Righteous Among the Nations

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Righteous
Among the Nations
By country

Righteous among the Nations (Hebrew: חסידי אומות העולם, Chassidey Umot HaOlam), which may at times refer to the B'nei Noah or Noahides as well, is a term used in Judaism to refer to non-Jews who abide by the Seven Laws of Noah and thus are assured of meriting paradise.

In secular usage, the term is used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during The Holocaust in order to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis. The secular award (discussed below) by the same name given by the State of Israel has often been translated into English as "Righteous Gentile."

Bestowing

When Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, was established in 1953 by the Knesset, one of its tasks was to commemorate the "Righteous among the Nations". The Righteous were defined as non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Since 1963, a commission headed by a justice of the Supreme Court of Israel has been charged with the duty of awarding the honorary title "Righteous among the Nations." The commission is guided in its work by certain criteria and meticulously studies all documentation, including evidence by survivors and other eyewitnesses, evaluates the historical circumstances and the element of risk to the rescuer, and then decides if the case accords with the criteria.

A person who is recognized as "Righteous among the Nations" for having taken risks to help Jews during the Holocaust is awarded a medal bearing their name, a certificate of honor, and the privilege of having their name added to those on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. (The last is in lieu of a tree-planting, which was discontinued for lack of space.) The awards are distributed to the rescuers or their next-of-kin during ceremonies in Israel or in their countries of residence through the offices of Israel's diplomatic representatives. These ceremonies are attended by local government representatives and are given wide media coverage.

The Yad Vashem Law also authorizes Yad Vashem "To confer honorary citizenship upon the Righteous among the Nations, and if they have passed away, the commemorative citizenship of the State of Israel, in recognition of their actions." Anyone who has been recognized as Righteous among the Nations is entitled to apply to Yad Vashem for the certificate. If the Righteous among the Nations is no longer alive, their next of kin is entitled to request that commemorative citizenship be conferred on the Righteous among the Nations who has died. Recipients who choose to live in the state of Israel are entitled to a pension equal to the average national wage, free health care, as well as assistance with housing and nursing care.

By 1 January 2008, 22,211 men and women from 44 countries[1] have been recognized as Righteous among the Nations, representing over 10,000 authenticated rescue stories. Yad Vashem's policy is to pursue the program for as long as petitions for this title are received and are supported by solid evidence that meets the criteria.

By country

See List of Righteous among the Nations by country for names of individuals.

Country of origin Awards Notes
 Poland 6,066 In German-occupied Poland, all household members were punished by death if a Jew were found concealed in their home or property,death was a punishment for providing any aid to Jew etc. giving bread or water to passing Jews. This was the most severe law enforced by the Germans in occupied Europe.[2][3] See Polish Righteous among the Nations
 Netherlands 4,863 Includes two persons originally from Indonesia residing in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, people hiding Jews would usually be punished by either being sent to concentration camps themselves or even by being shot (usually after a "trial"). Several hundred communist resistance workers never received recognition for saving Jews, because they acted as intermediates in bringing Jews, especially children, to hiding places and their names remained unknown (many of them died in concentration camps).
 France 2,833 In January, 2007, French President Jacques Chirac and other dignitaries honored France's Righteous among the Nations in a ceremony at the Panthéon, Paris. The Legion of Honor was awarded to 160 French Righteous among the Nations for their efforts saving French Jews during World War II.[4]
 Ukraine 2,213
 Belgium 1,476
 Lithuania 723
 Hungary 703
 Belarus 587
 Slovakia 478
 Germany 455 This includes Oskar Schindler, perhaps the most famous of the Righteous among the Nations.
 Italy 442
 Greece 279 Including Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens and Princess Alice of Battenberg.
 Serbia 127
 Russia 124
 Czech Republic 118
 Croatia 106 See Croatian Righteous Among the Nations
 Latvia 111
 Austria 85
 Moldova 73
 Albania 63 Toptani, Atif & Ganimet
 Romania 54 Including Prince Constantin Karadja credited by Yad Vashem with saving over 51,000 Jews [1].
 Norway 42 See Norwegian Righteous among the Nations
  Switzerland 44 Includes Carl Lutz, who helped save tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews.
 Bosnia 35 Bosnia only; the source does not count Herzegovina
 Denmark 22 As per their request, members of the Danish Underground who participated in the rescue of the Danish Jews are listed as one group.
 Bulgaria 18 Dimitar Peshev
 United Kingdom 14 This list includes Major Frank Foley but excludes Sir Nicholas Winton as he is of Jewish parentage
 Macedonia 10
 Armenia 10
 Sweden 9 Including Raoul Wallenberg, Per Anger and Valdemar Langlet
 Slovenia 6
 Spain 4 Angel Sanz Briz, José Santaella, Carme Santaella and Eduardo Propper de Callejón.
 Turkey 4 Necdet Kent, Selahattin Ulkumen, Namık Kemal Yolga, Behic Erkin
 Estonia 3
 United States 3 Varian Fry, Martha Sharp, Waitstill Sharp
 China (or Taiwan) 2 Pan Jun Shun and Feng-Shan Ho
 Brazil 2 Luiz Martins de Souza Dantas and Aracy de Carvalho Guimarães Rosa.
 Chile 1 María Edwards
 Japan 1 Chiune Sugihara (provided approximately 3,400 transit visas to Jews in need[2])
 Luxembourg 1 Victor Bodson (former Justice Minister and Chairman of the Luxembourg House of Representatives; saved approximately 100 Jews)
 Portugal 1 Aristides de Sousa Mendes (issued thousands of visas in order to allow 30,000 people to escape the Nazis)
 Georgia 1 Sergei Metreveli
 Ireland 1 Hugh O'Flaherty
Total 22,211 As of January 1, 2008[5]

