The Courage to Care 9780814769454

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THE COURAGE TO CARE

THE

COURAGE TO CARE

RESCUERS OF JEWS DURING THE HOLOCAUS T

Carol Rittner, R.S.M. and Sondra Myer s Editors

NEW YORK UNIVERSIT Y PRESS New Yor k and Londo n

Copyright © 1986 by New York Universit y All rights reserve d Manufactured i n the Unite d State s of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Dat a The Courage to care. Includes indexes . 1. Righteou s Gentiles i n the Holocaust. 2 . Worl d War, 1939-1945—Jews— Rescue. 3 Worl d War, 19391945—-Jews—Rescue—France—Le Chambon-sur-Lignon . 4. L e Chambon-sur-Lignon (France)—Ethni c relations . I. Rittner , Carol Ann, 1943- H . Mvers, Sondra. D810J4C68 198 6 940.53'15'0392 4 ' 86-876 4 ISBN 0-8147-7397-4 (alk . paper) ISB N 0-8147-7406 7 pbk. New York University Pres s books are printed o n acid-free paper , and their binding material s are chosen fo r strength an d durability . Fourth Printing , 199 9

To William J. Flynn, in Appreciation

CONTENTS

Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction

ix Eli e Wiesel xiii Caro l Rittner, R.S.M. xvi 1 Irvin g Greenberg

Stories of Rescue

18 Odett e Meyers 24 JohtjeVo s 28 Mario n Pritchard 34 Ma x Rothschild 38 Herman n Graebe/Maria Bobrow 44 Iren e Opdyke 52 Emanue l Tanay 58 JohnWeidner ' 66 Gab y Cohen 14 Iv o Herzer 78 ChaimAs a 82 Le o Eitinger 86 J0rge n Kieler 90 Le o Goldberger

Le Chambon

99 Introduction, Pierre Sauvage 100 MagdaTrocm e 108 Major Julius Schmahling, Phili p Hallie 116 Three Survivors: Hans Solomon, Hanne Liebmann, Rudy Appel

Reflections 12

2 Wyy> Were There So Few? Elie Wiesel 126 Examples of Heroism, Mosh e Bejski 134 Ten Questions, Pierr e Sauvage 142 The)> Could Do No Other, Rober t McAfee Brown 148 The Courage to Care, Shlom o Breznitz

Index

155

FOREWORD

ELIE WESEL In those times there was darkness everywhere. In heaven an d on earth , all the gates of compassion seeme d t o have been closed . The killer killed and th e Jew s died an d the outside world adopte d a n attitude either o f complicity or of indifference. Onl y a few had the courage to care. These few me n an d women were vulnerable, afraid, helpless—wha t mad e them different fro m thei r fellow citizens ? What compelled the m t o disregard dange r and torture—even death—an d choos e humanity? What moved the m to put their lives in jeopardy for th e sake of saving one Jewish child , one Jewish mother ? These few evoke our profoun d respec t an d wonder. They challenge u s to ask ourselves questions. Above all—Why were there so few? Was it that perilou s to oppose evil? Was it really impossible to help? Was it really impossible to resist organized, systematized, legalized cruelty and murde r by showing concern fo r the victims, for on e victim? Let us remember: What hurts the victim mos t i s not the cruelty of the opppressor bu t the silence of the bystander . And what of ourselves? What would we have done? Would we have had the courage to care? Who knows? We can only hope that our humanit y would not have forsaken us . In remembering th e Holocaust we must no t be numbed b y the magnitude of its horrors. We must allow ourselves to be moved b y the humanity the victims succeeded i n preserving at all times. And we must humbl y and gratefully loo k at these few individual s who, out of their religiou s beliefs o r their humanisti c education, with a simple gesture, often actin g on impulse , became our protectors—better yet : our allie s and friends. Eac h and every one of them i s a reminder of what so many others could hav e done, of what so many others did no t do. Let us not forget, afte r all , that there i s always a moment when th e moral choic e is made. Often becaus e of one story or one book or on e person, we are able to make a different choice , a choice for humanity , for life . And so we must know these good people who helped Jews during the Holocaust. We must lear n fro m them, and i n gratitude and hope , we must remembe r them . x

''Remember that it is easy to save human lives. One did not need to be heroic or crazy to feel pity for an abandoned child. It was enough to open a door, to throw a piece of bread, a shirt, a coin; it was enough to feel compassion... In those times, one climbed to the summit of humanity by simply remaining human."

PREFACE

QTOL

R11TNER RSM.

The Holocaust an d human decency . Perhaps no two terms could contradict each other more . Most studies of the Holocaust emphasize the abandonment o f the Jews by non-Jews who lived under Naz i domination i n Europe. I t is difficult t o do otherwise, for th e evidence of human destructio n speak s for itself . We cannot minimize or ignor e it . During the 41 year s since the Nazi death camp s were liberated, documents have been collected and book s written about the killers, about the victims, about the people who stood on the sidelines and watched without raising a voice in protest a s the Jews of Europe were being brutalized and murdered . We know, however, that during the Holocaust, there were a few people , many of whom were Christians, who could no t stand by and do nothing while Jews— friends, neighbors , sometimes total strangers—were persecute d an d hunte d down. At great ris k to themselves they took actions—sometimes large , more often small—whic h save d a life. Or man y lives. And for thes e actions they are called i n Hebrew, Hasidei Umot HaOlam, the "Righteou s Among the Nations of the World." In 1953, the Israeli Knesset passed th e Martyrs' and Heroes 1 Remembrance Law which outlined th e functions o f Yad Vashem, the Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority i n Jerusalem, and provide d a definition, albei t inexact , of the "Righteous Among the Nations of the World." Those people considere d worthy of the title are defined a s "the high-minded Gentile s who riske d their lives to save Jews" during the Holocaust. Certain criteria , established b y Yad VashenVs Commission fo r th e Designation of the Righteous, must be fulfilled befor e a person ca n be name d a s one of the Hasidei Umot HaOlam. They are: extending hel p i n saving the lif e of a Jewish man, woman o r child durin g the Nazi persecution; endangering one's own life ; absence of reward, monetary or otherwise; and similar considerations, "which make the rescuer's deeds stand out abov e and beyon d what can be termed ordinary help, which i s of course also praiseworthy." To date, about 5,00 0 men and xiv

women hav e been identifie d an d the accounts of their nobl e deeds verified. They are honored b y Yad Vashem and the Jewish peopl e worldwide as the "Righteous Among the Nations of the World." In September 1984 , Elie Wiesel, noted author, teacher an d Chairma n o f the United States Holocaust Memoria l Counci l i n Washington, D.C., convened a n international conference , "Fait h in Humankind: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust." The purpose o f the conference wa s to set forth sid e by side evidence of human degradatio n an d evidence of human nobility , to illumine th e deeds of the few who dared t o defy evil at the risk of their ow n lives , and t o bear witness to the world o f what was done and could hav e been don e i f more people ha d had the courage to care. The United States Holocaust Memorial Counci l wanted t o focus o n this small but significant chapte r of the Holocaust i n an effort t o discover, if possible, in Elie Wiesel's words, what made these few men an d women "differen t fro m thei r fellow citizens ? What compelled the m t o disregard dange r an d torture—eve n death—and choos e humanity? What moved the m t o put thei r live s in jeopardy for th e sake of saving one Jewish child, one Jewish mother?" Surely not every question coul d be answered, but peopl e di d lear n tha t ther e was and always is an alternative to passive complicity with evil. As Bayard Rustin, the civil rights leader an d a member o f the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, said at the opening ceremony, "It often too k only a small act to save a life. It might have been openin g a door, offering a hand, providing a hiding place, feeding a stranger, keeping a secret, or merel y saying 'Yes!' Each of these activities seems simple, small," yet forty years ago, they provided a light in the vast darkness that was the Holocaust. The "Righteous Among the Nations of the World" remind u s of what so many people did not know—or forgot—durin g th e Holocaust: that to be human mean s to care about people who are in danger. They remind u s that every person i s responsible for hi s or her actions , and that each on e of us can mak e a difference . The personal narrative s and essay s in this book hav e been collecte d i n an effor t to preserve the memory of noble deeds, to bear witness to the world tha t i t was possible to help Jews in Nazi Germany and occupied Europe during World War II. A film, also entitled The Courage to Care, complement s thes e first-person oral accounts and reflection s b y rescuers, survivors, and scholars . Although we cannot help but mour n th e overwhelming dearth o f "ordinary" human respons e to the Jews of Europe during the years 1933-45, we also must focus ou r attentio n o n the few acts of caring and courage, if we are to provide examples o f human decency for ourselve s and our children . xv

ACKNOWEK5MENTS

No project, larg e or small, is ever completed withou t the assistance and encouragement o f many people. We want to express our thank s to all those who contributed t o the team effort tha t mad e possible the publication o f The Courage to Care: Rescuers of JewsDuring the Holocaust. A few among the many must be singled out for specia l mention .

The project, "Fait h i n Humankind : Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust," which began a s the dream o f one person, would no t have been possibl e but for th e enthusiastic respons e of Elie Wiesel, Chairman o f the United States Holocaust Memorial Council , Washington, D.C. From th e moment Mr . Wiesel learne d o f the idea for a conference, film , and book, he endorsed i t wholeheartedly. I t is a particular pleasur e to thank hi m as well a s the Council for sponsorin g th e project. We also want to give special acknowledgment an d thanks to Jane Dickler-Lebow. Working with a rough transcrip t o f the conference proceedings , she expeditiously, and with skill and sensitivity, rendered a coherent an d readabl e draft whic h became the working document fo r thi s book. Professor Le o Goldberger, whose personal accoun t o f rescue during the Holocaust i s included i n this volume, has been a friend an d advisor throughout the editing and publication process . His guidance was invaluable. Kitty Moore, Senior Editor , New York University Press, provided u s with just the right amount o f all we needed: discipline, editorial comments , wisdom, friendship an d humor. Sh e helped u s to transform th e vast amount of material we had int o a readable, coherent book . We are grateful fo r he r enthusiasm an d expertise. During the conference, Rober t Gardne r interviewe d o n film severa l o f the people whose stories are included i n the bcx>k. We thank him for th e superb fil m h e eventually produced an d directed , The Courage to Care (United Way Productions, Alexandria, VA), and also for th e thoughtful an d carin g way he conducted th e interviews. xvi

We want to acknowledge the gracious cooperation o f Holocaust researc h center s and archives in Israel, Poland, France, Holland and the United States and their staffs who assisted Robert Gardner, Richard Kaplan, Lynn McDevitt, and Dr. Carol Rittner, R.S.M. as they searched fo r photograph s fo r bot h th e film and book. We also want to thank Fra n Arre, Marilyn Stern an d Lisa Uchno for thei r assistance in typing, re-typing, transcribing, and assisting i n so many ways. Our families, friends, an d colleagues provided th e understanding, encouragemen t and love which gave us the freedom t o work full time and mor e on the project . We thank them. Finally, we want to thank all those whose stories and reflection s compris e th e substance of this book: Holocaust survivors, scholars, and mos t of all, those "quiet heroes" who helped Jews during the Holocaust an d whom th e Jewish peopl e honor as Hasidei Umot HaOlam, the "Righteous Among the Nations of the World."

xvii

INTOJXJCTION

The Righteous Rescuers

IRVING GREENBERG Each one of the Hasidei Umot HaOlam, "Righteous Among the Nations of the World," saved an individual or individuals who were precious and unique, as all people are. The people who saved others also deserve respect for their own uniqueness. One must speak with diffidence o f the righteous rescuers; we do not know much about most of them. What we have, mainly, are anecdotal accounts and, truthfully, no t many of them. Obviously, there cannot have been a large number of rescuers. We know this is so because the evil forces unleashed in the Holocaust swallowed up many of them; besides, there were so many victories for the other side, the murderers, that there could not have been too many resisters. Still, one of the most important points to remember i s that when a large number or a majority of people came together, as in Denmark or in Le Chambon, they saved not just individuals but thousands. The rescuing bystanders, or the bystanders in general, made the critical difference i n the survival of Jews. The difference i n Jewish survival in the various European countries is enormous. It ranged from 95 percent surviving in Denmark to 90 percent dead in Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. Why the incredible variation i n rates of Jewish survival? Clearly the difference la y not in Jewish behavior, neither in passive nor armed resistance. Armed resistance was a decision how to die, not how to live. Nor was it Nazi behavior that made the crucial difference, becaus e it was murderous everywhere. The single critical difference wa s the behavior of the bystanders. The more bystanders there were who resisted, the greater was the chance that Jews would survive. In this introduction, I will present a very general sketch of the Holocaust, not only to allow us to see the Righteous in the proper perspective, but also to give a sense of the context in which their actions occurred and, in a sense, can be measured. The universal destruction is the backdrop against which lifesaving can be appreciated. The Holocaust can be dated from an y of a number of events. I will begin from an obvious point, the Nazi ascent to power in Germany in 1933. Th e first six years, 3

from 193 3 to 1939, was the period of consolidation of Nazi power within Germany. It was also the time in which the seeds for the Holocaust were sown. During this period the Jews of Germany were expelled from th e civil service, the army, the schools, and the professions. Jewish professionals, first prohibited only from service to non-Jews, were eventually forbidden eve n to help Jews, their own community. In this way Jews were isolated. This was an essential and crucial dimension of the Germans' scenario for destroying them: to isolate the Jews, which included exclusion from citizenship , in the notorious Nuremberg Laws of 1935, and additional restrictions on where and how they could live, and move about. There was an attempt to keep these matters quiet, especially during the period of the Olympics in 1936. The goal was to reduce objections to the Nazis' behavior by people outside Germany. In general, although there was a continuing, growing violence, both legal and physical, against the Jews, it was not completely random. The whole stage is marked by a pattern: First, there would be an attack on Jews, then an extension of the attack, then a pause. And, frequently th e pause was used as a time in which the Nazis watched world reaction and gauged whether they could forge ahead or would have to modify their plans. Then, as happened repeatedly, in the absence of significant reactio n from th e rest of the world, the Nazis would resume the attacks on the Jewish community and engage in further oppression . People often loo k back and wonder when th e Jews could hav e been saved . I believe, in retrospect, that the key time they could hav e been save d was in this very period, 1933-39. As we now know, when Hitle r invade d th e Rhineland in 1935, even hi s generals did no t believe that he would b e able to escape a crushing Allied retaliation. The generals even prepare d t o attempt overthrowing Hitler in a coup. But when th e world le t him get away with that triumph, his prestige among the generals soared. This gave him the power base from whic h to begin to implement hi s plans for world conques t an d for destruction o f the Jews. Often, thes e plans had a kind of perverted logic , some were even no t anti-Semitic in their initia l focus. The notorious euthanasia progra m was originally supposed to be a program t o rid Germany of so-called menta l defectives . I t was begun i n a rather tentative way. Gassing, in particular, was tried only as an experiment. The program wa s stopped fo r i t evoked a series of severe criticism an d protests, first from th e Catholic bishops and late r from Protestan t leader s and families . The euthanasia program was dropped a t that point because the government did not enjoy th e full confidenc e o f the people. Yet, it turned ou t tha t the researc h done during this time on killin g with gas was to be used late r i n developing the gas chambers i n which so many Jews and others were murdered . 4

Jewish emigration itsel f shows an interestin g pattern. In 1933, when Hitle r came to power, German-Jewish emigratio n soared . Thirty-three thousand lef t German y in that year alone as people panicked. Yet although things grew worse, Jewish emigration decrease d eac h year thereafter. O f course, this was, in pan, due to the fact that the numbe r o f Jews in the population was declining. In addition, some were perhaps able to "adjust" t o the new reality, remaining hopefu l tha t Germany— the "true" Germany—would outlas t Hitler . Germany was their home, their country, and they were confident tha t this kind of barbaric thin g would not go on indefinitely . After all , had no t Jews experienced discriminatio n an d pogroms for centuries, and ha d they not always managed t o survive? The victorious German troops parading through Holland.

In 1938, this hope, this illusion, came to an end. The violent Kristallnach t of November, 1938, caused a huge leap i n emigration. Franti c and desperate, 50 thousand Jews left German y i n late 1938 and early 1939. After tha t point i t was too late; the war cut off the exits—too littl e room ha d been mad e in other countrie s for Jews who might otherwise have chosen t o leave Germany to emigrate to another country . Exclusion of Jews is an important measur e of the world's respons e to the Nazis. In 1938, there was refugee conferenc e i n Evian, France, at which th e question of

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how to deal with the Jews was discussed. The fact that the Allies—or, perhaps one should say, the world powers—came i n without a serious refuge e acceptance program was taken by the Nazis as a signal that, essentially, the world was sympathetic to their position. Indeed, it was during this period tha t Hitler made the famous commen t tha t other nation s liked to criticize him to make their hands look clean, but that, in fact, they would no t accept Jews because they felt the same way about them as he did. In 1938, Austria was taken over, and i n 1939, Czechoslovakia was swallowed by Germany as a part of the consolidation o f power. I n 1939, with the invasion of Poland by the Germans, all-out war developed, and with i t the full-scale war against the Jews. Lucy Dawidowicz has pointed ou t that while the declaration of war came in September 1939 , the "declaration o f war" against the Jews had come some eight month s earlier. On January 30,1939, in a speech t o the Reichstag, Hitler said, "If international-financed Jewry should succeed once mor e in plunging the peoples int o a world war, then th e consequence will not be the Bolshevization o f the world and therewith a victory of Jewry, but on the contrary, the destruction o f the Jewish race in Europe." (The War Against The Jews, Bantam, 1976). I read this quote for man y years without appreciatin g the ful l horror o f it—until I saw Hitler on film, presenting this speech. The most chilling thing about the speech i s that when h e had finished tha t sentence, there was a standing ovation i n the Reichstag. According to Lucy Dawidowicz, in Hitler's mind, "War and annihilation o f the Jews were interdependent. " The disorder o f war would provid e the cover fo r unchecked murde r of civilians. Within a month s time, Poland surrendered an d Russia came in to take over it s share, the eastern hal f of Poland. Millions of Jews fell unde r Germa n domination , and from 193 9 to 1941 ther e was again a process of attack and consolidation . During this period th e dominant polic y was not all-out murder . There were initial atrocities when th e Germans first came through bu t the policy was more understated—murder, yes , but n o mas s murder. There was also ghettoization, which followed withi n the year, by October 1940 . At first,the ghettos were mostly open an d people could mov e about quite freely eve n while being forced t o live there. One must remember tha t ghettoization mean t povert y for th e Jews, who had to leave behind the m muc h of their property, homes, and wealth. In many cases, their bank accounts were frozen. I t meant hunger an d malnutrition, and slave labor or rando m seizure s for force d labor . Within that period, the German government incorporate d part s of Poland directly into Germany. The central cor e of Poland (called the General Government) was

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set aside as an S.S.-controlled zon e i n which th e Germans had total control and domination. During this period ther e was racial screening o f Poles, and so-called Aryan-type children were sent off to Germany. A half million Germans were brought int o the places from whic h Pole s had been evacuate d o r expelled . In short, the atrocities were directed, i n part, against the local Polish population , and not against the Jews alone. Postcard from Mielic, near Krakow, in the "General Gouvernement" area of occupied Poland, dated October 22, 1941. It arrived in the United States two and one half months later on January 9, 1942, heavily censored on both sides.

