Muslim Rescuers

While indifference and hostility towards the Jews were the general rule in Nazi occupied Europe, there were always a few who risked their lives to help the persecuted. Among the Righteous Among the Nations there are also Muslims from Albania, Bosnia, Turkey, countries of the former Soviet Union. and an Egyptian doctor residing in Berlin.

Vesel and Fatima Veseli and their children: Refik, Hamid and Xhemal

Muslim Rescuers in Albania In 1934, Herman Bernstein, the United States Ambassador to Albania, wrote: “There is no trace of any discrimination against Jews in Albania, because Albania happens to be one of the rare lands in Europe today where religious prejudice and hate do not exist, even though Albanians themselves are divided into three faiths.” The Mandil family came from Yugoslavia, where Moshe owned a flourishing photography shop. When the Germans invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, the... Continue reading

Selahattin Ülkümen

Selahattin Ülkümen was the Turkish consul-general on the island of Rhodes which was under German occuaption. In late July 1944, the Germans began the deportation of the island’s 1,700 Jews. Ülkümen managed to save approximately 50 Jews, 13 of them Turkish citizens, the rest with some Turkish connection. In protecting those who were not Turkish citizens, he clearly acted on his own initiative. In one case, survivor Albert Franko was on a transport to Auschwitz from Piraeus. Whilst still in... Continue reading

Mustafa and Zejneba Hardaga, Izet and Bachriya Hardaga, Ahmed Sadik

Muslim Rescuers in Sarajevo In April 1941 when the Germans invaded Yugoslavia, Sarajevo was bombed from the air. The home of the Kavilio family was destroyed. They had fled to the hills when the bombing began, and were now without a home. As they were walking to the family factory, they met Mustafa Hardaga, a Muslim friend who was the owner of the factory building. He immediately offered them to stay at his house. The Hardagas were observant Muslims. The household included Mustafa and his wife... Continue reading

Dr. Mohamed Helmy and Frieda Szturmann

Rescued by an Egyptian in Berlin Dr. Mohamed Helmy was born in Khartoum in 1901 to Egyptian parents. In 1922 he went to Germany to study medicine and settled in Berlin. After completing his studies, he went to work at the Robert Koch Hospital in Berlin (later called Moabit Hospital), where he rose to the role of head of the urology department. Helmy became witness to the dismissal of Jewish doctors from the hospital in 1933. (A study conducted by the Robert Koch Institute in 2009 showed that... Continue reading

Roza Sober-Dragoje and Zekira Besrević

On the eve of the German invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, two young women worked in the beauty parlor owned by Mordo Albahari, a Sarajevo Jew: Roza Sober, a Christian of 19, and Zekira Besrević, a Muslim of about 20. Mordo’s niece, Gracija Kamhi (later Džamonja), was an apprentice in the establishment. Under the Ustaša regime in the Independent State of Croatia, Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies were brutally persecuted. The Jews’ plight became more severe with each passing day, as new... Continue reading

Fatima Kanapatskaiya and her daughter Aysha (Anna) Trofimova-Kanapatskaiya

The Unexpected Guest One day an unexpected “guest” arrived at the home of Fatima Kanapatski. Fatima Kanapatskaiya, and her daughter Aysha were Muslims of Tatar origin and lived in Minsk. The guest was Israel Davidson, the husband of Fatima’s friend Fruma. Minsk was occupied soon after the Geraman Attack on the Soviet Union in the end of June 1941. The murder of the Jews began on July 8, and on July 20, the Jews of Minsk and environs were interned in a ghetto, among them Israel and... Continue reading