The names of all the Righteous among the Nations recognized by Yad Vashem are listed on the virtual wall of honor of Yad Vashem's website. see: http://www1.yadvashem.org/righteous_new/vwall.html

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "First Arab Nominated for Holocaust Honor". Associated Press. 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
  2. ^ Holocaust Survivors and Remembrance Project: Poland
  3. ^ Robert Cherry, Annamaria Orla-Bukowska, Rethinking Poles and Jews: Troubled Past, Brighter Future, Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, ISBN 0742546667, Google Print, p.5
  4. ^ Jacques Chirac Honors French World War II Saviors, European Jewish Congress, April 11, 2007.
  5. ^ The Righteous among the Nations, Yad Vashem

References

  • Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust: Genocide and Moral Obligation, David Gushee, ISBN 1-55778-821-9, Paragon House Publishers
  • The Heart Has Reasons: Holocaust Rescuers and Their Stories of Courage,Klempner, Mark, ISBN 0-8298-1699-2, The Pilgrim Press
  • The Lexicon of the Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. (volumes: Poland, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Europe I, Europe II)
  • To Save a Life: Stories of Holocaust Rescue, Land-Weber, Ellen, ISBN 0-252-02515-6, University of Illinois Press
  • The Seven Laws of Noah, Lichtenstein, Aaron, New York: The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press, 1981.
  • The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism, Novak, David, ISBN 0-88946-975-X, New York and Toronto: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1983.
  • The Path of the Righteous: Gentile Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust, Paldiel, Mordecai, ISBN 0-88125-376-6, KTAV Publishing House, Inc.
  • Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust's Long Reach into Arab Lands, Robert Satloff, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, (PublicAffairs, 2006) ISBN 1586483994
  • When Light Pierced the Darkness: Christian Rescue of Jews in Nazi-Occupied Poland, Tec, Nechama, ISBN 0-19-505194-7, Oxford University Press
  • Zegota: The Council to Aid Jews in Occupied Poland 1942-1945, Tomaszewski, Irene & Werblowski, Tecia, ISBN 1-896881-15-7, Price-Patterson
  • Tolerance in Judaism: The Medieval and Modern Sources, Zuesse, Evan M., In: The Encyclopaedia of Judaism, edited by J. Neusner, A. Avery-Peck, and W.S. Green, Second Edition, ISBN 90-04-14787-X, Leiden: Brill, 2005, Vol. IV: 2688-2713
  • When Courage Was Stronger Than Fear: Remarkable Stories of Christians Who Saved Jews from the Holocaust by Peter Hellman. 2nd edition, ISBN 1-56924-663-7, Marlowe & Companym, 1999

External links

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