There was a brief period afte r th e fall of Poland when th e Western Fron t was quiet. In April 1940, the Germans invade d Denmar k an d Norway , followed i n May 1940 by the invasion of the Low Countries, the Netherlands and Belgium. This led to the surrender o f France in June. This was the peak of German power . Hitler had planned th e invasion of England b y September 1940 , but that attempt was thwarted b y the Royal Air Force in what i s now known a s the famous Battl e of Britain. During the period 1940-41 , plans were lai d for th e invasio n of Russia, which was intended t o become Hitler's culminating triump h i n Europe. Despite 7

the frustratio n o f no t conquerin g England , th e conques t o f Russi a wa s th e firs t priority i n Hitler' s mind . Durin g thi s perio d o f full-scal e war , plan s wer e bein g made fo r mas s murder . Onc e again , th e notio n o f unrestraine d wa r pave d th e way fo r a stepped-up attac k o n th e Jews. A task forc e wa s se t u p fo r politica l administratio n an d specia l Einsatzgruppe n were recruite d t o carr y ou t th e killin g orders . Th e Einsatzgruppe n wer e shootin g squads, some thre e t o fou r thousan d men , broke n int o smaller units—A,B,C , and D—travelling righ t behin d th e Germans ' fron t line s i n priorit y transportatio n an d with specia l status . I n man y cases , as th e Germa n Arm y pursue d it s blitzkrie g through Russia , th e Jews wer e trappe d an d caught . Righ t behin d th e fron t cam e the killin g squads . Typically, th e Nazi s would g o int o a village o r town , roun d u p the Jews, tak e the m nearby , an d shoo t the m down . On June 22,1941 , a n all-ou t invasio n o f Russi a wa s unleashed . Thi s initia l attac k on Russi a wa s enormousl y successful . Th e Russia n Arm y was unprepared . Stali n had ignore d th e warnin g signs , and th e Russia n people , i n man y cases , wer e initially restles s an d disloya l a s th e German s rolle d through . However , the y soo n got a tast e o f Germa n recklessnes s an d ruthlessness . Althoug h Germa n atrocitie s wrere primaril y directe d a t murderin g ever y las t Jew, the y als o kille d Russian s an d Poles who m di e Nazi s considere d subhuma n becaus e the y wer e Slavs . During thi s perio d th e Germans ' succes s i n Western Europ e ha d lef t mos t countries i n on e o f thre e basi c zones : colonial, command , an d S . S. In th e colonial zone , th e German s allowe d th e existin g loca l government s t o go o n functioning—either becaus e they wer e allie s o r becaus e i t was mor e convenien t to conque r the m an d allo w th e loca l government s t o rul e unde r Naz i "guidance. " France, Denmark , an d Finlan d ar e example s o f highl y integrate d prewa r state s that wer e allowe d t o hav e thei r ow n governments , a s lon g a s the y di d no t figh t the Germans . I n th e cas e o f Denmark , th e governmen t wa s a popularl y chose n government. I n th e cas e o f France , while th e governmen t wa s installe d b y th e Nazis, i t ha d stron g tie s t o th e people . Severa l les s unifie d prewa r state s wer e allowed thei r ow n government s becaus e the y wer e allies ; these includ e Croati a (now par t o f Yugoslavia), Hungary , Romania , Slovakia , an d Bulgaria . Although a n ally i n a different way , Ital y also ha d it s own government . In th e secon d o f th e zones , th e comman d zone , th e German s replace d th e loca l governments wit h quislings , o r collaborators . The y were no t popularl y chose n representatives, bu t th e German s di d no t tak e ove r totally . I n thes e countries , including Belgium , Norway , an d th e Netherlands , th e German s ha d a somewha t stricter leve l o f control . Th e peopl e wer e rule d b y indigenou s loca l groups , bu t under Germa n supervision . 8

In the third zone, the S. S. zone, the German administratio n installe d itself , abolishing or destroying all local governments an d taking complete charge . This was done i n Austria before th e war. During the war, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, and Serbia—essentially th e Eastern European areas—whos e populations , being Slavic, were considered lower-grad e humans , were taken over . Hitler's whole attitude toward th e Slavs, as an inferio r "racial " group, rationalize d thi s total dominance for hi m and hi s minions. Eastern Europe ha d a long-standing record o f anti-Semitism. Helen Fein , in her book Accounting for Genocide (Fre e Press , 1979), has noted correctl y that where A Jewish child in Holland during one of the round ups for deportation to the East.

there was higher prewar anti-Semitism an d a tighter S . S. grip, the resul t was a higher level of Jewish victimization. I n these countries (althoug h somewha t les s directly linked to Jewish survival rates ) higher prewa r politica l and social disunity allowed the Germans to use the nations ethni c tensions against the Jews. This often le d to higher rate s of victimization becaus e crimes were committed by collaborators or by the Nazis with the compliance b y silence of local populations. The opposite was true i n countries i n which les s control was exercised o r which had lowe r prewar anti-Semitism an d greater nationa l unity . In short, bot h individual and collective response s were factors i n the amount o f power brough t to bear on th e side of evil.

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At first, in Polan d fro m 193 9 to 1941 , the destructio n o f th e Jews wa s essentiall y slow killin g b y hunger, disease , an d overwork . A s time wen t on , however , th e ghettos wer e close d increasingl y mor e tightly . This cu t th e Jews off , no t onl y fro m non-Jewish Poles , but als o fro m thei r homes , thei r source s o f livelihood , an d a great dea l more . Th e closin g o f th e ghetto s carrie d a deat h penalty , no t onl y fo r Jews wh o lef t th e ghetto , bu t fo r anyon e caugh t aidin g an d harborin g Jews. Suc h a polic y was announce d i n Novembe r 1941 , in Warsaw . And th e Einsatzgruppe n were extremel y successfu l i n killin g Jews. Estimate s ru n fro m a millio n t o a million an d a hal f victims . I t i s possible t o rea d th e statistic s i n th e chillin g tex t of the record s o f Einsatzgruppe n A , which kep t a daily hea d coun t o f deaths—men , women an d children—fo r month s o n end . Wha t i s particularly strikin g i s th e percentages o f women an d childre n i n thes e groups . Frequently , th e me n wer e sent of f t o labo r o r wer e kille d immediately , wit h th e wome n an d childre n lef t t o be finishe d of f b y th e Einsatzgruppen . The Nazi s discovere d tha t mobilizatio n o f th e Einsatzgruppe n wa s no t th e bes t way t o implemen t th e pla n fo r exterminatin g th e Jews. I t ha d severa l drawbacks : the us e o f bullet s wa s expensive ; i t was slow ; an d i t was no t withou t it s effect o n both th e killer s an d th e loca l population . Eve n th e killers , despite thei r hardenin g and thei r ideology , foun d wee k afte r wee k o f shootin g wome n an d childre n somewhat disturbing—no t disturbin g enoug h t o stop , but disturbin g enoug h t o cause sleeples s night s an d nightmares , excessiv e drinking , an d differen t form s o f brutalization. Perhap s th e ver y weakness an d vulnerabilit y o f thei r victim s le d t o ever greate r hostilit y an d sadis m i n thei r behavior . The resul t wa s th e decisio n t o loo k fo r cheaper , mor e effective , an d les s persona l ways o f killin g th e Jews. This mean t bringin g i n som e o f th e technician s wh o ha d been involve d i n th e euthanasi a program , a s well a s experimentin g wit h travelling van s i n which carbo n monoxid e wa s pipe d bac k int o th e trucks . This was followe d b y th e us e o f a mor e poten t ga s fo r killin g human s an d the n th e construction o f gas chamber s an d th e deat h camps . Eventually th e Nazi s pu t int o operatio n si x killin g camps : Auschwitz, Treblinka , Sobibor, Chelmno , an d Maidanek . Al l except Chelmn o wer e i n th e so-calle d General Government , meanin g Polis h territor y totall y controlle d b y the Nazis . The German s bega n t o transpor t thre e millio n peopl e acros s Europ e t o thei r deaths. Rau l Hilber g summarize s wha t wa s involve d i n transportin g thre e millio n Jews: "It mean t railwa y timetable s ha d t o b e devised , wagon s hired , frontie r crossing point s organized , shuntin g arrangement s (alon g th e tracks ) perfected . Whole communitie s ha d t o b e uprooted , firs t b y mean s o f registration , the n confinement t o specia l sector s o f towns , the n deportatio n t o holdin g camps , an d

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from ther e regula r dispatch t o the East." (The Destruction of the European Jews, 2nd edition, Holmes and Meier, 1985.) Tens of thousands, one migh t say hundreds of thousands, had to be involve d in such a process. At every crossing people were standing and watching. At every stop there were people hearing about i t from familie s an d relatives , seeing pictures, and yet few when questione d afte r th e war, would conced e to having seen what was going on. Deportations went on, relatively unchecked, throughou t the period . German soldiers taunting a Jew in Poland.

By 1942, Allied counterattack ha d begun : first i n Russia, where th e winter turne d into a nightmare for the Germans, and the n i n North Africa wher e th e Allies began organizing for thei r comeback. I t is interesting t o note that organized armed resistanc e to the Germans insid e Europe did no t exis t until th e Allies began t o regain thei r strength. When the Warsaw ghetto revolted i n 1943, it was the first seriou s organize d armed resistanc e i n Europe. It was not that the Jews were bette r fighters, bu t they knew that they were going to die, and the y decided t o make a choice of how they were going to die. Great number s of Jews already ha d bee n killed . Those

11

who stil l remaine d bega n t o bu y a fe w gun s an d t o organiz e thi s incredibl e revolt. O f course , i t was a symbolic statemen t mor e tha n anythin g else , a statement o f hop e tha t other s woul d lear n fro m the m fo r th e futur e o f Jewish life , at least , b y readin g abou t the m i n th e histor y books . The degre e o f Naz i contro l i n variou s Europea n countrie s wa s a majo r facto r i n how Jews wer e treate d throughou t thi s period . Th e classi c example s ar e Denmark an d Bulgaria . Th e Danes , becaus e the y wer e Aryan , and therefor e identified i n th e Germa n min d a s th e "right' 1 kin d o f people , an d becaus e the y agreed t o surrende r unde r certai n conditions , ha d thei r ow n government . I t is interesting t o not e tha t thei r condition s o f surrende r included , first an d foremost , that th e governmen t woul d no t tolerat e discriminatio n agains t th e Jews. Th e second conditio n wa s tha t the y woul d no t hav e a Danis h arm y fightin g i n th e East, and th e thir d conditio n insure d Danis h neutralit y vis-a-vi s th e Axis. Danish insistenc e tha t th e Jews i n thei r countr y wer e Dane s an d tha t the y woul d not accep t separatio n le d t o th e no w famou s rescu e o f th e Jews o f Denmark . Th e Danes' solidarit y wa s remarkable , thu s assurin g tha t n o individua l rescue r woul d be punishe d b y a fellow citizen . Further , th e Nazi s wer e reluctan t t o attemp t t o punish a n entir e nation . Thi s i s i n contras t t o suc h countrie s a s Poland , wher e saving a Jew coul d brin g a sentence o f deat h o n th e individual . Equally interestin g i s the Bulgaria n situation . Bulgari a wa s a fa r les s unifie d an d democratic countr y tha n Denmar k bu t Bulgaria' s sens e tha t nativ e Jews wer e als o Bulgarians wa s s o stron g tha t th e governmen t insiste d o n protectin g it s ow n people (i n spit e o f th e fac t tha t th e sam e governmen t abandone d "foreign " Jews in newl y annexe d provinces) . Th e Orthodo x Churc h i n Bulgari a playe d a n important rol e i n th e decisio n t o hel p Jews, which onl y prove s on e mus t avoi d sweeping generalization s abou t th e churche s durin g th e Holocaust . In fact , i n bot h Bulgari a an d Denmark , th e churche s spok e u p i n defens e o f th e Jews. I n othe r countries , France , fo r example , individua l churchme n spok e out agains t wha t wa s happenin g t o th e Jews. Ther e ar e man y area s where th e churches playe d importan t role s i n preventin g th e isolatio n o f th e Jews. I t i s equally true , however , tha t Pop e Piu s XII di d no t spea k u p clearl y an d publicly . We kno w to o tha t th e Slovakia n Churc h activel y supporte d th e mas s murderers . In Belgium , 5 3 percent o f th e Jews evade d deportation , thank s t o a n activ e resistance i n th e undergroun d an d t o th e organize d activitie s o f th e Comit e d e Defense de s Juifs, whic h wa s organize d a s a n offshoo t o f th e underground . Wha t is also strikin g abou t th e connectio n o f Jews an d non-Jew s i s that i n bot h Denmark an d Belgiu m th e undergroun d itsel f ofte n wa s organize d o r wa s brought int o activ e bein g i n respons e t o th e Jewish situation . Just a s th e mas s 12

killing of Jews paved the way for th e mas s killing of others, so the defense o f the Jews paved the way for th e defense o r the resistance of others. Furthering the cycle of deportation an d th e growing organization tha t mad e it possible was the infamou s Wannsee Conference, whic h was convened t o plan th e Final Solution, to make sure i t was done properl y an d to bring together thos e who would carry it out. One of the most chilling dimensions o f the Holocaust is the use of bureaucracy and technology b y the Nazis. As Himmler sai d later , they did not hat e the Jews. The killing was done purely with sangfroid—and tha t was the power of it. When you hat e people, you get furious, you kil l some, and you work off the hatred. But if you can translate murder int o rules, regulations, The Warsaw ghetto.

bureaucracy, technology, i t can go on an d o n an d on . The iron y i s that despit e the fact that the Germans were beginning t o lose the war i n 1943-44 more Jews were being killed i n those years than earlier , when th e Germans were winning. The major killin g of the Jews was done, during the period when th e war was turning against the Nazis, a period whe n resistanc e was up. In hindsight, we now know that the failure o f the Allies to make any attempt t o 13

bomb th e railroa d line s leadin g t o th e deat h camps , thei r failur e t o tr y to hal t th e technology7 of mas s deat h i n place s lik e Auschwitz contribute d t o th e "abandonment o f th e Jews" and t o th e unrelentin g atrocitie s committe d agains t them. Attempt s t o sav e th e Jews i n concentratio n camp s neve r go t seriou s priorit y or seriou s attentio n i n thos e quarter s wher e i t would hav e mad e a significan t difference. Indeed , th e ver y firs t warning s t o th e German s tha t the y would b e held responsibl e afte r th e wa r fo r thei r atrocitie s deliberatel y omitte d mentionin g Jews, eve n thoug h everyon e recognize d tha t Jews wer e th e greates t numbe r o f those bein g murdered . I t coul d b e argue d tha t th e German s too k tha t a s a signal A Polish deportation. "Some killed. Others helped the killers or made believe they didn't know. The large majority was apathetic, uninvolvea] unconcerned, indifferent. .. Only a few had the courage to care." Elie Wiesel.

that the y woul d b e punishe d fo r atrocitie s agains t non-Jewis h civilians , bu t no t fo r those agains t th e Jewish civilians . The Allies ' failur e t o confron t th e uniquenes s o f Jewish destin y i n th e Holocaus t was a majo r facto r i n th e successfu l killin g o f th e si x millio n Jews. When th e Jews of America begge d th e Allie s t o bom b Auschwitz , the y wer e refuse d outright . They wer e tol d tha t i t was a war t o "mak e th e worl d saf e fo r democracy. " On e could no t as k fo r a guarantee o f a particular fat e fo r th e Jews.

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Several times during the summer o f 1944, when th e Germans were a t the peak of their killing of the Jews, they decided the y were spending to o much mone y on their killing. The gas they were using , Zyklon B, was very expensive; therefor e the Nazis decided tha t the supply of gas they were usin g to kill Jews was to be cut in half. They saved half the money while doubling the time it took for a Jew to die of strangulation i n the gas chambers. In the end, they even decide d t o burn Jewish childre n i n the camps alive rather tha n waste money on gas. During all the time that this was going on, bombers were flying over Auschwitz on thei r way to bomb the nearby l.G . Farben syntheti c rubbe r plant , known a s Buna. That was an importan t war target, a priority, but the camps were not . During the two years when th e tide of war was changing, the murderers gave priority to killing Jews and some non-Jew s in the camps. We know, for example , that German troo p trains were shunted aside , and train s full o f Jews were sent through. One of the great all-time technological achievements—th e mas s murde r of totally innocent people—wen t o n unchecked ; a war that was being fought t o save democracy i n general betraye d th e mos t fundamental responsibilitie s of humanity and democracy . It is only against this backdrop of horror that one can appreciate the enormou s force brough t t o bear against the Righteou s Rescuers, the enormous risk s that they took, and the variation i n those risks . In recognizing thei r achievement , we must also be aware that failure t o help those who were endangered rest s not only on those who were righ t there and did nothin g to hinder th e Nazis but also on thos e who, possessing th e power t o help on a great scale, found othe r priorities and other responsibilities .

Irving Greenberg, a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, is a well-known scholar, writer, and lecturer. He is President of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership in New York City.

