In a world of total moral collapse there was a small minority who mustered extraordinary courage to uphold human values. These were the Righteous Among the Nations. They stand in stark contrast to the mainstream of indifference and hostility that prevailed during the Holocaust. Contrary to the general trend, these rescuers regarded the Jews as fellow human beings who came within the bounds of their universe of obligation.
The Story of Irena Sendler | Righteous Among the Nations | Yad Vashem
The Story of Raoul Wallenberg | Righteous Among the Nations | Yad Vashem
The Story of André and Magda Trocmé | Righteous Among the Nations | Yad Vashem
The Story of Zejneba Hardaga | Righteous Among the Nations | Yad Vashem
The Story of Leopold Socha | Righteous Among the Nations | Yad Vashem
The videos can be viewed together in classroom. Alternately, the students may be divided into groups, where each group watches one video and discusses the questions, and then presents the main points in the full-classroom setting.
After viewing the videos:
- What were the difficulties facing each one of the rescuers? How did they choose to cope with them?
- Do you think we can determine the turning point in the story/stories? Had the decision to help Jews been reached from the beginning?
- Which human story particularly impressed you? Which part of the video/s did you particularly connect with?
- Saving Jews was very risky, and sometimes meant risking one's life. The Germans announced that the punishment for helping Jews was death. Why did these people nevertheless take these risks and tried helping total strangers? What were the motives for (each of) the characters?
Chapters of Testimony - Righteous Among the Nations
