Friday, March 29, 2024 -
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Righteous Gentiles

Sometimes, as news stories come in, a theme emerges. We’re not talking about everyday topics like COVID-19 or political wrangling in Washington. We’re referring to unexpected themes, such as this week’s stories on Righteous Gentiles.

Multifaceted stories about the Holocaust are being discovered and told. While the most infamous of locations — Auschwitz — once dominated the storytelling, today we also talk about the Einsatzgruppen, the dehumanization of Jews through the Nuremberg Laws, the targeting of the mentally ill, the pre-war refugees, the people who escaped to the East or hid in France.

While much has focused on the victims and survivors, the thread about human heroes — Righteous Gentiles — has grown significantly, spurred especially by Steven Spielberg’s seminal film, “Schindler’s List.”

When the story of Oskar Schindler first gained popularity, it was viewed as a rarity, anomalous. What is now clear is how many Schindlers there were, from the diplomats like Chiune Sugihara who saved thousands, the spies like Thomas Joseph Kendrick (see page 2) who saved hundreds, businessmen like Angel Sanz Briz who saved thousands (see page 1), royal family members like Princess Alice (the Duke of Edinburgh’s mother) who saved a family in Greece, or the average citizen who risked his or her life to help persecuted Jews — and those whose stories we may never know.

These courageous souls were the antidote to a unique evil and the unique criminals who perpetrated it. These selfless people are a reminder of humanity’s goodness. Even in the nadir, kindness and light will find a way to shine through. It is an awe-inspiring lesson and a charge to us all, when confronted, to select the higher, noble path.

Copyright © 2021 by the Intermountain Jewish News




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