15

ODETTE MEYERS FRANCE

My parent s emigrate d fro m Polan d t o France . Although the y were quit e poor, working-class people , the y wer e politicall y conscious, having lef t Polan d fo r political reason s i n th e lat e 1920s . As an onl y child, I was fusse d ove r a great dea l by m y parents an d others . I remember tha t lif e seeme d ver y bus y an d cheerful . There wer e man y friend s wh o woul d com e t o visit m y parent s an d lot s of picnicking. I t was a good life , unti l th e wa r started . My fathe r joine d th e arm y i n 1939 . Almos t immediately , he becam e a prisoner of war. M y mother an d I live d i n a n apartmen t i n Pari s where sh e wa s a n active member o f the resistance . Things were ver y dangerous . In th e beginnin g o f the occupatio n o f Paris, the Germa n soldier s offere d th e children cand y an d chocolate , and the y trie d t o b e friend s wit h us . Bu t we children wer e tol d tha t th e cand y wa s poisonous . I knew i t was tru e becaus e people wer e disappearin g i n m y world. The y were eithe r leavin g the country , o r they wer e bein g deported , o r the y were take n t o a camp. I found th e soldier s terrifying. Once , whe n I was wearing th e Sta r o f David o n m y coat, I saw som e drunken Germa n soldiers . Of course, we Jews wer e alway s supposed t o sho w our star , bu t I covered min e wit h m y school bag. They came close—they were laughing—and I felt fro m the m a great sens e o f brutality an d danger . Fo r some reason, the y too k a n ol d Jewish woman wh o wa s walkin g behin d me , and the y dragged he r b y the hair . I don't kno w why—perhap s becaus e they were drunk , but 1 remember distinctl y that I was terrified . On July 16 , 1942, th e Nazi s struck, an d 1 3 thousand stateles s Jews i n Pari s were rounded u p b y the Frenc h police and take n int o a stadium calle d the Velodrome d'Hiver. Thousand s o f people wer e take n int o th e sport s stadium . Whe n the y tried t o roun d u p wome n wit h thei r children , som e o f the wome n jumpe d ou t of their windows . Ther e were 5 1 suicides of that kind . Mother s jumped ou t of windows wit h thei r childre n rathe r tha n b e take n b y the police , who too k everyone, ever y Jew: wome n i n labor , old people , dyin g people—the y actuall y took som e dea d bodies . Everyone. Men without familie s were sen t directl y t o

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Drancy, while thousands of others, mostly women an d children, babies, old people, the dying, and so on, were sent to the Velodrome. They were kept there for seve n days . Later, they were sent t o detention camp s like Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande. Still later, these Jews were sent further eas t to Auschwitz and Birkenau. Among the 13 thousand Jews arrested i n Pari s in July 1942 were 4,051 children. I f it had no t been fo r th e woman who saved me , I would hav e been number 4,052 . The concierge of our hous e was a woman name d Mari e Chotel, whom everyon e in the neighborhood love d and affectionately calle d "Madam e Marie." She lived downstairs from us . There was a kind of corridor betwee n he r apartmen t an d the front door . One day, at about five o'clock i n the morning , she ran up , yanked us out of bed and said, "They are coming for you!" She threw us quickly into her apartment an d put us , my mother and me , into a broom close t and close d the door. When we had gotten ou t of bed, we had grabbed clothin g that had the yellow star on it . So while we were i n the closet standing up , my mother, fo r some reason, was trying to unstitch th e star. The search team came in, and Madame Marie immediately, with all her peasan t shrewdness, put on a terrific ac t of being the stereotypical concierge , like the one on postcards and in stories: the local gossip, the perfect Frenc h anti-Semite . When sh e greeted th e search tea m she said, "How wonderful tha t you ar e clearing France of all Jews. I'm s o honored tha t you hav e come here. Please have a glass of wine," and so on. They kept asking for us , and sh e exclaimed, "Oh , those Jews. You know how they are. They live in poor place s like this, but the y all have money. They have gone off to their country home. I can't afford it . But they certainly can." She carried on and on tha t way, and they believed her . She kept pourin g the m mor e wine. At a certain point , one of them got suspicious and said, "You know, lady, if you're not telling the truth, i f they are being hidden somewhere , you'll suffe r th e same fate." They wanted t o go and see the apartment. She said, "Oh, my God, you wouldn't want to see their apartment. You know how Jews are; they're absolutely filthy. French people are very clean. The Germans are very clean. But the Jews, especially the ones from Poland , they Ye so dirty." She went on an d on. She poured mor e wine, and they stayed put. They didn't go int o our apartment . In the meantime, of course, standing there, I had tw o feelings. On e was, "How can she say such terrible things about Jews or abou t us ? My mother i s a good housekeeper, everythin g is clean." On th e other hand , my real, strong feelin g was, "I am safe." If Madame Marie is taking care of things, she i s taking care of things. She had this conviction tha t I was her charge , and she was going to 19

Odette Meyers was only seven years old when the Nazis rounded up the French Jews in Paris.

protect me . S o I figured tha t sh e wa s doin g wha t sh e ha d t o do .

Odette Meyers with her mother, a woman active in the Resistance. Her father was a prisoner of war.

Madame Marie s husband , wh o wa s calle d "Monsieu r Henri " b y everyone , was a member o f th e underground . H e wa s fetche d fro m hi s jo b an d h e cam e immediately. Monsieu r Henr i wa s a bi g man . I was quit e small , only seven . We walked outside . There wer e Germa n soldier s everywhere . I remember that . H e held m y hand . I was trembling . M y hand wa s shaking . I remember tha t ther e were truck s ful l o f Jews bein g rounde d up , and h e tol d me , "Remember , loo k a t your fee t an d kee p o n walking. " I t was lik e th e refrai n t o childre n fro m th e whole occupie d Paris , "If anyon e call s you don' t answer . Don' t loo k up . Don' t answer." S o we walke d lik e that . Nobod y called . And I looke d a t m y fee t a s w e walked. W e reache d th e subwa y entrance , an d I remembe r a wonderful sens e o f safety a s I went dow n int o th e subway . I was saved , an d hidde n b y Catholics , because thi s ma n too k m e t o safety . The subwa y statio n wa s almos t deserted , an d w e ha d t o wait fo r a metro , a subway train , t o tak e u s t o th e railwa y station . Ther e w e me t wit h othe r childre n and a gentile woma n wh o wa s t o accompan y u s t o ou r hidin g plac e i n th e country. I t was prearrange d b y the Resistance . I t was a liaiso n betwee n th e Jewish women i n th e Resistanc e an d th e Catholic s i n th e Resistance . I ended u p i n a Catholic villag e fo r th e duratio n o f th e occupation . If I had no t bee n save d b y this ma n an d woma n I know precisel y wha t m y fat e would hav e been . I would hav e ende d u p i n th e ga s chambe r a t Birkenau . All th e children wh o wer e take n tha t day—an d 9 5 percen t o f th e Jewish childre n i n Pari s were take n tha t day—perished . Onl y 5 percent wer e saved . Th e childre n wer e al l taken int o th e ga s chambe r a t Birkenau . Non e survived , s o m y fate i s very clear. I know fo r certai n tha t helpin g me , getting m e int o hidin g wa s a questio n o f savin g my life . Tha t i s absolutely clear . Madame Mari e ha d a very simpl e philosophy . W e were Jewish an d sh e di d no t want t o impos e he r religio n o n us , but sh e tol d m e a story. "Th e hear t i s lik e a n apartment," sh e said , "an d i f it s mess y an d ther e i s nothin g t o offer , n o foo d o r drink t o offer guests , nobod y wil l wan t t o come . Bu t i f it's clea n an d duste d every 7 day, and i f it' s prett y an d ther e ar e flower s an d foo d an d drin k fo r guests , peopl e wiil wan t t o com e an d the y will wan t t o sta y fo r dinner . An d i f it' s super nice , God himsel f wil l wan t t o come. " That wa s it . Whenever I would d o somethin g wrong , sh e woul d pu t m e o n a high stoo l facing th e wall , an d sh e would sa y to me , " I think you hav e som e housewor k t o do." I t was m y busines s t o figur e ou t ho w I had messe d u p m y hear t i n som e way. I had t o get a broom an d dus t pa n an d ge t t o work . Tha t wa s he r philosophy an d wha t sh e taugh t me . I t ha s bee n importan t al l throug h m y life . 20

She was so important t o me that even he r name , "Marie," meant a great deal to me. When I was living in the Catholic village and had to pass as a Catholic, it was all very bewildering t o me; I had so much t o learn. I found ou t tha t the peasants in that village affectionately calle d the Virgin Mary, "Madame Marie." It was then that I knew that I would b e safe. I figured, "I f they have one— a "Madame Marie"—here, then I' m OK!" During the war Madame Marie helped i n all kinds of ways. For anyone who was connected with m e and m y family she was a protector. Sh e protected m y parents and everyone who knew my parents. After a while, there got to be quite a few "Madame Marie," the concierge in Odette Meyer's apartment building. She awoke Odette and her mother in the early morning to warn them the Nazi search teams had come for them. She hid them in a broom closet in her apartment, and convinced the Germans the family had gone to their country home.

people, partisans and Jews, in our apartmen t when i t was vacant, as it was during the war and while we were i n hiding; Madame Marie used i t for other s as a refuge. Sh e used i t at her discretion, which was always correct. After th e war, when we came back to our apartment , we found tha t our nextdoor neighbo r was gone. While we were livin g in the apartment, we worried that this young woman woul d endange r ou r safety . She was one of those who was a mistress to a German officer , an d so i t was dangerous when m y mother was talking to people i n the Resistance or havin g people come over . When we came back and she was not there, my mother s first question was , "What happened t o our neighbor ? Did they take her an d shave her head? " They were doing such things to women wh o were with Nazis.

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Madame Marie exclaimed, "Oh no , they didn't. They wouldn't dar e to touch her . I took care of her; she's safe. She wasn't the one who caused the war. She was a poor young woman who dreamed o f having pretty clothes and being taken to the opera b y a soldier i n uniform. Sh e didn't caus e the war. It wasn't her fault. She's OK. Don't you worry." That was her attitude. Always there i s the question o f why: Why did the rescuers do it? The rescuers usually say, "It was nothing. Why all the fuss? I t was the natural thing. " I believe them. Madame Marie also had that feeling. I really think that for her , as for others , it was absolutely the natural thing. The reason i s that even though mos t of them were so-called "simpl e people," with littl e education, they were really the most advanced for m o f human beings . They were, in a sense, "geniuses." One of the things that geniuses often do , researchers tel l us, is break rules ; they break all the rules. I would say that one of the things that saved me was the fact that i n thought and action, even i n her life-style , this woman brok e rules , yet she was a genius at humanity. She was not just a "Righteous Gentile." She was a good person, perhaps one even coul d say , in an evolutionary sense, an advanced human being .

Monsieur Henri was summoned from his job to take Odette Meyers to the metro. German soldiers were everywhere, andM. Henri told her "Look at your feet and keep on walking. If anyone calls you, don't look up, don't answer."

Madame Marie's background an d lif e were quite unconventional. Sh e was born to an unwed mothe r i n the village of Vanifosse i n Lorraine; she didn't hav e much of a formal education . She started i n life, at a very young age, as a chambermaid in a home, then sh e worked a s a waitress, and she ended u p being a concierge. She was the concierge i n our apartmen t hous e i n a day when one' s life was at the mercy of the concierge. She was the concierge of four floors. Every tenant was her charge . She was somewhat unconventional . For example, she was living out of wedlock and so was involved i n breaking various law s of the Church. She didn't go to church to o often bu t she lived a good life , nevertheless. She was a kind of rough an d tough, down-to-earth woman, very round, very pleasant, very vigilant, and very protective of her territory . She was not at all sentimental; in fact she was quite the realist. It was very lucky that we came int o her territory . When m y parents came to that apartment, they were the only Jews in the building. She sensed tha t there were anti-Semitic neighbors around them . So, when I was born, perhaps because she was childless and wanted t o have a special bon d with a baby, she simply declared t o all the tenants and everyon e in the world tha t she was my godmother, an d that was that. Although she was a Catholic, the Church ha d nothin g to do with it . She functioned, somehow , outside the mainstream , outside the Church. She was my godmother an d she

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didn't le t anyone have any doubt abou t it . No one crosse d her . She simply did not allow a single anti-Semitic act toward m e and m y family o n he r territory . I do think that good people , simple people are muc h mor e complicate d tha n evil people, which i s one reaso n perhap s why we don't bothe r wit h them s o much. Madame Marie is not, I think, atypical of rescuers. A lot of people who helpe d the Jews, who took the risk, were so-called simple people. One theor y I have is that because they were not so literate or formall y educated , they had to do their own thinking at all times. They didn't follo w what was u taught" them; they figure d out everything for themselves . They had to think through everything . I think her story about ho w the heart i s like an apartment an d ho w you hav e to clean it everyday gives a sense of that. One mus t liv e and consider an d reconside r al l die time. She would say , "I think tha t values are your responsibility , they're not something given fro m th e outside." I think people like her d o more of their ow n dee p thinking, and mak e their own decisions becaus e they are mor e outside of that part of society that mold s everyone the same way. I think Madam e Marie thought with he r heart , that was the importan t thing . And maybe that's why she did what she did for u s and fo r many other peopl e connected wit h us. Her principle s cam e from makin g decisions according to her heart , her conscience , her ow n mind . I n every single situation, each time , she did what she had told m e to do: to do a dusting and a cleaning of my heart every day, to see to i t that everything was all right. She saved no t onl y my life—my physica l life—bu t m y spirit also. There is a Jewish prover b that I love. It says, "If you ar e i n a place where ther e is no human being , be a human being. " I think the business of being a full huma n being takes a lot of energy and a lot of strong thinking, and that you mus t think things through b y yourself, based o n your ow n experience . That's what I learned from Madam e Marie.

Odette Meyers is a survivor of the Holocaust As a child, she was hidden by Catholics and members of the Resistance in France. She now lives in Berkeley, California, where she is a university professor and a poet. She is in the film, "The Courage to Care. "

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Odette Meyers in the Catholic village where she lived during the occupation.

JOHTJE

vos NETHERLANDS

I wa s brough t u p i n a very stric t Christia n home . When m y tw o sister s an d I did something wrong , w e wer e severel y punished. Whe n w e di d somethin g right , w e didn't hea r a word abou t it , because doing righ t wa s considere d a norma l thing . That's why w e stil l don' t thin k wha t w e di d i n th e wa r wa s a big deal . We don' t like t o b e calle d heroes. Eve n the word s "Righteou s Gentile" rub m e a bit th e wrong way . To be honest , I don't fee l ver y "righteous " an d I don't feel ver y "gentile." I wan t t o reflec t a momen t o n th e variou s attitude s tha t peopl e hav e i n th e world , because i t i s a factor tha t w e mus t conside r when w e tal k abou t helpin g Jews during th e Naz i occupatio n o f Holland. Ther e were people , Jewish and non Jewish, wh o helped , an d ther e wer e other s wh o di d no t help . Similarly , there were Jews wh o wante d t o b e helped , an d ther e wer e other s wh o di d no t wan t t o be helped , wh o preferre d t o carr y th e burde n tha t wa s pu t upo n them . I t is important t o kee p thi s i n mind . In Hollan d befor e th e war , a t leas t i n m y experience, there wa s n o anti-Semitism. Children wer e brough t u p wit h toleranc e and respec t fo r others . Certainly , i n my family an d m y husband' s family , we learne d tha t sayin g somethin g unkin d abou t somebody wh o ha d anothe r race , color, creed, nationality , o r whatever , wa s very wrong an d disrespectful . An d s o i t came very naturall y t o u s t o conside r Jews just like us . We thought o f them a s huma n beings , just as we were . I t was jus t as simple a s that . Two question s ar e alway s aske d o f us. On e is , Why did w e hel p Jews during th e war, an d th e othe r is , Would w e d o i t again? Now, to th e las t question, I have a very eas y answer. I don't know . I still work ardentl y fo r whateve r I believe is right. I am o n th e steerin g committe e of the Catskil l Alliance for Peace . I work fo r Meals o n Wheels . 1 wor k t o hel p th e peopl e o f El Salvador. Whatever we thin k i s right, m y husband an d I work fo r an d tr y t o help . Bu t nowadays, I don't hav e t o risk m y lif e a s we di d i n tha t time . So it depends o n circumstances . Why did w e do i t then ?

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Well, my husband an d I never sat down an d discusse d i t or said, "Lets go help some Jews." It happened. I t was a spontaneous reaction , actually. Such things, such responses depend on fate, on th e result of your upbringing, your character , on your general lov e for people , and mos t of all, on your lov e for God . And, I would say, there was also a kind of nonchalance and optimism abou t it . I would say to myself, "Oh, come on, you ca n do that." It also helped very much to have a happy marriage , because when you fee l Aart andjohtje Vos (man pointing and woman to his left), their four children. The dark-haired girl is Moana Hilfman and the man to the far left, Kurt Delmonte, both of whom they hid during the war.

strong at home, you can b e strong for othe r people . A lot of people di d not have these advantages. I ask myself whether I can blame the people who said, "No, I can't do it. " Some of those people live d i n very unhappy homes where they quarreled al l the time and didn't trust each other . People also knew that when the y helped others , they would endange r th e peopl e with whom the y lived, as well as the people they were hiding. Some had family members who were very sick and neede d help . Some people were i n a location where it was absolutely dangerous, say, next door t o "quislings," Dutch Nazis. If you were to know the circumstances of all the people who did no t help, you 25

might b e thankfu l tha t som e o f the m didn' t ge t involved . Som e believe d tha t i t would en d i n disaste r an d failur e fo r them , a s well a s fo r th e peopl e wh o wer e hiding. These peopl e lacke d self-confidenc e which , i n man y instances , blocke d their abilit y t o help . We ha d a civil occupatio n (i t wa s no t ver y civilized , bu t i t was civil) , and othe r countries ha d a militar y occupation . Th e militar y peopl e wer e no t alway s verymuch i n favo r o f Hitle r o r eve n agains t th e Jews. Som e o f the m jus t serve d i n th e army becaus e they ha d bee n drafte d an d ha d t o serv e a s soldiers. The peopl e who occupie d Holland , however—i n th e government—wer e al l Naz i people—al l A hole they dug in their garden for protection in air raids. Pictured here are their four children and Moana Hi If man (second from left).

believers i n wha t Hitle r wa s doing , an d therefore , they wer e muc h mor e fanati c and muc h mor e dangerous . That' s wh y a lo t o f Dutc h peopl e coul d no t d o wha t so man y Dane s did . Some Jewish peopl e als o ha d self-defeatin g attitudes . We onc e wen t t o Amsterdam, t o th e ghetto , where I knew somebody , an d w e addresse d a youn g man, who ha d a young wif e an d on e child , "Com e t o us . We hav e severa l peopl e in ou r hous e an d w e ca n fi t a few more . It' s jus t a questio n o f a fe w mor e mattresses i n th e livin g room . S o why don' t yo u com e t o us ? We will hel p yo u t o get there. " We were member s o f th e undergroun d an d coul d tak e car e o f thei r transportation. An d h e said , "No , I can't d o that. " We said tha t w e didn' t understan d why , an d h e responded , "Becaus e I' m a Jew. This ha s bee n impose d b y God o n ou r people , an d I don't thin k it' s righ t no t t o accept thi s burden . Ther e mus t b e a reaso n fo r al l this . I have t o accep t it , and when I am caugh t an d move d t o German y o r t o a camp, I will accep t i t without resistance."

