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The Righteous Among the Nations

"To be alone in the marketplace square"

Lesson Objectives and Educational Emphasis

Yad Vashem was established to perpetuate the memory of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. One of Yad Vashem’s principal duties is to convey the gratitude of the State of Israel and the Jewish people to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. This mission was defined by the law establishing Yad Vashem, and in 1963 the Remembrance Authority embarked upon a worldwide project to grant the title of Righteous Among the Nations to the few who helped Jews in the darkest time in their history

The Righteous Among the Nations were not "born" for their historic task. They were ordinary people from all walks of life who, within an atmosphere of indifference, hostility and even collaboration, made a fateful decision out of commitment to their values and at great risk of persecution by a cruel regime of terror. Their choices, though made under extreme conditions far from our everyday existence, have great educational significance today, as they prompt a deeper discussion about the ability of human beings to make choices and the inherent power of these choices both for the individual and for the masses.

The process, which for many began with a decision reached in an instant, became over time an obligation and often turned into a deep connection with the victims. It also placed a heavy burden of responsibility replete with long-term dangers that changed their lives. It is important to stress that these people, who acted upon a different moral code than those in their wider society, were a small minority. Often this act of righteousness was accompanied by isolation: It was impossible to trust anyone even minimally; it was impossible to know who would support and who would betray, who could keep the secret and who would reveal it, even unintentionally, with a word or a glance. In most places, the act took place within an atmosphere that ranged from indifference to hostility, and in many cases, even active collaboration in dispossessing and murdering Jews. Therefore, the price of rescue was not only isolation, but also a matter of life and death, with threats from the German regime as well as from local populations.              

Were they angels?

It's important to bear in mind that often in the accounts of Righteous Among the Nations are liable to leave the impression that these people had "angelic" qualities, unlike other people. This carries an educational risk. When these Righteous are perceived as "angels," we cannot learn from their actions. We must therefore emphasize again and again that we speak of regular people who heeded the call of their conscience and found within themselves compassion and sensitivity and the courage to act upon them. They succeeded in viewing the persecuted Jews as human beings, sometimes because they knew them but mostly they were strangers until that point. These Righteous, like others, had good characteristics and less good ones, and sometimes even held worldviews that made it unclear or unnatural that they would sympathize with Jews, but in their hour of need, they chose humanity.

If so, the focus of the educational discussion should be to pose complex questions even if some will remain unanswered. What caused a regular person to become a Righteous Among the Nations? How could it be that from amongst a group of people, a few acted on behalf of others without having any special personality traits or uniform value system? Is it possible to pinpoint a specific moment or event that convinced them to extend aid to a persecuted Jew?

While it is challenging to find a unifying characteristic in the stories of the Righteous Among the Nations, it appears that common to all was an ability to perceive the Jews as people – despite a reality in which Jews were dehumanized, hated and killed as a result of racist, antisemitic ideology. The stories of the Righteous, if so, enable us to discuss the human ability to see the good in others; the ability to stand up for principles against a world from which they were alienated; and the far-reaching implications of humanity's ability to choose. It's important to remember that the Righteous Among the Nations were a very small minority within the population. This lesson focuses on the successful attempts to save Jews, but in many cases rescue attempts ended in failure – and in the murder of the Jews and their protectors alike.

 

Lesson Structure

  • Through Their Own Eyes – viewing testimony
  • Stories of Righteous Among the Nations – group work
  • What made them different from their fellow citizens? – summary discussion

Lesson presentation  

Lesson presentation

Through Their Own Eyes – viewing testimony  

Through Their Own Eyes – viewing testimony

Stories of Righteous Among the Nations – group work  

Stories of Righteous Among the Nations – group work

Group 1  

Group 1

Group 2  

Group 2

Group 3  

Group 3

Group 4  

Group 4

Group 5  

Group 5

Group 6  

Group 6

Group 7  

Group 7

Group 8  

Group 8

Classroom discussion  

Classroom discussion

Historical Appendices  

Historical Appendices
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