between rescuers and the rescued. In October of 1943, Peter and Jacob were given an assignment to find and bring to safety a young Jewish couple. The couple's confinement-was in a place known as the closed province of Gelderland. Ten hours after their rescue journey began they were safely hidden in Amsterdam.

At the end of WWII the couple was drawn back to the place of their dramatic rescue. They especially wanted to locate the two men who had successfully taken them to safety. Above all, they wished to thank them for getting them past the German sentries and the curious bystanders who might have compromised the rescue operation. They were able to express their gratitude to Peter. Unfortunately, Jacob and eleven other Dutch resistance fighters had been executed by the occupying forces on July 14, 1944. This latter day encounter between rescued and rescuer filled an identity gap. Peter had never been told the names of the people he had helped to rescue.

When WWII ended, Peter chose not to live in Holland. He and his wife, Adrianna, moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Peter Twardzik (Poland)

Peter Twardzik (Poland)

The Twardzik farm in Poland was worked by Andrzej and his wife, Maria, with help from their four children, three sons and a daughter. Among their friends and neighbors was a Jewish family by the name of Lerman. The invasion of Poland by the German military in 1939 had a profound impact on the relationship between these two families. The Lermans were taken from their home and forced to live in a ghetto. When living conditions became intolerable and life itself was threatened, they succeeded in escaping the ghetto and sought refuge on the Twardzik farm.

How does a person of one faith entrusting their lives to those outside their own tradition? Is it possible to love your neighbor as yourself? Max Lerman, his brother David, his brother-in-law Mojsze, and a sister Freda Salzman, were given sanctuary in an attic room in the Twardzik farmhouse.

fter WWII Peter, the youngest Twardzik son, immigrated to the United States. He has lived in the Chicago are for many years. His parents, Andrzej and Maria, are both dead.

Peter Vlicko (Czechoslovakia)

Peter Vlicko (Czechoslovakia)

As with all things, the relationship between a refugee and a rescuer would come to an end. They would part. Indeed, some would never see each other again. In a few instances a woman rescued by a man would spend the rest of her life with him in marriage. Such was the story of Peter Vlicko and Georgina Reichsfeld. As an officer in the Czech Army in 1941, Peter was aware that Jewish girls were being arrested in the streets of Bratislava and sent to concentration camps. With the help of his sister, Anna, Peter secured false papers for Georgina and their marriage was arranged. This allowed her to cross safely into a bordering country. Later, fearing an investigation of her papers, Peter made it possible for her to return to Czechoslovakia in 1943.

Between 1942 and 1944, in a network of trust involving Peter, his family and friends, refuge was afforded to Georgina, her parents and others. Additional people benefited from Peter's position on the Czech Army general staff. He was able to obtain documents that identified each holder as an employee of the Ministry of Defense. Twenty Jewish people were issued such identity papers. They proved very helpful when being interrogated by local or occupying authorities.

Peter and Georgina immigrated to the United States after WWII. They settled in Lincoln Park, Michigan.

Raoul Wallenberg (Sweden)

Raoul Wallenberg (Sweden)

The chance for a future was secured for tens of thousands of Jews in Budapest through the efforts of Raoul Wallenberg. He arrived in Budapest in July, 1944 charged with a single mission; to save as many of Hungary's Jews as possible. Brazen and cunning in his methods, Wallenberg stood on the deportation platforms, claiming Swedish protection for thousands destined for the death camps. To thwart the deportations, he established an elaborate intelligence network. Documents such as the "Schutzpass" protective letters were manufactured and placed in the police files of the deportees. As an outraged diplomat, Wallenberg challenged the Hungarian authorities to release those who held Swedish protective letters.


In November 1944, a plan was devised to deal with the "Jewish Question" in Budapest. Ferencz Szalasi, the Hungarian Fuehrer of the Arrow Cross Party, decreed that all Jews of Budapest, then estimated at 100,000, were to be moved to a central ghetto. Wallenberg quickly rented 32 large buildings and placed them under the protection of the Swedish Embassy. Wallenberg's leadership inspired other neutral countries, and the International Ghetto, a safe haven was established. It came to house approximately 15,000 Jews.