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And I said, "Well, this is beautiful, courageous , and very high-falutin', bu t how about your child? She's three years old an d she can't judge for herself. " He said, "I have to judge for her. " The happy ending to this story is that we got the child, finally, o n th e last day, about ten minute s before th e family was deported. The child was taken by somebody from th e underground an d brought to us, and she is still like a daughter to us. This is how it happened. After th e Jews were picked up , the Nazis usually brought i n electricians, because th e houses were ofte n pillaged . The electricians came in to prevent fire s by switching off the electricity. One of those electrician s was a Dutchman. I don't kno w who he was, but h e was a hero; he went i n there with the Germans to switch off the electricity, it was just a job he was forced t o do—and h e ended u p rescuin g the child I mentioned. The young Jewish coupl e was there with their child. At the las t moment th e wife said, "We cannot sacrifice ou r chil d fo r ou r principles, " and so the electricia n said, "Okay, give the child to me." The child ha d a broken arm , and i t helped, because the electrician pu t he r on the bac k of his bicycle and said to the Nazis, "I ; have to bring m y child to the doctor." They believed it , and h e was able to bring the child to us. He dropped he r i n our garden an d the n disappeared . I still would lik e to find him one day and thank him. Some people have asked m e whether I was ever afraid. Oh , God, yes! 1 was scared to death. And very near death also. At one point I was in the hands of the Gestapo, my husband was in jail, and th e Nazis were doin g a lot of house searching. We were hidin g 36 people, 32 Jews, and four other s who also were being sought by the Gestapo. We had mad e a tunnel undergroun d fro m ou r house to a nature reservation, and when we got a warning or ha d an inklin g that the village was surrounded, the y all went i n there. They all came through because we had a house i n which we could d o such things. It was not always easy and often w e were frightened, bu t we were able to help a little bit, and we did i t because we believed i t was the right thing to do. And that i s why we were able to help Jewish people durin g the Nazi occupation o f Holland.

Johtje Vos and her husband, Aart, were involved in the underground effort in Holland to help the Jews. They now live in Woodstock, New York. Both were honored by Yad Vashem.

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Moana Hilfman, the little Jewish girl from Amsterdam, whom the Vos family hid during the war.

M^ION

PRflCHARD

NETHERLANDS

On Ma y 10,1940, th e Germa n Arm y invade d th e Netherlands . Th e invasio n wa s a surprise. Durin g Worl d War I the Netherland s ha d manage d t o maintai n it s neutrality, an d w e hope d t o b e abl e to d o tha t again . I was livin g i n Nymegen , close t o th e Germa n borde r an d awok e ver y earl y i n th e mornin g t o th e dron e of numerou s aircraf t flying overhead, an d German s o n motorcycle s lining th e street. I t was clea r that th e plane s wer e no t engage d i n on e o f their regula r raid s on England , bu t tha t w e wer e bein g attacked . I t was a miracl e that th e Dutc h hel d out fo r eve n fiv e days i n vie w of the overwhelmin g militar y superiority o f the enemy. The German s kne w tha t anti-Semitis m would no t b e acceptabl e to th e vas t majority o f the Dutc h people . After th e surrender , th e occupatio n force s institute d a ver y unsubtl e education/propagand a approach , aime d a t convertin g th e genera l population t o th e Naz i ideology . Obviously i t would b e muc h easie r to isolate, and the n roun d u p an d depor t th e Jews i f the majorit y o f the citizen s were i n favor o f this process . I remembe r a film called "The Eternal Jew." I attended i t with a group o f friends, som e fello w students a t th e schoo l of social work, som e Jewish, som e gentile . It was s o crude , s o scurrilous, tha t w e coul d no t believ e anybody woul d tak e i t seriously, or find i t convincing. But the nex t da y on e of the gentile s said tha t sh e wa s ashame d t o admi t tha t th e movi e ha d affecte d her . That althoug h i t strengthened he r resolv e to oppos e th e Germa n regime , the fil m had succeede d i n makin g he r se e th e Jews a s "them. " And that , o f course, was true fo r al l o f us, the German s ha d drive n a wedge i n wha t wa s on e o f the mos t integrated communitie s i n Europe . Gradually th e German s institute d an d carrie d ou t th e necessar y steps t o isolat e and depor t ever y Jew in th e country . The y did i t i n s o man y seemingl y small steps, tha t i t was ver y difficul t t o decid e whe n an d wher e t o tak e a stand. On e of the early , highly significant measure s wa s th e Arya n Attestation: all civil servant s had t o sig n a form statin g whethe r the y were Aryan s or not . Hindsigh t i s easy; at the tim e onl y a fe w enlightene d peopl e recognize d th e dange r an d refuse d t o sign. Then followe d th e othe r measures : Jews ha d t o liv e in certai n designate d

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areas of the towns they lived in, and the curfew was stricter for the m tha n fo r th e general population . Jews over the age of six had to wear yellow stars on thei r clothing; Jewish children coul d no t go to school with gentile children; Jews could not practice their professions , us e public transportation, hir e a taxicab, shop in gentile stores, or go to the beach, the park, the movies, concerts, or museums . The Jewish Committee was instructed b y the Germans t o publish a daily newspaper i n which all these measures were announced, the regular Dutch press was not allowed to print anything about Jewish affairs . And in 1942 the deportations started i n earnest. One mornin g on m y way to schcx)l I passed b y a small Jewish children' s home . The Germans were loading the children, who ranged i n age from babie s to eight-year-olds, on trucks. They were upset, and crying. When they did no t mov e fast enough th e Nazis picked them up , by an arm, a leg, the hair, and thre w them into the trucks. To watch grown me n trea t small children tha t way—I could no t believe m y eyes. I found mysel f literall y crying with rage . Two women comin g down the street trie d to interfer e physically . The Germans heave d the m int o the truck, too. I just sat there on m y bicycle, and tha t was the moment I decided that if there was anything I could d o to thwart such atrocities, I would d o it. Some of my friends ha d similar experiences, and abou t te n o f us, including two Jewish students who decided the y did no t want to go int o hiding, organized very informally fo r thi s purpose. We obtained Aryan identit y cards for th e Jewish students, who, of course, were takin g more of a risk than we were. They knew many people who were lookin g to onderduiken, "disappear, " as Anne Frank and her family were to do. We located hiding places, helped peopl e mov e there, provided food , clothing , and ratio n cards , and sometimes mora l support an d relie f fo r th e host families . We registered newbor n Jewish babie s as gentiles (of course there were very few births during thes e years) and provide d medica l car e when possible . Then I was asked by two men I knew well—one of whom ha d become a leader in the Dutch Resistanc e Movement—to find a place for a friend o f theirs, a man with three small children, aged four, two , and two weeks. I could no t find an appropriate place and move d out int o part o f a large house i n the country, about twenty miles east of Amsterdam, that belonged t o an elderly lad y who was a very close friend o f my parents. The father, th e two boys, and th e baby girl move d i n and we managed t o survive the next tw o years, until the end o f the war. Friends helped tak e up the floorboards, under th e rug , and build a hiding plac e in case of raids. These did occur with increasin g frequency, an d on e nigh t we had a very narrow escape.

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Marion Pritchard. "It did not occur to me," she said, "to do anything other than I did... / think you have a responsibility to yourself to behave decently. We all have memories of times we should have done something and didn't. And it gets in the way the rest of your life."

Four Germans, accompanied b y a Dutch Nazi policeman cam e and searched th e house. They did not find th e hiding place, but they had learne d fro m experienc e that sometimes i t paid to go back to a house they had already searched, because by then th e hidden Jews might have come out of the hiding place. The baby had started to cry, so I let the children out . Then the Dutch policeman cam e back alone. I had a small revolve r that a friend ha d given me , but I had neve r planned to use it. I felt I had n o choice except t o kill him. I would d o i t again, under the same circumstances, but i t still bother s me , and I still feel tha t there "should " have been anothe r way. If anybody had reall y tried t o find ou t ho w and where A street in the Jewish ghetto of Amsterdam.

he disappeared, the y could have , but the general attitud e was that there was one traitor les s to worry about. A local undertake r helpe d dispos e of the body, he put it in a coffin wit h a legitimate body i n it. I hope that the dead man' s family would have approved . Was I scared? Of course the answer i s "yes." Especially after 1 ha d been imprisoned an d released . There were times that the fear got the better of me, and I did no t do something tha t I could have . I would rationaliz e the inaction, feeling i t might endanger others , or that I should no t ru n a risk, because what would happe n t o the three children I was now responsible for, i f something happened t o me, but 1 kne w when I was rationalizing. People often ask , Why did I decide to do what I did? 30

Let me digress for a moment. Som e have explored thi s question, why did some gentiles act, while others stood by . I have been trouble d b y the tendency 7 to divide the general populatio n durin g th e war int o the few "good guys" and th e large majority o f "bad guys." That seems to me a dangerous oversimplification . Let me give you two examples, one involvin g a Dutch family , an d on e involvin g German soldiers. At one point I had to take a Jewish bab y to the northeast pa n o f Holland. A good home ha d bee n located , and I had bee n assure d tha t the people ther e would no t A school for Jewish children in Amsterdam.

change their minds . It was a long, arduous trip, the baby was fretful, an d I was exhausted. When I arrived a t the station, and foun d th e ma n I had bee n instructed t o look for, h e told m e that the house was not available anymore. The family had bee n betrayed , and arrested. We must hav e looked very pathetic, because my informant, wh o initially just seemed anxiou s to get ri d of us, invited me to come with hi m and res t a while. He even though t hi s wife migh t have some mil k for th e baby. He led m e to a small hous e at the end o f the village. It was warm i n the house (a great luxur y i n those days) but the y were clearly people of very moderate financia l circumstances . I sat down, and immediatel y fel l asleep. When I woke up the woman ha d changed, fed , and soothed th e bab y and was explaining to her four o r five children tha t they should pra y for m e because

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I was a sinner, that I had had this baby out of wedlock, and that my punishment was that they were going to keep the baby, and I would neve r see i t again. The husband walked m e back to the station, and apologized, bu t explained tha t if curious villagers were to ask the children question s about thi s new baby in the family, they would b e able to tell a convincing story. Why did the y respond? There were many Dutch who sheltered Jews out of their unshakable conviction tha t this was the Christian thin g to do and what God would want. This was a family who responded fo r tha t reason . I have heard this view expressed b y other Dutc h people.

Mr. Pollak, with two of his children, the family that Marion Pritchard hid in the house outside Amsterdam.

Another exampl e involve s some German soldiers . During the winter of 1944-45, food wa s extremely scarce i n the west, and thousands of women an d children, and a few men trudge d t o the farms i n Groningen an d Frieslan d t o buy or barter or be g some flour, potatoes , or even butte r and bacon. I made the trip with my bicycle (by this time without tires), took my flute, and some of the family silver, and was able to obtain what seemed lik e a wonderful suppl y of food. The Germans were constantly patrolling the roads, but the main danger poin t was near Zwolle, where one had to cross a wide river, the Ijssel. There were always many rumors among the people on the road: when i t might be safe to cross the bridge, where a rowboat migh t be located, and ho w much would b e charged to be taken across, etc. That night the story was that it would probabl y b e safe to cross an hour befor e curfe w time . About 40 of us approached th e bridge, but we were stopped, searched, and arrested b y German soldier s who took us to a building they were usin g as a command post . We were told that the food was confiscated, bu t that we would b e allowed to leave the next morning. I had reached th e point where I did no t care what happened, threw all caution to the winds, and vented th e accumulated rag e of the previous four years. In spite of attempts of the other peopl e to stop me (they were concerned fo r my safety), I told the soldiers what I thought o f the war, the Germans i n general, Hitler i n particular, and the concentration camps . They did no t respon d a t all. The next mornin g two of them marche d m e outside and I did no t know what to expect. But they returned m y bicycle and my supplies, put me on a truck, and drove me over the bridge. Why? I don't know . We did no t talk. But they took a risk, an enormous risk . They had some basic decency left . The point I want to mak e is that there were indee d som e people who behaved criminally by betraying their Jewish neighbor s an d thereby sentencing them to death. There were some people who dedicated themselve s to actively rescuing as

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many people as possible. Somewhere i n between was the majority, whose actions varied fro m th e minimum decenc y of at least keeping quiet i f they knew where Jews were hidde n t o finding a way to help them when the y were asked. It did no t occur t o me to do anything other tha n I did. After wha t I had see n outside that children's home, I could no t hav e done anything else. I think you have a responsibility t o yourself t o behave decently. We all have memories of times we should hav e done something and didn't. And it gets i n the way the rest of your life . Now, in retrospect, an d after readin g Alice Miller's excellent book , For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Childrearing and the Roots of Violence (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1983), I believe that courage, integrity, and a capacity for lov e are neithe r virtues, nor mora l categories, but a consequence o f a benign fate, i n my own case, parents who listened t o me, let me talk, and encouraged i n every way the development o f my own authentic self. It may be redundant t o add that they never use d corpora l punishmen t i n any form. Bein g brought u p in the Anglican Churc h was a positive experience for m e and imbue d m e early on with a strong conviction tha t we are our brothers ' keepers. When you trul y believe that, you have to behave that way in order t o be able to live with yourself.

Marion P. van Binsbergen Pritchard was honored by Yad Vashem in 1983 for helping Jews during the occupation of Holland. After the war, she moved to the United States and now lives in Vermont. She is a psychoanalyst, and is in the film, "The Courage to Care."

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Lex and Tom Pollak in a photograph taken during the war.

MAX ROTHSCHILD wmmmmwmmmm

NETHERLANDS

I was bor n i n Germany . A s a youth, I was activ e i n th e movemen t calle d i n Holland "Palestin e Pioneers, " young peopl e wh o traine d t o go t o wha t wa s the n Palestine a s builders an d workers . We young Germa n Jews wer e pu t int o th e concentratio n cam p Buchenwal d i n 1938. We were liberate d fro m Buchenwal d throug h th e grac e o f th e Dutc h Queen Wilhelmina , wh o admitte d abou t tw o hundre d boy s an d girl s int o Holland, o n th e conditio n tha t the y would wor k wit h farmer s fo r furthe r training . Shortly afterwards , o f course , th e Nazi s invade d Holland , an d w e wer e caugh t again. The questio n tha t face d u s i n th e summe r o f 194 2 was whether o r no t w e shoul d go int o hiding . I t was no t a simple question . We were young . We were strong . We felt tha t w e coul d hol d ou t bette r tha n others . We ha d goo d contact s throug h our work—wit h farmers , wit h workers , with th e non-Jewis h populatio n i n Holland. Bu t we sa w that al l th e Jewish peopl e wer e bein g take n away . Many of us were tor n becaus e w e fel t tha t i t was ou r dut y t o go int o th e camp s an d hel p the olde r people , t o hel p the m kee p u p thei r morale , t o sustai n them , t o stay with them . Thi s i s a poin t no t ofte n discussed . There wer e nurse s fro m ou r ow n grou p wh o wer e i n charg e o f Jewish menta l patients wh o wer e amon g th e first t o b e take n away . These lovel y young girl s di d not wan t t o leav e thei r charges . They wen t wit h the m t o th e concentratio n camp , and the y wer e th e first one s t o di e i n th e ga s chambers . I feel tha t thes e wome n are th e rea l heroe s o f th e war , an d I have alway s wanted a n opportunit y t o pu t this o n th e record , becaus e s o littl e ha s bee n sai d abou t it . Why were w e facin g a dilemma abou t whethe r o r no t t o g o int o hiding ? I want to poin t a n accusin g finger a t th e Allies. We live d b y th e radi o report s fro m th e BBC, the clandestin e radio . We fe d o n thos e reports , da y b y day . We looke d t o them fo r guidance . What woul d the y tel l us ? What instruction s woul d the y give us?

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In the summer of 1942, I remember distinctly , they had onl y a few, inan e programs about Shakespear e and God knows what else. All that they said about the Nazis was that the war would b e over i n two or thre e weeks because Germany was on th e verge of collapse. People who remember thos e times will probably confirm wha t I have to say. As a result of these optimistic projections , many of us said, "Well, another tw o or thre e weeks. Look, if we stuck it out in Buchenwald fo r fou r week s or fou r months , we can stick it out her e fo r anothe r two or three weeks." There were notice s that read, "You are hereby ordered t o present yourself for harves t help at such and such a time and at such and such a station." We said to each other, "Let's go with them; let's help with the harvest." I, myself, was not smart enough t o make the decision t o go into hiding and join the underground. I f it hadn't bee n fo r m y good wife, who didn't trus t th e Nazis, and others who convinced m e to go underground, I would mos t likely not b e alive today. So with other young Jews, I went int o hiding. We were helped , and we went from plac e to place. We finally ende d u p i n Rotterdam an d were liberated there , after havin g done a few things in the underground ourselves . What motivated those people who helped Jews, and who were they? I shall perhaps mentio n tha t I am a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary , that I am a believer, that I am religious . It has influenced ho w I think about al l these things. Some of the people that helped ou r peopl e were social democrats; some were religious socialists under th e influenc e o f a lady poet—a wonderful woma n named Henriett a Rolan d Hoist who wrote a beautiful poe m abou t the suffering o f the Jews, a poem tha t was spread fro m han d t o hand i n the underground. Other s were pacifists. The friends wh o saved us , my wife an d me , were pacifist s an d were among those who had bee n jaile d before th e war because they had refuse d to serve in the Dutch Colonial Army. For many years, we have asked ourselves what move d the m t o become rescuers . Why did they risk their lives ? Why did they hide us? Why did the y share their last morsel of food wit h us? Why did they go through thos e man y days and weeks and month s of anxiety—of fear , every second o f the day, that they might b e betrayed, that they might be killed? I must tell you tha t man y of them los t their lives. I asked one of them, a man who saved 27 Jews himself, and who now lives in a trailer camp in Canada, why he did it. He is a simple man; he was a gardener durin g the war. I said, "Willem, why did you d o it?"

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He said , "Wha t d o yo u mean , why di d I do it ? I let nobod y ste p o n m y toes . And I don' t le t anybod y ste p o n anybod y else' s toes . 1 have n o philosophy . I don't belong t o a church . Bu t whe n I see injustic e done , I do somethin g abou t it. " The peopl e wh o helpe d u s were, perhaps , o f a mor e sophisticate d kind . The y were motivate d b y th e philosoph y o f pacificism . Fo r the m i t was a for m o f passive resistance—nonviolen t resistance , i f you will . They belonge d t o a On May 10, 1940, the Germans invaded Holland.

movement i n Hollan d tha t wa s activ e i n settlemen t houses . Man y of the m wer e religious, bu t th e emphasi s wa s o n practice , o n practica l work—wor k wit h th e undeqxivileged, educationa l work , an d s o on . In th e fal l o f 1943 , m y friend , Nie k Schouten , th e on e wh o saved m y wife an d m e (he wa s th e directo r o f th e Schoo l o f Socia l Wor k i n Rotterda m fo r man y years), dressed himsel f an d a frien d a s Gestap o agents . They went o n thos e bicycle s wit h rubber wheel s fro m hous e t o hous e i n a street i n Rotterda m wher e Jews wer e

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living, and they said, "We are from th e Gestapo, and we have to pick up the children." Then they put the children o n the back of their bicycle s and prepare d to save them. There was one little Jewish boy , a smarty. He said, "I know that you are not fro m th e Gestapo." And they said, "Will you shut up, or else!" In this way they were able to save those children an d man y of us. We have kept a very close friendship wit h thos e people who saved us. Actually, they named one of their children afte r m y wife. They come here. We go there. We have spent all our vacations together with them. Some members o f our family are Israelis, so we spend a great dea l o f time in Israel. We have been thei r host i n Israel man y times. Most of these rescuers consistently hav e refused t o be honored . They cannot understand wh y they should b e quoted, or cited , or given anything like a distinction o f some kind or other . They want to forget abou t what they did during the war and just go on, being our friends an d livin g the way they have always lived. That is their great beauty .

Max Rothschild is a German survivor of the Holocaust. He was aided in his escape from the Gestapo by the Dutch underground. He and his wife now live in New Jersey.

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POLAND

HERMANN GRAEBE MARIA BOBRO/V HERMANN GRAEBE Hermann Graebe : I am a n enginee r b y profession. I n th e lat e 1930 s an d during the war , I worked fo r th e Josef Jung constructio n firm o f Solingen, Germany , doing mostl y housin g project s bu t also , after Septembe r 1939 , buildin g bunker s on th e fortificatio n lin e on Germany' s wester n borde r ("Wes t Wair). Th e fortification constructio n wa s don e unde r th e genera l directio n o f the Organization Todt . This organization recognize d tha t I had a talent fo r organizin g an d supervising people , s o when German y invade d Russi a on June 22 , 1941,1 received a telegram fro m th e Berli n offic e o f the Tod t organizatio n instructin g m e to repor t t o th e office s o f the Reic h Railroa d Administration i n Lvov . Because Ma x Jung ha d persuade d m e t o remai n unde r contrac t t o th e Jung firm , I agreed t o try t o obtai n railroa d contract s fo r th e compan y whil e I was i n th e Ukraine . I arrive d i n Sdolbono v in Septembe r 1941 , wher e I was t o ope n a n offic e an d establish regiona l headquarter s fo r th e Jung firm. I needed man y peopl e wit h different skill s for work : engineers , draftsmen, laborers , an d s o forth . I needed a secretary wh o coul d spea k Polish , Russian, and Ukrainia n a s well a s German . Fortunately, I was abl e to hir e a helpfu l an d cooperativ e secretary who spok e th e four o r fiv e languages—Easter n Europea n languages—tha t I could no t speak . He r name wa s Mari a Warchiwker (Bobrow) . Sh e was Jewish, an d sh e tol d m e tha t he r husband, alon g with 15 0 or 20 0 other Jewish men, ha d bee n kille d b y an S.S. Einsatzgruppen (mobil e killing unit) abou t fou r t o si x weeks earlier. Maria Bobrow : A t the beginnin g o f the war , I was a young woma n i n Polan d with a young husband . Becaus e I was Jewish, we trie d t o ge t awa y when w e knew tha t th e German s wer e coming . But runnin g awa y didn't d o u s muc h good , because a t th e tim e th e German s invade d Russia , we wer e livin g i n a small tow n near th e border . W e knew tha t i t was goin g t o b e bad , bu t w e didn' t realiz e ho w bad i t was goin g t o become . Five weeks afte r th e Nazi s came, my husban d wa s taken an d kille d wit h abou t 25 0 other Jewish men . H e simpl y was take n fro m th e house, pu t int o jail , gathered wit h th e other s aroun d a tremendou s pit , shot , an d buried. I was stunned . I was i n shock . I was alon e an d I didn't car e too muc h 38 about anything .

A few weeks later I got an order fro m th e Labor Office t o report t o work at a place near me. It was obligatory for al l women fro m 1 6 to 65 to work. I gave in my application whic h said that I knew several languages, among them German . Right away, I was sent to a German fir m wher e Herr Graebe was director. Because I spoke German, he called me int o his office an d asked m e if I could translate documents. I said, "Yes, I can do it." He gave me some technical translations, which I did, and then I started t o work there. I worked with another translator , a Polish woman name d Claire , in a very small room. Graebe's desk was on one side, his bed o n th e other side. There were lots of papers on the floor, and there was a telephone i n the room. That was all. Both the Polish woman an d I were Jews, and we both wore yellow patches: one yellow one on the front an d one yellow one on th e back. Herr Graebe was different. H e asked m e why I was not teaching i n a school (I had been a teacher before th e war). I didn't lik e those questions. I didn't lik e his behavior—which actuall y seemed normal—becaus e u p until this time, no German acte d norma l toward u s Jews. We expected yelling, throwing out, pushing, and shoving. One day I came to the office an d found a man cleaning there. He told me that in an adjoining city , Rovno, which was a bigger city, there ha d been a n "action," as it was called. In one night, the Germans had kille d around 5,00 0 people, mostly women, children, and elderly . The news had come to him throug h th e milkman. The cleaning man also told m e that something strange had happene d the night before, and he told m e this story. A carpenter name d Fran z Rosenzweig, who worked fo r Her r Graebe , had com e in the evening and demanded t o see him. Herr Graebe like d this man very much because he always did good work for hi m at a time when i t was difficult t o get good workers. The carpenter sai d that his wife and child and he r parent s were in Rovno. He had heard tha t the Germans were going to take some of the Jews out of the city and that they were going to be deponed. H e wanted t o go to Rovno to be with them, but he needed a permission car d because Jews were no t allowed to leave the city without one. He said that he would go by foot s o that he could get to Rovno to join his wife and her family . Herr Graebe said to him, "Where are they going to be transported? What do you want to go for? You're my best carpenter. I t is very hard t o get people who know how to do the things that you can do. Why do you want to go? I'll go to Rovno, and I'l l pick up your wife and child. Then you ca n all live here becaus e you have a work permit."

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Well, this carpenter was delighted. Herr Graebe got one of the company cars and went to Rovno. He arrived there around nin e or te n o'clock, bu t couldn't get into the city because the soldiers had it sealed off. Althoug h he tried everything, he was not able to get int o the city, but he could hear the screams of the people and hea r the shots of the Einsatzgruppen. That night he drove back to his office , and the next morning he tried agai n to get int o Rovno, but he again was kept out. When I came to work that morning—by no w he was back in his office—h e started to yell at me. "Why didn't you tell me?" Herr Graebe screamed. I said, "Tell you what?" He said, "Why didn't you tell m e that they were killing Jews?" And I said to him, "I told you that they killed m y husband." Graebe said, "Yes, but I didn't believ e you when you told me . Now I believe it , because I tried last night to get int o Rovno and I couldn't becaus e they were killing the Jews." Of course, I had n o answer to that, but I remember tha t he was so outraged tha t he stormed ou t of the room an d slammed th e door. As much as I didn't hav e any feelings sinc e my husband was killed by the Germans, I was afraid fo r m y life. And Claire, too, the other translator was afraid. The next day, when I came to work, Herr Graebe came into the office, close d the door, sat down, and said very calmly, as if the previous day had never existed, that he had been thinkin g the whole night about what had happene d an d what he had seen, and he believed tha t he must do something about it . But he could not do it alone because he did not know the language, so would we help him? To be honest , 1 didn' t think that I would eve r again have emotions, but at that point, I think that I saw the light , and so I said, "OK, I will help you." Hermann Graebe : Throug h what she told me , what others said also, and what I saw myself, I came to realize and t o admit what was happening. So I kept saying to myself, "No more for me . I am from Germa n parents , born i n Germany. Why should I participate here i n such things? Not me, As much as I can, I will continue to object t o that." That was in November 1941. Then o n Octobe r 5,1942 , I was an unwilling witness of the massacre in Dubno. I was there because I had a railroad facilit y t o build, and very close to one of our sites was where the "action" took place. My Dubno statement ha s been printe d many times, in many languages, so I shall only tell you briefly abou t m y most vivid memory of what I saw happen. The soldiers made the people undress . Two men instructe d them , "Underwear here ; shoes over there; outer clothe s there." The prisoners, including men, women an d children, did i t without crying, without an objection . One of the most terrible things I remember seeing—an d tha t I have reported before—was a father, perhap s i n his fifties, wit h his boy, about as old as my son,

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Friedel, was at that time—maybe te n years old—beside him . They were naked, completely naked , waiting for thei r turn t o go into the pit. The boy was crying, and the father was stroking his head. The older ma n pointe d t o the sky and talked quietly to the young boy. They went on speaking like that for a while—I could not hear what they said becaus e they were too far away from me—an d then i t was their turn. There were other member s of the family there, too—the man' s wife and an older woman, a white-haired lad y who was maybe the grandmother. Sh e was holding and cradling a child, and singing to i t softly. The n a soldier screamed fo r Jewish men, women, and children rounded up by the Nazis in Warsaw for deportation.

them to move down int o the pit. As I was watching this, I heard someon e address me by my name i n Polish. It was a young woman, about 23 , completely naked lik e die others—I di d no t recogniz e her , but perhaps she knew me fro m my railroad work—and sh e pointed t o herself and said to me, directly to me, "Herr Graebe, 23 years old." She was a beautiful youn g woman, as was her sister who was there, too. They embraced thei r fathe r an d mothe r an d th e grandmother with the child i n her arms , and the n the y went int o the pit. I heard ten or twelve shots, and tha t was the end. It was the most cruel thing that I have ever seen i n my life—and thes e peopl e raised n o objection, the y just went int o the pit. I think I shall carry that scene

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As others look on, German soldiers cut off the beard of an orthodox Jew in Poland.

directly to my grave. It was quite a bit to see all that, especially the father strokin g the head of the boy. The boy cried and the father talke d to him and stroked him. How do you explain that? And how do you see such a thing without being stirred into action against whatever o r whoever caused i t to happen? That is why I kept saying to myself, "Something ha s to be done. Perhaps I can only do a small portion, but I want to do my share." I had only one child, a boy who at that time was nine or ten years old. I felt that one day he might ask me when th e war is over, "Dad, what did you do? " And that struck me . That struck me. Maria Bobrow: Her r Graebe was able to help people by employing them fo r his firm, to do the work he had to get done for th e army. It wasn't always easy, but h e watched over them, like a Moses watching over his people, and h e was able to protect them with work papers, and he always would liste n to hear if there was going to be an "action." At one point, Herr Graebe said that we needed somethin g that would b e completely underground , that no one would know about because there were some German me n who knew that Graebe had Jews and that he was trying always to protect them . I was a kind of liaison because everything had to go through th e switchboard, and so I could know things and then I could tell hi m if there seemed t o be some danger. There were people who would come to him from h e didn't kno w where, but people who were my friends, comin g from th e woods, coming from othe r people's houses , and so on. He didn't kno w what to do with them, but we picked up these people anyhow—they were lik e remnants, because by this time there officially wer e not any more Jews in the Ukraine. And yet they came, and we tried to help them. Herr Graebe had more than a flock o f Jewish families tha t he was helping. And all of them ha d admiration, even adoration fo r him , for h e was their only hope. And he cared abou t all of us. I found ou t later , much later , that he was helping other Jews who came to him alone all the time for assistance—an d tha t was without any help from m e or from m y friend Claire . I would mee t these people when I traveled, after th e war, and they would com e up to me and tell me how he helped them . With us, he helped peopl e on an organized scale , and even the n i t was never enough. With the others, he did i t as they came to him, individually, desperate, often completel y alone. Many times I have been asked , "Why do you think Herr Graebe did it ? Why did he help?" Over the years, I have seen man y things in him, but I must admit that I could neve r figure i t out. I know that he has a sense of outrage that borders on 42

the holy, and maybe that is it. When h e senses a terrible injustice , h e doe s something, even i f it means going blindly i n the dark. But to be honest , I don't know why he did it . I could neve r figur e i t out. Hermann Graebe : I cannot explai n exactl y why or ho w I did these things, but I believe that m y mother's influenc e o n m e when I was a child ha s a lot to do with it. My mother was a simple, uneducated perso n wh o came from a peasant family , and as a young person worked fo r doctor s and others i n Marburg, Germany. She told me , when I was ten o r twelv e years old, that I should no t take advantage of other people's vulnerability. We children alway s had the tendency t o do some mischief— I woul d sa y even harm—to an old Jewish lady . We would rin g her doorbel l an d when sh e came to the door, we would ru n away . My mother said to me, "You should neve r do that. Why did you do that?" And of course I would reply , "Well, because the others did." She replied firmly , "Yo u are not th e other ones . You are m y son. Don't eve r do it again. If you do , you will hear from me , and you will see what I will do about you. Would you lik e to be i n her shoes?" "No," I said. "Then, tell me, why did you d o that? Don't eve r d o that again. That lady has feelings, that lad y has a heart, like you, like me. Don't d o that again. Jewish people are good people . I learned tha t when I worked a t Marburg an der Lahn." This was the way my mother influence d me . She said, "Take people a s they come—not b y profession, no t by religion, but b y what they are as persons." All of this from a simple, uneducated woman . Yet, she was educated i n the truest sense, and she taught m e by word an d example what I had t o know. I owe her more than I can express, and I am thankful tha t I was able to share her lovin g goodness, even i n a small way, when i t was most needed .

Hermann Graebe was honored by Yad Vashem in 1954 for helping Jews during the Holocaust. As a construction engineer working on projects for the German railroad, he was able to save the lives of more than three hundred Jews in the Ukraine, and in Poland and Germany. He now lives in San Francisco. Maria (Warchiwker) Bobrow is a Polish Jewish survivor of the Holocaust. She was helped by Hermann Graebe. She also helped Herr Graebe save the lives of other Jews. Mrs. Bobrow now lives in Florida.

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IRENE OPDYKE POLAND

In m y hous e a Polis h girl, a woman, wasn' t expecte d t o b e involve d with politics. We wer e prepare d t o b e married , t o b e good wive s an d goo d mothers , s o I really wasn't affecte d b y political issue s o r anti-Semitism . Besides, I did no t hav e that i n m y home . My mothe r wa s jus t the mos t wonderfu l woman , a saint. Sh e was a woman wit h very littl e education. Whe n sh e wa s onl y a littl e girl, her fathe r wa s kille d and sh e was lef t t o rais e he r brothe r an d sister . She probably taugh t m e mor e tha n anything els e to kee p m y heart , m y hands, m y ears ope n fo r anybod y needy . These wer e he r ABC s and sh e taugh t the m t o us . We always ha d peopl e coming—they wer e poor , sick—an d m y mothe r alway s kne w ho w t o hel p an d what t o d o t o help . I hav e ofte n trie d t o discove r i n mysel f wha t gav e m e th e courag e t o hel p Jews during th e war . I am sur e tha t i t was du e t o m y parents, wh o alway s playe d an d prayed togethe r wit h u s children . Although w e ha d a sheltered life , m y parent s raised m e t o respec t th e Te n Commandments an d t o b e a t peac e with Go d an d people. I wa s a 19-year-ol d student whe n th e wa r starte d i n 1939 . I was happ y an d prou d to hav e bee n bor n i n Poland , a fre e countr y afte r 14 3 years. Maybe that als o was the reaso n I did wha t I did later : I was Polish , I was proud , I wanted th e best . I wanted m y parent s an d m y country t o b e prou d o f me. That's why I wanted t o be a nurse . I was tryin g t o b e anothe r Florenc e Nightingale. I had bi g ideas : I wanted t o g o t o othe r countries , I wanted t o help . But my dream neve r go t finished becaus e the Germans , without declarin g war , invade d Poland . Immediately, I was cu t off , separated fro m m y family. The hospita l wher e I was workin g an d studyin g starte d t o fil l u p wit h wounde d and dyin g people . We tried t o help , t o sav e lives , but th e German s were pushin g like lightning . I n a couple o f days, the y were almos t a t th e door . Th e Polish military ha d t o evacuate . Sinc e I could no t g o home—th e German s wer e alread y there—I joine d the Polis h Army. Fo r days we wer e o n th e run . Th e German s

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were pursuing us with unbelievabl e speed, creating destruction an d deat h everywhere. And in three weeks, with us almost a t the Russian border , th e war was over. The Polish Army was defeated. I was far from home , and I did no t know what to do and where to go. With the remnants of the Polish Army some other nurse s and I escaped to a big Ukrainian forest, clos e to the Russian border . That was the beginning of the Polish underground . Just before Christmas , a small group of soldiers, a nurse, and I went to the villages and tried to exchange coffee, tobacco , and sugar for somethin g t o eat. They left m e on guard. I saw them spread aroun d t o go to the houses. I heard noise. Before I had a chance to know where i t was coming from o r what i t was, I saw a truck an d Russia n soldiers jumping off. I ran lik e a scared littl e rabbit fo r the forest. Tha t was the only thing I knew to do, but i t was too late . They knocked m e down. I was beaten an d raped . They left m e lying there. When I was found b y other Russia n soldiers, I was taken t o a hospital. And when I came to, I felt tw o warm arms around m y shoulders, and a hand was petting my hair. I thought for a minute that it was a dream, that my mother was there. I looked u p and saw a woman docto r speaking a language that I did no t understand, bu t he r emotion, her embrace, maybe saved my sanity. She was a Russian docto r who was the head o f that hospital. When I started to feel better , she assigned m e to work i n the hospital. In 1940 the Russians were fighting the Germans, and she was sent to the front. Fo r me, it was awful becaus e I was assigned t o work i n a hospital tha t had infectiou s diseases—typhus, meningitis—but littl e medicine, only a little sulphur. But the Lord had other plan s for me , so I survived. In 1941 there was an exchange of Polish population betwee n th e Russians and the Germans. I wanted t o go back to Poland, which was occupied b y the Germans, because I was hoping to find m y family. O n th e way home to Kozlowa Gora, which i s three kilometers from th e Russian border, I stopped i n Radom. I went to church on e Sunday. After th e mass and other services , the church was surrounded b y the Germans, who picked u p all the young me n an d women t o send them to Germany to work. Young German me n were neede d t o fight, so the Nazis needed slave s to do their work. But before I was sent with the others, a group of officers cam e in, and on e man , in the uniform o f a major, starte d pointing at random an d saying, "this one, this one, this one." I was picked also and by God's miracle, I was not sent to Germany. Instead, I was sent t o work in an ammunition factory . I wanted to work because I was hungry, and I didn't hav e my parents and famil y there to care for me . One day, maybe because I had developed anemia , I fainted 45

Irene Opdyke was nineteen when the Germans invaded Poland. Away from her home, studying and working in a hospital, she was captured by the Germans and forced to work in a factory in Tarnapol

A German major had asked her to do their laundry. At the laundry, she met twelve Jewish people who became her friends. She is pictured here (on the far left) with two of them soon after the war.