In December 1944 the Russians began their assault on Budapest; liberation from German and Hungarian persecution was at hand for Hungary's surviving Jewish population. Though the fighting continued, the Central Ghetto was opened in January 1945. His job not yet finished, Wallenberg set about securing food and protection for his dependents from the Russian command. On January 13 he formally requested protection and was referred to a Major Demchenko. Four days later he told several of his co-workers he was on his way to meet with Major Demchenko. With an acute instinct developed over the past months, he departed with these words, "Whether as a guest or prisoner...I do not know."

Raoul Wallenberg disappeared on January 17, 1945. It is estimated that through his efforts about 10,000+ Jews were saved.

Andre and Magda Trocme and the People of Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon (France)

Andre and Magda Trocme and the People of Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon (France)

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is situated on a high plateau surrounded by rugged mountains in south-central France. It is a place where the winters are long and cold. But there, in that little village, the climate of the heart was warm, for it was in Le Chambon that people fleeing from the Nazis were welcomed and found a place of refuge. Adults as well as children were cared for by the people of the village and by the peasants in the surrounding countryside. Jewish children taken from internment camps like Gurs and Rivesaltes were hidden and helped by these caring people. In that village Jewish children went to school and had their lessons together with non-Jewish children from the area.

The people in Le Chambon not only resisted the Nazis, they resisted the policies of their own country, Vichy France.

The leaders of this resistance were a Protestant minister Andre Trocme and his wife Magda. As Magda Trocme said later, the issue was, "Do you think we are all brothers or not? Do you think it is unjust to turn in the Jews, or not? Then let us try to help."

King Christian X and the Danish people (Denmark)

King Christian X and the Danish people (Denmark)

Unlike most European countries, Denmark had a long uninterrupted history of tolerance and accommodation with its Jewish population, which it viewed as an extension of itself. When the Danish Jews were persecuted, the democratic fabric of the nation suffered. Therefore, in response to the imminent removal of over 7,800 Jews, the Danes, led by their King Christian X, organized and accomplished the most spectacular single movement and rescue of the persecuted people in wartime Europe. With the exception of about 500 Jews who were captured, committed suicide, or who fled independently, the entire Jewish population was ferried to Sweden in the early days of October 1943.

When the war ended in May 1945 Jews began to return to Denmark from Sweden. On their return Danish Jews found their businesses intact, and some had profits put in banks in their absence.

Schools had retained places for the Jewish population; furniture had been stored, homes remained.

Jan Zwartendijk (Holland)
Jan Zwartendijk (Holland)

Just before the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania, the Dutch government appointed Jan as temporary Consul General to that small country. At about the same time thousands of Jewish refugees were pouring into Lithuania from Poland. No visas to any country were available until a Jewish student of Dutch nationality suggested Curaçao as a possible destination. Jan was drawn into a scheme to make a notation on a passport saying: “no visa is required for entry into Curaçao”. He used his authority as a Dutch consular official, plus the obvious connection between Holland and Curaçao, to lend authenticity to this illegal act.

In a period of eight days, 2,300 of these extra-legal “Curaçao visas” had been prepared by Jan. Those who held passports containing Jan’s notation, and the transit visas issued by another rescuer, Chiune Sugihara, were able to leave Lithuania. They then traveled by Trans-Siberian rail to the end of the line, followed by a boat trip to Japan. Half of the refugees obtained visas to other lands. Those less fortunate spent the balance of WWII in a Shanghai detention camp. None of the holders of a ‘Curaçao visa” ever got to that exotic island.

Jan’s tenure as a Dutch Consul General lasted only six weeks. He died in 1976 never again seeing any of the folks he helped rescue or knowing details of their lives after that brief encounter late in 1940.

Many of the people we have honored currently reside in the midwestern part of the United States and Canada.

We have honored 38 Righteous individuals, the people of a region, and a country. Some of the honored are relatively unknown; others, world famous. Some are Righteous people whose names and acts may never be known. Those honored here are truly heroic. By honoring them we encourage others to lead righteous lives.