right i n front o f the whole plant. When I came to, a German, an older man i n his late sixties, was standing before me . He asked me what had happened, and I answered hi m in German. He was very impressed. I told him, "Please forgive me. I want to work, but I am not well." So he said, "OK, you repor t t o another par t of the plant and I will give you another job." I was inexperienced an d not well educated, but I knew then that the Lord had put me in the righ t place at the right moment t o make that German majo r notic e me. My new job was serving breakfast, lunch , and dinner t o the German officer s an d secretaries, and to the head of the local Gestapo. I started to feel bette r because the food was good and it was clean. But it was while I was working there that for th e first tim e I realized what was happening to the Jewish people, because behind th e hotel there was a ghetto, and I could see for myself. It was unbelievable t o me that any human bein g could b e so mean to others. I saw the people i n the ghetto: families, older parents, little children, pregnant women, the crippled, the sick. The Nazis put them al l in the ghetto for late r disposal. One day, I saw a death march . They pushed th e people like cattle through th e middle of the town. And the Gestapo was kicking and pushing those who walked to o slowly or that were not i n line. I saw an old ma n who looked to me like a rabbi, with a white beard, white hair. He was carrying a Torah. Next to him I saw a beautiful woma n i n her last months of pregnancy. And next to her I saw another young woman with a little girl holding her skirt with all her might . There were old women, men hobblin g on crutches— a long , long procession. Most of all, I remember th e children—all sizes , all ages. The little ones screaming, crying, "Mama, Mama," and the bigger ones—they were even too scared to cry. One thing I remember: the eyes—big, scary; looking, searching, as if asking, "What did I do? What did I do?" We were standing, watching that inhuman march , but what could we do? We were a few women an d me n standing . There were dozens of Gestapo with guns. Later, I went with someone whose husband was a Jew and saw a nightmare that I will never forget: bodies plowed int o a shallow grave. The earth was heaving with the breath o f those who were buried alive . It was then tha t I prayed and promised tha t I would d o whatever I could. The whole plant was moved to Tarnopol an d I was moved with them. I was transferred fro m factor y work an d was assigned t o serve breakfast, lunch , and dinner fo r th e German officer s an d secretaries, and also sometimes for th e local head of the Gestapo, because I knew German. I also took care of 12 Jewish people who washed clothe s for th e Germans. Once they had been peopl e of means. They had been nurses , businessmen,

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businesswomen, a medical student, a lawyer. Now they had to do that dirty work or die. We became good friends. I didn't hav e a family. They were persecuted. It was a human bond . That's how I felt. I did no t think of them a s different becaus e they were Jews. To me, we were all in trouble an d we had a common enemy . We created a grapevine informatio n center . I became the eyes and the ears for the Jewish people . And these 12 would us e their footwork t o spread th e news to other Jews—when ther e would be unexpected raid s on ghettos and so on. We saved many lives because people were warned. Some of them coul d escape, if they had a place to hide, and some escaped t o the forest. There was a place, Janowka, about eight kilometers from Tarnopol . When the ghetto was liquidated, her twelve Jewish friends had noplace to go. Like a miracle, said Irene Opdyke, the German major asked her to live in his villa and be his housekeeper which allowed her to take her Jewishfriends and hide them in the cellar.

In Janowka, about thre e hundred Jewish peopl e escaped . Some of them wer e from ou r plant , and some were fro m othe r Germa n plants . And all because those 12 Jews were carrying information t o the ghetto. (It spread around , you know, to the people. ) There was a priest i n Janowka. He knew about th e Jews' escape—many o f the Polish people knew about it . Can you imagin e living underground a s the Jews were forced t o do when th e winter came? Many people brought food an d other 47

things—not righ t to the forest, bu t to the edge—from th e village. The priest could no t say directly "hel p the Jews," but he would say in church, "Not one of you should tak e the blood o f your brother. " When the time came for th e total liquidatio n o f the ghetto, those 12 people i n my factory di d no t have a place to go. They asked m e for help . What could I do? I, at that time, lived in a tiny little room b y the diner. I didn't hav e a home to take them to . There was only one thing left fo r m e to do. I did no t have any resources; I didn't hav e my parents. I prayed. And as I prayed tha t night, I threw a tantrum a t my Maker: "I do not believe in you! You are a figment of my imagination! How can you allow such a thing to happen?" The next day I was on my knees, saying, "Forgive me. I don't kno w what I'm talkin g about. Your will be done." The next morning, like a miracle, the major aske d m e to be his housekeeper. He said, "I have a villa. I need a housekeeper. Would you do it? " The decision was made for me . Like a young child, without thinking or preparing anything, I told the 12 Jewish peopl e I knew that I would leav e open th e window i n the villa where the coal chute led to the cellar. One by one, they went there. The major wa s an old man . He was sick. I cooked hi s special dinner s for him . He liked me. I was with him for about three years. He wanted to take a man to be there with m e also, but I told him I didn't want it . So I pleaded with him. "Please," I said, "I was held by the Russians, I was beaten an d rape d by Russian soldiers before I was even kisse d by a boy." He said, "OK. Fine. We will try it with you alone for a while. Let s wait and see how it goes." During the next couple of weeks there were posters on every street corne r saying, "This is a Jew-free town , and i f any one should hel p an escaped Jew, the sentence i s death." About three months after that , in September, I was in town, and all of a sudden th e Gestapo were pushing the people from th e town to the marketplace there were Polish families bein g hung with Jewish families tha t they had helped. We were forced t o watch them die, as a warning of what would happen i f we befriended a Jew. When I came home, I locked th e door a s I always did, but I usually left th e key turned i n the lock so that if the major would come unexpectedly, he could not open th e door. But I was so shaken u p that I locked the door, and I pulled out the key. I came in to the kitchen, and there were Ida , Franka, Clara, Miriam—the women cam e out becaus e that's what they usually did, to help me. I was white like snow, so they asked m e what had happened . I said " I don't feel good." I could no t tell them. What could the y do? We were talking when the door suddenly opened an d the major wa s standing i n front o f us. I still can see his 48

chin shaking, his eyes glaring with unbelief. We were all frozen lik e statues. He turned aroun d i n silence and walked to his office . I had to go face him ; there was not any other way. He yelled at me. He said, "Irene, how could you d o it ? I trusted you. I give you such a nice home, protection—why?" I said, "I know only one thing. They're my friends. I had to do it. I did no t hav e a home to take them to, I don't hav e a family. Forgive me, but I would d o it again. Nobody has a right to kill and murde r becaus e of religion o r race." One day in September, Irene Opdyke was in town when the Gestapo began pushing people over to the marketplace. "There were Polish families being hung with Jewish families that they had helped We were forced to watch them die, as a warning of what would happen if you befriended a Jew."

He said, "You know what can happen t o you?" I said, "Yes, I know, I just witnessed what can happen." By that time 1 was crying; I could hardl y talk. Finally he said to me, "Look, I cannot d o that to you. I cannot just let you die." And when h e said that, believe me, I knelt down , and kissed his hand; not fo r me, but for thos e people, not only for th e ones i n the villa, but for th e people in the forest wh o depended o n me . They remained, and they had hope that they could survive.

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Then th e major ha d to leave the villa, as the Germans were retreating, but I could no t leav e the people i n the villa because i n time of war you never know what's going to happen. I t could las t another day , a month, two months. One of the women was pregnant. A little Jewish bo y was born tw o months after freedo m came. Just before th e war was over we decided tha t I would tak e those Jewish people to the forest. I also was helping the partisans i n the forest th e whole time, in whatever way I could. Three days after I took the Jews to the forest, th e Red Army freed us . My Jewish friends wer e free t o make a new life, even though they were broken i n spirit and body. I have often wondere d ho w anyone could The people she hid, in this photograph taken after the war. From left to right: Morris Wilner, Franka Silberman, Henry Weinbaum, Jacob Steiner, Esther Morris, Irene Gut Opdyke, and Moses Steinburger.

continue to live without a family, with their childre n killed , having lost everything. When the Russian army rescued u s I went with the partisans, and I remained with them unti l Russi a took all of Poland. I was on m y way to see my family when I was arrested b y the Russians because of my association wit h the partisans. This time, my Jewish friend s helpe d me , and wrote m y story to the historical committee i n Krakow. Then I was sent to a displaced person s camp in Germany. Finally, in 1949, just before Christmas , I came to the United States, and now I live in California .

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People sometimes as k me what the lesson i s from al l this. I think i t is that we have to teach that we belong all together. That no matte r what a person's color , race, religion, or language , we are created b y one God, no matte r what you call Him. And I think that if there would be les s hate, if people would tr y to understand eac h other more , there would no t be the wars. I myself realize that when I came to the United States , I put a "Do Not Disturb1' sign on m y mind. I did not want to talk about th e war. I wanted t o have a normal life . I wanted to marry. I wanted t o have a child. I wanted t o create a new family to replace the one that I had lost. I had tried t o forget, t o put this experience ou t of my mind. But in 1975, there was a neo-Nazi organization tha t started spreading a lie that the Holocaust neve r happened. That it was only propaganda. Well, that put m e on fire. Why? Because I was there. I lived through it , and I realized that it is my duty to tell the truth about what the Nazis and their collaborators di d t o the Jews, to tell so that those people that died will not hav e died i n vain; to tell so that a new generation will learn the truth. I know I don't speak correctly, that I have an accent. But believe me, I want the new generation t o know so that we will not go through anothe r Holocaust.

Irene Gut Opdyke is a Polish Catholic who hid 12 Jews during the German occupation of Poland She was honored by Yad Vashem in 1982 and is in the movie, "The Courage to Care." She is an interior decorator and lives in southern California

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EMANUEL TANAY POLAND

I a m a survivor o f the Nazis efforts t o exterminat e th e Jews. Ther e were man y people wh o worke d diligentl y t o mak e m e suffe r an d wh o hope d tha t I woul d perish. But , due t o m y own effort s an d th e hel p an d courag e o f a few peopl e who wer e willin g t o ris k thei r live s for th e sak e of my survival, I am alive. 1

Before th e wa r bega n i n 1939 , I lived wit h m y family i n a small tow n no t fa r fro m Krakow, Poland . M y parents wer e bot h successfu l dentists . Ou r lif e wa s comfortable, eve n upper-middl e class . M y parents wer e wel l educated . W e were Jewish, o f course, no t religiou s i n th e traditiona l sense , quite assimilated , very much a part o f the Polis h community, somethin g whic h wa s no t generall y true of Jews i n Poland . Polis h Jews, fo r th e mos t part , were a separat e ethni c group. They looked an d dresse d differently , didn' t spea k th e Polis h language , and , excep t for a very small , educated segmen t o f the Jewish community, the y wer e easily recognizable a s Jews. Two week s afte r German y invade d Polan d o n Septembe r 1,1939 , al l o f the country wa s occupied , but th e German s di d no t suddenl y appea r o n th e scene and say , "We're going t o exterminat e you." I n th e beginning , ther e wa s n o immediate threa t t o Jews, othe r tha n th e usua l persecutio n tha t Jews i n Eastern Europe an d Polan d alway s faced . There was a gradual increas e i n the measure s of oppression. First , Jews wer e identifie d b y havin g t o wear a n armban d wit h th e Star o f David o n it . They were isolate d and pu t int o ghettos, forbidden t o wor k or t o bu y food . Peopl e hoped tha t th e whol e evi l empire o f Nazi German y wa s going t o collapse , that th e powerfu l countries—Franc e and England , die Unite d States—were goin g t o defea t Germany . I t was late r tha t th e concentratio n camp s were established . N o one eve r anticipate d tha t th e oppressio n woul d las t a lon g time. And n o on e imagine d tha t th e Nazi s would g o t o suc h extreme s a s mas s killings an d deat h camps . When m y parents finall y realize d tha t th e ghett o i n Miecho w was goin g t o b e liquidated an d tha t peopl e wer e goin g t o b e deported , the y arrange d throug h a friend, Mr . Gadomski, for m e t o go t o a monaster y calle d Mogila on th e outskirt s

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of Krakow. No one there knew that I was a Jew except fo r th e prior, who was told that I was a convened Jew. At the time, I was 14, and I was enrolled i n the school for educatin g young men t o become priests. I was a seminarian. I remained i n that monastery for abou t a year and a half, until someon e denounced m e as a Jew. I remember ver y distinctly a conversation I had with one of the priests, a man whose name I no longer remember . I t was a chance encounter durin g which he corrected m y pronunciation. I knew that he was wrong, that I hadn't mispronounced th e word, but the smirk he had on hi s face mad e me feel uneasy. Just a week or two before, I had listene d t o one of his sermons i n which he was berating the people for transactin g business on Sunday . He said that in the past that it was the Jews who transacted busines s on Sunday , but, "Thank God, at long last we have gotten ri d of them." That same priest was my catechism teacher and I had heard hi m mak e other anti-Semiti c remarks. I had a kind of intuition, a sense of anxiety. I realized tha t he suspected something . That very night, instead of sleeping i n my room, I hid i n the monastery church organ, which had an enormous bellows and where I knew no one could find me. In the middle of the night, the Gestapo came into the monastery and broke down th e door t o my room. I could hea r them. It was then tha t I ran away from th e monastery. While I was still at the monastery of Mogila, it was my duty to take the mail to the local post office an d bring back whatever mai l was for th e priests. Once a group of Jews was being marche d throug h th e village from a nearby camp. One of the Jews, a young boy a year or tw o older tha n I was, was from m y hometown. When he saw me, he instinctively yelled out, "Hello, Emek." I responded with some obscenity and walked on . There were other occasion s when I was in Krakow and someone from m y hometown recognize d m e and addressed m e by my real name. Many times, under suc h circumstances, I jumped of f a moving streetcar or a train. Such close calls were very common. Throughout th e war and the German occupation , the Polis h populatio n maintained a high degree of solidarity against the Nazis. The prevailing mood , however, was an acceptance of anti-Jewish measures . Many individual Pole s who assisted Jews were denounced b y neighbors who did no t approve of such behavior. I t was rare to be denounced fo r othe r activitie s which were punishabl e by death by the Germans. For example, it was safe to make anti-German jokes, even i n public. Occasionally, the Germans would find smuggled goods, and they would threaten peopl e i n an effort t o find the owner of the contraband . Smuggling homemade vodka and other foodstuffs , eve n thoug h forbidden , wa s widespread, but I don't recal l a single incident where peopl e who were beaten 53

Tanay, his father, and his sister, visiting their grandparents in Kielce, before the war.

or threatened wit h execution eve r identifie d th e owner o f such goods. Hiding Jews, on the other hand , was not one of the transgressions which was viewed by the population a s an acceptable—much les s desirable—activity. I know of rescuers who were persecuted, even killed by the native population afte r th e war because they had hidden Jews during the Nazi occupation o f Poland. Helping Jews to survive was not only dangerous, it was not popular . In retrospect, I would say that i t was very difficult t o determine who would hel p or why, but when I think about it , I would say that having personal contact s and relationships helped. People who might have been anti-Semiti c themselves or Tanay's parents in the resort town ofKrynice before the war.

who generally might have believed tha t Jews were bad and evil would hel p me because they liked me and thought I was nice. For example, Mr. Gadomski, the man who brought m e to the monastery, often expresse d hi s profound dislik e of Jews. He spent man y hours telling me how contrary and despicable Jews were. They did everything backwards: they wrote from righ t to left, the y celebrated Saturday instead of Sunday as the Lords day. They used a peculiar alphabet, they were dirty, ugly, and when the y died the y would go to hell. Unlike the prior of 54

the monastery of Mogila, he knew that I was not baptized, and h e would constantly try to persuade m e to become a Catholic. Despite his anti-Semitism, he risked hi s life to help me, and h e also helped m y mother o n on e o r two occasions. I would sa y that most people who helped m e were persona l friend s o f my family. But that wasn't always the case. Occasionally, I had a chance encounte r with a stranger who took a risk and did something tha t saved me . Once, for example, I was in a village—I didn' t hav e any papers—and I went to make a telephone call . The telephone was in the house of the village elder. There were Tanay with his mother and sister, in the mountains in the vicinity of the resort town Zakopane in the Tatra mountains, before the war.

partisans i n the area, and while I was in the village elders house , the police came in. They ordered m e to raise my hands while they searched m y pockets. A s they searched me , one policeman looke d a t the other an d said, "You know, this kid looks like a Jew." And I began laughin g and said, "You know, that's quite a compliment you made , gentlemen." So they began laughing , too. It was a joke. But then, they realized tha t I had n o documents, which mean t tha t they would have to take me to a nearby town to jail and that would b e the end o f me. But I

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protested an d said , "No , I live here. I am par t o f thi s village . I just forgo t m y documents, bu t thi s i s the plac e wher e I live." The villag e elder—h e wa s lik e th e mayor—wa s there , an d th e policeme n aske d him, "D o you kno w thi s kid? " And h e said , "Sure , sure I know him . H e i s the so n of s o an d so. " And they sai d t o him , "Well , he ha s n o documents . Ther e wil l b e a fine o f 2 0 zloty, " or whateve r i t was. The villag e elde r said , "Sure , sure, Ti l pay it. " And h e jus t produce d 2 0 zloty, an d tha t wa s it . Here wa s someon e I didn't know , wh o didn' t kno w wh o I was o r wha t I was, h e From left: Tanay's sister, bis father, his friend Olga, his mother, Mrs. Mila Kobasa and her son, and Tanay. The family was visiting the estate of the Kobasas who had assisted them during the war by hiding his parents briefly between ghetto liquidations.

just helped . I encountered thing s o f tha t sort : peopl e wh o woul d jus t help . I doubt h e kne w I was a Jew, althoug h h e migh t hav e suspected . H e probabl y thought tha t I was involve d wit h th e underground . But , b y an d large , people wh o helped m e wer e peopl e wit h who m I already ha d som e relationship . Its eas y t o assum e tha t peopl e wh o denounce d Jews i n hidin g wer e evi l people . One ha s t o kee p i n min d tha t anti-Semitis m an d hatre d o f Jews wa s accepte d b y most people . I t was no t uniqu e t o denounc e Jews becaus e ther e wa s a genera l acceptance o f th e persecutio n o f th e Jews. I n addition , i f a person helpe d a Jew in thos e day s an d i f the German s foun d out , th e perso n a s well a s th e Jew go t killed. 56

To be a rescuer unde r thos e circumstances took a unique person . I t took someone who had a deep-seated convictio n tha t he or she had to help. These were no t people makin g choices on reflection . I would sa y that they simply had to help, because that's the kind of people they were.

Emanuel Tanay, M.D., is a forensic psychiatrist, who was born in Poland. As a young Jewish teenager, he was able to survive the Nazi occupation by hiding in a monastery. Dr. Tanay is in the movie, "The Courage to Care," and lives in Detroit, Michigan.

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JOHN WEIDNER FRANCE

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My famil y was Dutc h an d Christian . Eve n when w e wer e quit e young , m y parent s always encourage d us , m y sisters an d me , t o rea d th e Bibl e an d t o believ e tha t love was th e ai m o f our lives . My mother an d fathe r taugh t u s tha t Mose s got th e instruction fro m Go d tha t tell s u s "t o lov e ou r neighbor s a s ourselves. " And w e also kne w fro m th e Bibl e tha t Jesus Christ , who wa s Himsel f a Jew, ha d sai d tha t the greates t commandmen t wa s "t o lov e Go d an d t o lov e your neighbo r a s yourself." Bot h a t hom e an d a t school , our educatio n wa s directe d towar d love , compassion, an d servic e to others . We wer e taugh t als o tha t w e shoul d b e thankfu l t o th e Jewish peopl e becaus e th e Torah an d th e revelation s o f the prophet s wer e transmitte d throug h th e age s t o us throug h them . Ou r teacher s reminde d u s tha t th e Messia h cam e fro m th e Jewish people . S o we ha d a special respect , a special lov e fo r th e Jewish people . As a youngster, I went t o th e Seventh-Da y Adventist colleg e in Collonges , a small French tow n o n th e borde r betwee n Franc e an d Switzerland , nea r Geneva . My father, a Seventh-Da y Adventist minister , wa s th e Gree k an d Lati n teache r a t th e school. After I graduated fro m hig h school , I attended th e Universit y o f Geneva, which wa s no t ver y fa r away , i n Switzerland . Whe n th e German s invade d Franc e in 1940 , I was livin g i n Paris , where, a few year s earlier , I had starte d m y ow n business, althoug h 1 was officiall y a Dutc h citizen . My older sister , Gabriel le, wa s the secretar y t o th e hea d o f the Franco-Belgia n Union Conferenc e o f Seventh-Day Adventists, Pasto r Osca r Meyer, and als o live d i n Paris . My mother an d father , b y this time , were livin g i n Th e Hague , wher e m y fathe r wa s assigne d a s a Seventh Day Adventis t minister . Before th e Nazi s cam e t o Paris , I knew o f the persecutio n o f the Jewish peopl e i n Germany. I had rea d Hitler' s Mein Kampf, an d I was awar e o f the hat e an d lac k of compassio n an d lov e tha t wa s reflecte d i n th e Nazis ' concep t o f life. Bu t I was really shocke d whe n th e Nazi s too k ove r Holland , invade d France , and starte d t o arrest th e Jewish people . I could no t believ e i n wha t I saw happening , th e "inhumanity o f man agains t man. "

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I remember bein g in the railroad station i n Lyons where I saw a group of Jewish women an d children who had been arrested an d who were being deported t o the east. One woman ha d a baby in her arms. The baby started to cry and make a lot of noise in the railroad station. The S. S. officer wh o was in charge ordere d the woman to make the baby stop crying, but she could no t do it . In a rage, the officer too k the baby out of the arms of that woman, smashed the baby on th e floor, an d crushed it s head. We heard th e wail of that mother. I t was something terrible. And all the while, the S. S. officers stoo d around laughing . When I saw such things happening t o the Jewish people, it was something so opposed to my concept of life, to all that I was taught to believe that I felt i t was my duty in conscience to help these people. Although I did no t know at the time all that was happening i n the concentration camps , the horrors, I knew that Jews were being arrested an d deported an d that the Nazis had n o respect for thei r human dignity . It is possible that if I had known more, I would hav e done more, but I did the best I could. Sometimes we have a desire to help but we don't know how to do it. I decided, since I knew the area of the French-Swiss border aroun d Collonge s so well, that I would try to help Jews and others who were i n danger by getting them across the border int o Switzerland, which was a neutral countr y during the war. In the beginning I did i t alone, then member s o f my family and friends bega n t o help, but I knew that we needed mor e help , if we were going to be successful . Eventually, with others—we became known a s "Dutch-Paris"—I organized a network and set up a route that enabled u s to bring people from Hollan d to Belgium, then t o France, and on to Geneva, via the Seventh-Day Adventist school in Collonges, which was at the foot o f a mountain an d no t too far from th e Swiss border. During the war, we passed mor e than a thousand people , mostly Jewish peopl e but also Allied airmen, through ou r route . It was very dangerous t o help Jews, and i t was not easy because it was so difficult t o travel from on e plac e to another. We had to find safe places along the way where people could sleep for one night or two and also ways to feed them . Then there were other problems : Where could we get false papers? Where could we find money to pay for paper s and food? Where would we find peopl e to help us? Could we trust the people we found? A good friend i n Switzerland, Dr. W A. Visser't Hooft, a t that time Secretary General o f the World Council o f Churches i n Geneva, knew about ou r work, and he not only encouraged us , but he helped us , providing mone y and other kinds of assistance to us as we continued ou r undergroun d work . In addition, we were able to get money, through Switzerland , from th e Dutch government-in-exile i n London. 59

The Seminaire Adventiste du Saldve, where Weidner attended school before the war, located in Collonges, a small French town on the border between France and Switzerland, near Geneva

Gabrielle Weidner, shortly before she was arrested by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp.

Often, becaus e I knew th e are a aroun d Collonge s s o well , I would lea d peopl e who wer e temporaril y hidde n a t th e Seventh-Da y Adventis t schoo l ove r th e mountains an d acros s th e borde r int o Switzerland . Sometimes , we woul d ge t to th e borde r an d ther e woul d b e man y guard s patrolling ; other times , ther e was barbe d wir e t o cu t befor e w e coul d ge t peopl e across . Always i t was very dangerous, no t jus t a t th e borde r bu t i n othe r pan s o f th e "Dutch-Paris " networ k as well. We were alway s fearfu l tha t someon e woul d b e arreste d an d tortured , as would happen , an d tha t th e perso n woul d brea k unde r th e tortur e an d revea l names an d addresses , whic h woul d pu t othe r peopl e i n danger . It was no t easy , as people kne w wh o wer e workin g wit h us . One day , one o f ou r agents, a woman, wa s arrested . Unfortunately , sh e wa s no t abl e t o hol d u p unde r the torture , an d sh e gav e th e name s o f al l th e peopl e sh e kne w wh o wer e par t of ou r network . I n on e day , hal f o f th e nearl y 300 member s o f th e grou p wer e arrested an d deporte d t o Naz i concentratio n camps . Fort y includin g m y sister , Gabrielle, neve r cam e back . I, myself, was arreste d b y the Gestapo , beaten , an d torture d severa l times . Bu t I was fortunat e becaus e I was abl e t o escape . The las t tim e I was arrested , I escaped th e da y befor e I was supposed t o b e shot . I did s o with th e hel p o f a compassionate guar d wh o ha d bee n impresse d b y findin g a smal l Bibl e i n m y pocket whe n I was arrested . I climbed ou t a window i n th e buildin g wher e I was being kept , an d withou t bein g see n b y anyone, I dropped thre e storie s t o th e street. Nothin g happened . I did no t brea k m y le g o r anything , an d I was abl e t o rush quickl y away . I reached th e hous e o f on e o f m y friends , wh o happene d t o be a Dutc h pries t wh o wa s a membe r o f "Dutch-Paris. " I knocked o n th e doo r and h e answered . I shall neve r forge t th e loo k o n hi s fac e whe n h e opene d th e door. H e said , "John , what ar e yo u doin g here ? I was tol d tha t yo u wer e goin g t o be shot. " And I said t o him , "D o you wan t m e t o g o back? " Eventually, h e go t m e t o a membe r o f th e Frenc h underground , wh o wa s abl e t o help m e hid e unti l I could leav e th e cit y an d ge t t o m y destination , whic h thi s time happene d t o b e London . Thi s tri p wa s a t th e reques t o f th e Allied com mand, who wante d t o kno w no t onl y abou t ou r wor k wit h Allied soldier s bu t also abou t ou r wor k wit h refugees . People ofte n as k m e wha t I remember mos t vividl y abou t th e Nazi s durin g th e occupation o f France . What I particularly remembe r wer e thei r voices . They sounded inhuman , hard . The y didn' t spea k lik e huma n beings , o r ac t lik e huma n beings. They wer e a bruta l forc e withou t brains , without thinking . I also remember thei r brutality : they bea t m e wit h thei r guns—o n m y head , i n m y

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stomach, all over my body. They had n o humanity. The Nazis were force an d violence; they would smash and beat you without pity. Someone told me about a n inciden t i n a small village in France which I later visited, Orandour-sur-Glane, which ha d been occupie d b y the Nazis. One day because they suspected tha t explosives were hidden i n the village, the German soldiers took all the men an d put the m u p against a wall and shot them. Then they took all the 180 women an d children, put the m i n the Catholic Church, closed th e door, and set it on fire. Only one woman fro m th e town succeeded i n escaping. It was the woman who later told what had happened i n that village. The Mi lice prison in Toulouse from which Weidner escaped. He jumped from the small window in the third story to the courtyard below.

The Nazis were so cruel, so sadistic. It was not just a matter of soldiers fighting in a war; it was their inhuma n way of fighting, and thei r hatred. You could see the hate in their faces, especially for th e Jewish people. Sometimes I am asked i f I have any good memorie s from th e war, and I always tell people that my best memories are of the simple, good peopl e who were

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False identity cards, a safe conduct certificate, and Nazi travel permit, all of which Weidner used for wartime travel, with a few of his fourteen different aliases: facques Vernet, Paul Lins, and Paul Rey.

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ready to risk all, to help, to give shelter, to bring people from on e place to another. To see such love and compassion i n the heart of people with whom I was working, to see it in all kinds of people, from al l different religions , or fro m no religion a t all but who deep i n their heart had compassion an d love for persecuted Jews, that was most importan t t o me. It taught me that you can have all kinds of theories and al l kinds of creeds, but i f you d o not have love in action, those theories and creeds do not mea n anything at all. Of course there were some people who did no t hel p at all, who perhaps thought that we were crazy for helpin g Jews. I cannot judge all the people—that would The maquis check identification papers of people travelling through their district.

be too hard fo r m e to do—but som e people were reluctant to help because they had a family and they could no t ris k it. Others were reluctan t becaus e they feared for themselves. Maybe they did no t have the courage to take risks. That is something that they will have to answer for themselves . I only know what I had to do, what my conscience and ethics compelled m e to do. And I can tell you that I found a lot of people i n all kinds of places—small people , of low social position; big people of high social condition; educated an d uneducated—wh o

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were ready to help because they had pity and lov e and compassio n i n their hearts, and who thought, "It is my duty to help the Jews." During our lives , each of us faces a choice: to think only about yourself, to get as much as you can for yourself, or t o think about others, to serve, to be helpful t o those who are in need. I believe that i t is very important t o develop your brains, your knowledge, but i t is more importan t t o develop your heart , to have a heart open t o the suffering o f others. As for myself , I am just an ordinary person , just someone who wants to help his neighbor. That is the aim of God for me : to think about others, to be unselfish , to learn mor e and mor e to be unselfish. I am nothing exceptional. I f I have one hero, it is God who has helped m e to fulfill m y mission, to fulfill m y duties, to do what I have to do. But for myself , I am just a simple person. During the war, I did what I think everyone should have done.

John Weidner organized a rescue network in France known as "Dutch-Paris" which helped approximately 800 Jews escape the Nazis. He has been honored by Yad Vashem and now lives in northern California

Skiing was often Weidner's safest method of travel between remote mountain villages along the FrenchSwiss border. During the war, he and the other members of DutchParis helped over 1000 people across the border.

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FRANCE

GABY COHEN I belon g t o al l those peopl e wh o d o no t wan t t o understan d ho w i t was possibl e for th e Holocaus t t o occur . For the las t 40 years, I have worke d wit h children , and I have studie d th e separatio n o f children fro m thei r families . Still, i t is difficult fo r m e t o spea k abou t th e fou r year s o f the Germa n occupatio n whe n I lived an d worke d wit h man y Jewish childre n i n France . How di d the y manag e t o cope wit h thei r fear s an d sorrows ? How were the y abl e t o endur e th e force d separation fro m thei r mother s an d fathers ? France ha s a very ancien t Jewish community. Th e two oldes t group s were th e Alsatians, who live d on th e Germa n borde r an d i n Paris , and th e Spanis h Jews, who live d i n Bordeau x and souther n France . At the beginnin g o f World War I, Jews cam e i n grea t number s fro m Easter n Europe , an d wit h th e adven t of Nazism, man y German , Austrian, an d som e Czechoslovakia n Jews arrived i n France. B y 1940, amon g th e 28 0 thousand o r 30 0 thousand Jew s in France , onethird ha d com e fro m Centra l Europe , one-third fro m Easter n Europe , and th e others wer e Alsatia n an d Sephardi c Jews fro m th e south . Traditionally, France has bee n a country o f asylum, with a generous open-doo r policy. O n th e ev e of World War II , France was reall y the Fa r West of Europe— you couldn' t g o an y further . I t was th e las t defense lin e of freedom, th e las t haven fo r th e peopl e wh o wante d t o leav e Europe fo r Sout h o r Nort h America, and th e poin t o f departure fo r thos e wh o wante d t o leav e for Palestine. My famil y i s an ol d Alsatian Jewish family. We were arden t patriots , an d wer e naturally concerne d abou t th e Jews fleeing fro m Germany . We knew tha t th e Nazis were especiall y cruel t o the m becaus e we ha d me t s o man y refugee s coming throug h Alsace . But, at th e time , strange a s i t ma y see m today , w e di d no t realize th e ful l exten t o f what wa s goin g o n i n Germany . When th e battle s bega n i n 1940 , m y family decide d t o leav e Alsace and g o t o live with som e relative s i n a pan o f central Franc e that wa s no t ye t invade d b y th e Germans. We lived ther e unti l lat e 1942 , al l the whil e hearin g man y rumor s tha t foreign Jews were bein g arreste d an d pu t int o internmen t camps . Som e of the

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stories were quite horrible: people beaten, tortured, sent off to Eastern Europe. All kinds of things were told, but i t was still quite vague, and nobod y knew exactly what was happening. After I finished high school, I decided I wanted t o become a social worker. But by the time I was ready to begin, it had becom e difficul t fo r Jews to study in the French universities , so I decided instea d to become a Montessori kindergarte n teacher. By the time I finished my internship, it was difficult fo r a Jew to get such a job. So when I heard throug h othe r Jewish Girl Scouts like myself about th e many foreign refuge e Jewish families i n the Vichy French internmen t camps , and when I was told that help was needed i n those camps, I decided t o try to work in one of them. I went to OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants) which was a Jewish child care agency as well as a medical care agency. I said to them, "Listen, I want to work in one of the camps." And they said, "Well, that's very nice, but we don't nee d people there right now. We need peopl e rathe r to help us with children tha t we are able to get out of the camps." 1 wasn't very pleased, because I thought that it was much mor e noble to go int o the camps. But they convinced m e that it was more importan t to work with children o n th e outside. I played a very small role on thi s dark stage, but perhap s m y story may shed a light on th e routine, small horrors ou r childre n endured . Mayb e it will help us to understand th e tears, the anxiety, and th e tremendous courag e of these children durin g the occupation o f France. What I have to report seem s very trivial compared t o the sustained an d relentles s fight led b y men an d women of courage and commitment wh o worked t o save Jewish childre n durin g the war. So many people were part of the effort: Catholic , Protestant, Communist, Left, Right, Jewish, and non-Jewish organization s and individuals . It was really a unique gathering of efforts o n behal f of children. American organization s lik e the Unitarians, the Quakers, and the YWCA fought an d fought unti l they gained authorization t o take these children—Jewish childre n an d Spanis h refuge e children—out o f the camps. When my request t o work insid e the camps was turned down , I started t o work with children outsid e the camps. In the middle of the war, toward the end of 1942,1 was sent to a country mansion i n central France , very close to Vichy, about 15 miles away. It was a wonderful place , a peaceful hous e with trees, a garden and flowers. About a hundred children , from th e ages of four t o sixteen, lived there. It was a completely ne w world fo r me . Each child i n this home was carrying stories of unsuccessful flights , half-missed immigratio n attempts , visas that never arrived, the los t hopes of entire families. These were stories of

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dispersion, rupture , prisons, sleepless nights , and of a terrible adult game of hide and seek. In the children's hom e where I worked, we had very few groups o f French Jewish children becaus e the French parents were sure that nobody would ever touch them. Their attitude was, "We are Jews, but we are French. We have been soldiers." Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, who live in Paris and have devoted their lives to tracking down Nazis , have compiled list s of 11 thousan d childre n unde r the age of 17 who were deported fro m France . Most of these were children an d adolescents who remained with their families, children whose parents did not want to separate from them . This figure also includes about six or seven hundre d children wh o were taken fro m thre e institution s i n the Pari s area that were unde r the direct supervision o f U.G.I.F. (L'Union Generate des Israelite s de France), a kind of Judenrat, or Jewish Council , set up by the Germans. In comparison, the OSE homes miraculously had very few losses. For parents, giving up children was traumatic. I spoke with workers both durin g and after th e war, who had brought childre n t o the home where 1 worked . For parents, to give a baby over to be safe was a most courageous act . Some just couldn't d o it, and nobod y should judge them. Who knows how any of us would have reacted ha d we to make the same decision? It has to be said, those parents were very heroic in separating themselves from thei r children . And some children, too, were very heroic, especially young adolescents who were 14,15,1 6 years of age and did no t want to leave their parents. For some of these young people, they thought tha t they were perhaps cowards in getting out of the camps. They didn't want to leave their parents there. It was difficult, ver y difficult fo r the children. Often socia l workers succeeded i n keeping them from gettin g on the trains, in forcing the m ou t of the camps. It was a terrible task. Adults can try in some way to fight, but children canno t do anything. Somebody else has to fight for them . I t seemed so evident, so obvious that the children ha d to be saved, but when you saw how much they would insis t on staying with their families, i t seemed almos t an impossibl e situation. To be honest, we were not as concerned abou t the future an d about the survival of a group, as we were about just trying to help one child or two or three children immediately . In 1942, Pastor Marc Boegner, the head o f the Protestant Churc h i n France, helped t o set u p an ecumenical group—including representative s fro m som e Jewish organizations—calle d L e Comite de Nimes. With the German occupatio n in November 1942 of the southern zon e of France, in which I was living, it became more dangerous fo r children's homes , where so many foreign Jewish children were gathered. These institutions became easy targets for arrests. If we 68

were to protect them, it became clear i n 1943 that we would hav e to close these institutions progressively and place the children int o hiding. When OSE had to go more underground i n it s work, activities had to be linke d closely with Le Comite de Nimes and with the Resistance networks. With their help, we began to place the children al l over southern France . At the time, none of us young people knew much about thes e organizations o r ho w they worked. For the protection o f everyone the facts were divided amon g various leaders. I only knew what I needed t o know to be able to do my job, so if I were caught by the Germans and questioned, I would b e unable to disclose very much. A camp of youngJewish scouts, located near Tour d'Aubergne, in 1942. Gaby Cohen was in charge of the younger group of scouts, and can be seen here, fourth from the right. When this photograph was taken, most of these children still lived with their parents. They were arrested one year later.

After OS E had to close the children's homes—th e work i n which I had been very active—I was given false identit y papers—actually, I had three sets of papers— and I worked a s a conveyor, which mean t that I accompanied group s of children in trains from on e place to another, often fro m on e hidin g place to another. Usually, I was sent to the southern par t of France because mor e of the peopl e there are brown-skinned an d dark-haired , as I am. My papers were not very good. I just had to stick to a story that I was born i n a city where the city hall had bee n bombe d an d where, consequently, the Germans

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could no t check or control the issuing of false papers . I would b e lying if I said today that I hadn't bee n afraid . All the time I had m y toothbrush i n my pocket, which was a way of saying that I didn't know how safe I was with m y new identity. It was much mor e difficult fo r children , who were also given ne w identities while they were i n hiding. With the help of those i n the Resistance movement, Jewish an d non-Jewish , we tried to "Aryanize" Jewish children. They were given ne w names and histories, provided with new papers and ration cards before the y were dispersed throughout th e country into non-Jewish environments where nobod y knew them except perhaps the head of a family here , or a priest or a teacher there . The follow-up an d visiting of the children i n their ne w families, schools, farms, or convents where the y were hidden was entrusted t o non-Jewish workers, either real non-Jewish workers or Jewish workers with non-Jewis h identities . The people who did this work mos t were part of the "circuit Garel," the most important Jewish undergroun d grou p t o take care of hiding children. For us educators and social workers, the hard task was to convince little children that they were no longer Abram Levin but Alfred Levoisier , not Sarah Weiss but Suzanne Voisin. We had to say, "You, little Frieda Middleberg, you are now Franqoise Macomb, or Franqoise anything." How could I know whether the child would stick to it? How sure could I be that the child would be emotionally stable enough t o answer, "Yes, my name i s such and such?" Sometimes, we spent day s and night s just trying to stay ahead o f the Nazis. W e were constantly rushed an d we had to explain ove r and over again to the children tha t we didn't kno w much about the surroundings where they were headed o r about the new people with whom the y were going to live. Sometimes the child's assumed identit y broke down o r th e child spoke up. When this happened, we had to take the child immediately out of the environment, find another hidin g place, and another identit y for th e little one. One day I was so upset abou t a little boy who had already changed hi s name once before, i n order to make it sound les s Polish-Jewish and mor e FrenchJewish, and no w had to change i t again, to make it sound mor e French-Christian . To comfort me , he said, "Don't worry, I'm getting use d t o new names." Then all of a sudden h e mused, "Maybe nobody remember s m y real name. " Yes, that also was a serious worry, and at the time, I didn't kno w at all how things worked, but somehow i t was well taken car e of and the rea l name s were safeguarded . One nigh t I was in charge of taking children som e place on a train. During the war, traveling i n trains was horrible. They were dangerous, the police could enter any time of the day or nigh t and deman d t o see your papers. We were always 70

frightened becaus e w e di d no t kno w ou r lie s s o well , an d beside s the y wer e ver y poor lie s an d ver y poo r stories , an d w e didn' t kno w ho w wel l the y woul d hol d up agains t questioning . Thi s particula r tim e ther e wa s a gentleman sittin g i n th e corner o f th e compartmen t an d a littl e ol d lady . I ha d onl y abou t fou r o r five children i n m y compartment, ther e wer e perhap s fou r i n th e nex t compartment , and fou r mor e i n anothe r one . The littl e ol d lad y was al l right—sh e wa s sleepin g al l th e time—bu t I notice d that th e ma n kep t lookin g an d lookin g a t us . I didn't kno w wh o h e was . Was he a Gestapo man , o r wa s i t just anybody ? Why would h e loo k s o muc h a t us ? On e This group of boys are in a Jewish scout camp in Chateau BroutVernet, in central France, near Vichy. Their parents had been deported and Gaby Cohen was sometimes in charge of this group. Later in the war, in 1943-44, these boys were hidden with non-Jewish families using false names and identities.

little girl wit h me , whose nam e wa s Frieda , an d wh o ha d re d hai r an d bi g blac k eyes, went ove r smilin g t o thi s man . O f course , I wanted he r t o slee p an d jus t t o be quiet , bu t jus t the n I couldn't sa y to her , "B e quiet . Sleep. " Sh e looke d a t him an d smiled . H e seeme d ver y intereste d i n wha t wa s goin g on , an d al l o f a sudden, th e ma n said , "Wha t i s your name , littl e gir l wit h suc h re d hai r an d black little eyes? " She smile d an d turne d t o m e an d said , "Nini , which on e shoul d I give him ? Shoul d I say Frangois e o r Frieda? " I t was terrible . I nearl y fainted . I said t o myself , "No w it' s finished . He'l l sto p th e trai n a t th e nex t statio n an d we'l l

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all be arrested." Such experiences were very disconcerting, because you would feel tha t all of a sudden everythin g you had done was lost, you would be arrested and sent who knows where? I was so frightened tha t I took the whole group and got off the train at the very next station, which was a very bad ide a because that gentleman probabl y wasn't very dangerous. We sat through th e night and the following day , waiting for a train which finally arrived . Eventually, I had to stop convoying children becaus e m y Jewish look s became a little too obvious, so I was given a different activity—bringin g allowance s to families who were hidin g children. Often peopl e who took i n children di d not This photo, taken in 1943, shows a group of girls who were also hidden in Chateau Brout-Vernet.

have much money , and so OSE had to help them. In France, through cooper ation between OS E and the non-Jewish organizations, one found families , Catholic and Protestant , whether o r no t they had much i n the way of money or material goods, who willingly accepted our children . I do not have a scientific answe r for why those who helped di d it . I have asked myself that question ove r and over. For those of us who were young Jewish people at die time, it is not difficult t o give an answer as to why we took the risks. We young Jews felt tha t it was our dut y to help the helpless, to help those who were even i n more danger than we were. But, for th e Catholic and

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Protestant families who took risk s to help our children , it is not so easy for m e to answer why. I believe they were just good people , and I can say that ther e were hundreds o f them, maybe even thousands. In France, I think the fact tha t some of the "elite" of the churches—people lik e the Cardinal of Toulouse, the Archbishop of Lyons, and the head of the Protestan t Church—spoke up , also helped. I t meant tha t there were whole organization s that walked with them. But then ther e were other isolate d individual s who were just humanists, just righteous people, who were no t afraid t o help. On on e and the same street you would find a family who could d o terrible things; another person who did nothing , who said, "It's a difficult time ; I cannot affor d t o take a risk;" and on th e same street, someone who took risks and helped. Who knows? Perhaps i t is that if people basically have an ideal—religious , humanitarian, or political—they ar e more willing to help. Maybe it is a mixture of all of that, I am not sure. What we know is that many people did it , they helped, even though we cannot say why. Of course much mor e could hav e been don e i n those days on a larger scal e by states, nations. But to know that very modest, little people tried t o ameliorate ou r suffering, trie d to say, "At least here I will do something. I will move, I will help." That is something, that is a lesson of hope for u s all, Jews and non-Jews. I think of a colleague of mine I knew after th e war who worked i n children's institutions at the liberation. He was a man who in 1944 had jumpe d of f a deportation trai n that was carrying arrested member s o f the Resistance to the camps. About ten or fifteen peopl e miraculousl y succeeded i n jumping from tha t train. Some already knew at the time how bad things were i n Eastern Europe. When that man jumped, he was badly hurt. A farmer foun d hi m on th e side of the railroad track s and took him to his farm, where he stayed until the liberation . It was deadly dangerous for thes e people to hide an underground fighter, and yet they kept him. After th e war my colleague remaine d quit e religious, very observant. He worked with children, and they asked him once, "What is an angel? We do not understand wha t an angel is because we have never seen one. " My colleague would tel l them—he was thinking of those farmers wh o had helpe d him—"An angel is someone who just when you think all is lost, when you think no one will ever help you, that nothing is possible, all of a sudden, an angel is there to help." Gaby Cohen is a distinguished French social worker. As a Jewish member of the French Resistance, she was involved in helping to hide Jewish children during the war. She now lives in Paris, France. 73

IVO

HERZER ITALY

I wa s sixtee n i n 194 1 whe n I fled with m y parents fro m th e capita l o f Croatia. Croatia was the n a satellite fascist stat e which bega n a terror agains t Jews. We escaped initia l deportatio n an d trie d t o reac h th e Italia n occupatio n zon e i n Yugoslavia, but w e ha d n o knowledg e o f how th e Italian s would receiv e us. We did no t kno w th e Italia n language , bu t simpl y on th e blin d fait h tha t i t would b e better tha n t o fle e towar d th e Germans , we trie d t o cros s the border . Th e trai n that w e wer e travellin g o n go t stuck , and w e wer e ordere d fro m th e trai n wit h all th e othe r passengers . We were i n a no-win situation : We were stuc k i n th e town o f Gospic, where th e Croatia n fascis t movemen t wa s born ; we ha d n o documents; ther e wa s a curfew fo r th e Jews; an d ther e wa s a concentration cam p just outsid e town . The situatio n seeme d t o b e hopeles s fo r u s an d fo r th e othe r Jews travellin g with us—about 1 2 or 1 5 people. But , by chance, a few Italia n soldier s who wer e garrisoned ther e passe d th e hous e wher e w e wer e staying , and m y father, jus t on intuition, approache d the m an d tol d the m tw o words . H e di d no t kno w tha t much Italia n bu t h e sai d simply , "Ebreipaura" ("Jew s fear")- Th e soldiers immediately reacte d an d answered , "Niente paura" whic h mean s "Fea r nothing." Soon, thei r sergean t arrived . H e spok e a littl e French and tol d u s tha t h e woul d try t o get u s o n a n Italia n Army train boun d fo r Ital y and thereby , o f course, save our lives . We didn' t believ e him, bu t a t midnigh t tha t nigh t h e cam e with a few soldiers, none o f whom w e ha d see n before , who di d no t deman d mone y o r an y promises, bu t escorte d u s t o th e railroa d statio n an d pu t u s o n a n Italia n Army train. The y actually boarded th e trai n wit h us . The trai n wa s ful l o f Italian soldiers , surprised t o se e thi s bunc h o f 12 o r 15 bedraggled civilian s running away . But somehow, h e wa s abl e to explai n t o them , probably usin g th e word s "refugees, " "poo r people, " or eve n "Jews. " I don't know ho w h e di d it , I didn't spea k Italia n a t th e time , but h e manage d t o get u s across th e borde r int o th e Italia n cit y of Fiume.

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But the sergeant didn't stop there. He went to the authorities, asked tha t we be given food an d drink, which was promptly given, and the n h e took leave. I don't know his name, but I do know that hundreds o f Croatian Jews were helpe d t o escape from Croatia , where onl y death awaite d them, into the Italia n zon e by men lik e this sergeant. We were eventually allowed t o stay in the Italia n zon e of occupation, i n the town of Cirquenizza. Our representatives , among whom was my father, sa w the majo r who was in charge of civilian affairs ver y regularly. In fact, seven day s after ou r arrival, the major, hearin g that Yom Kippur was fast approaching decide d tha t we must be allowed t o observe it . The town w ras under martia l law—yo u couldn' t assemble, and ther e were curfews—but h e called m y father an d said , "So that you ma y celebrate your greatest holiday , I have requisitioned a schoolroom. I' m giving you a dispensation a s far a s our regulation s go." He sent a junior officer a s his representative, and we celebrated Yom Kippur i n October 1941 , in a Europe that was burning. We developed friendl y relation s with the Italians . My parents played bridg e with some Italian officers, an d the Italian s dated Jewish girls. One would neve r have guessed fro m ou r relationship s with th e Italian Army that we were on opposing sides. But suddenly, one day in November 1942 , we were all rounded u p and take n to camps. We were taken to the only real camp, a large camp in Porto Re, on the coast. This was a decision taken , from wha t I can hear o r se e from th e documents, by those i n the foreign ministry 7 who were collaboratin g with the Italian Army on the rescue. They had to stave off the constant German pressur e for th e extradition o f the Jews. They decided t o concentrate the Jews, who were sprea d over a large area, in a few places and t o tell the Germans they would examin e them t o see which migh t be Italian citizens . (Italian citizens , at that time, were never handed ove r to the Germans.) That was a convenient excus e to delay things. At the same time, it was undoubtedly easier fo r th e Italia n Army to control our destin y by having us concentrated rathe r than waiting to see what the Croatians would d o i n one village or another . Needless to say, we Jews were very shocked. We didn't kno w the whole story and, of course, we were afraid tha t the Italians perhaps ha d been force d t o give in, because we sensed tha t there was pressure. I think the camp had bee n designed fo r guerillas and i t was anything but a reassuring place. Nevertheless, the camp commandant, i n his first speech , assured u s that as long as the Italian flag wa s there, we would b e assured tha t nothing untowar d would happe n an d that everything that we wanted would b e done fo r u s for a s long as possible.

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Ivo Herzer with Hedi Pilis, taken February 5, 1943 in the Kraljevica camp in the Italian town of Porto Re.

We organized th e camp into a real community. The Italian Army even le t us build a hut for ou r religiou s services, and Passove r services were held there in 1943. We had schools, an elementary school an d a full hig h school. The army furnished th e school buildin g and even gave us textbooks. I studied Latin , Italian, and histor y at the very time trains were rumblin g through Europ e taking thousands of children t o their death. The Italians understood no t only that they should no t kil l us, but that we were i n need o f recognition a s human beings, so they gave us a temple and a school. Food was scarce, but we were given a small ration . I have a document i n which A deportation in Italy.

the quartermaster genera l o f the Second Army says, "What ration shoul d we give to the Jews? Should we give them the large r one or th e smaller one?" Then, the army corps says that since the Jews cannot bu y other foo d (perhaps , he refers to the black market), let's give them the same ration a s for th e children, that Italian children get. They were always trying to do what they could. Later on, they even allowed u s to buy food o n our own. Later, the army took us to the islan d of Arbe, where there was a large camp. School continued. We even were taken to swim every day under escort—on e 76

soldier an d two hundred Jews going to swim, and n o one wanted t o escape. We knew that outside there was death. Most of the Jews in that camp survived. Some were killed i n the mountain s with the partisans, and abou t two hundred peopl e could no t b e evacuated fro m th e island. They were old and didn't want to move, so they were then seize d by the Germans, who came some time in March 1944. Unfortunately, whe n Ital y capitulated, on Septembe r 8,1943 , the surrender cam e too fast. I t was a surprise announcement fro m th e Allied headquarters an d ther e was no time to provide for ou r safety. The Italian Army was in retreat an d could no t hel p us, although Tito's partisans came to the islan d and gave us some respite . It was due to the Italian protection, and the protection o f the partisans, that mos t of us survived.

Ivo Herzer is a Yugoslav Jew who, with his family, was helped by the Italian Army to elude the Nazis. He now lives in Virginia and has dedicated himself to making known the story of how the Italians helped Jews during the Holocaust.

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Ivo Herzer, after the liberation.

CHAM ASA BULGARIA

My father wa s th e presiden t o f the Burga s Jewish community o n th e Blac k Sea, which mean t tha t h e receive d all th e officia l mai l directe d t o th e Jewish commu nity. I n January 1943 , h e received , in error , a telegram addresse d t o th e commissar o f Jewish affair s i n Burga s from th e commissa r o f Jewish affair s i n Sofia, th e perso n i n charg e of the commissaria t create d b y the secretar y of the interior. The mailman , wh o wa s no t smar t enoug h t o kno w tha t ther e wa s a commissar o f Jewish affair s a s well a s a president o f the Jewish community, gave the telegra m t o m y father becaus e he associate d hi m wit h Jewish affairs, no t anyone else . My father accepte d th e telegram , opened , an d rea d it . The messag e informe d al l the loca l commissar s for Jewish affairs tha t the y ha d si x weeks t o prepar e th e Jewish communit y fo r deportation , o r a s the telegra m pu t it , "resettlement." The commissars wer e instructe d t o prepar e list s and sen d the m bac k to Sofi a immedi ately. Informatio n als o was given abou t trai n schedules—dates , times , locations— and abou t ho w th e Bulgaria n Jewish community wa s t o b e divide d int o tw o parts—A an d B—s o tha t the y coul d b e mor e efficientl y loade d int o th e train s an d transported t o th e camps . Of course , he memorize d it , then immediatel y pu t th e telegra m bac k i n th e envelope an d wen t t o th e postmaster , wh o wa s a persona l frien d o f the family , living on th e thir d floo r i n ou r house . (W e used t o g o t o hi s quarter s ever y nigh t so w e coul d liste n t o th e "Voic e o f London i n Bulgaria " at nin e o'clock. ) Th e postmaster said , "All , those peasants , the y don' t kno w ho w t o read . Don' t worry , I shall rechanne l it. " Then h e opene d th e telegra m an d rea d i t himself . He nearl y fainted, the n h e sai d t o m y father , "Asa , did yo u rea d this? " My father replied , "Of course not! " But they bot h kne w h e wa s lying . The postmaste r seale d th e envelope , re-route d it , sending i t on t o it s prope r destination. Yo u might wonde r wh y the y didn' t jus t destro y th e telegra m bu t the y didn't, probabl y becaus e they viewed i t as an officia l communicatio n an d fo r whatever reaso n simpl y fel t tha t on e di d no t d o suc h things . Who knows?

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My father immediatel y mad e arrangements t o take the night trai n t o Sofia and rushed to the consistoria, whic h was the Sephardic equivalent t o what we might call today the Jewish federation o f each countr y or the organization o f presidents of major Jewish organizations . An emergency meetin g of the consistoria was called the next morning, and he told them abou t what he had read i n the telegram. The majority reacte d b y saying, "Oh come on, Asa, that's impossible . This is not Germany. This is not Poland. Such things are not going to happen t o us. In Burgas, the welcoming reception in 1941, when the Bulgarian government appointed a commissar for JewishAffairs to be in charge of the entire Jewishpopulation of the country. Chaim Asa's father, President of the Burgas Jewish community, is standing in the back row, sixth from the left

Don't worry about it. " And my father sai d to them, "f dlik e to believe what you are saying, but I have read i t with my own eyes." Fortunately, there was another perso n a t the meeting who said, "Look, I've known abou t thi s telegram, but I didn't hav e any proof, so I didn't kno w how to bring it up, what to say. But now that somebody ha s seen it—believ e me , this is the reality." The consistoria decided t o mobilize itself . They organized lobb y groups. For six weeks and more, there was intense lobbyin g of members of parliament (whic h was still in session), the labor unions , and the Agricultural Union . They decided

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to go t o Kin g Bori s III , to contac t th e metropolita n o f th e Orthodo x Churc h i n Sofia, a s well a s t o canvas s ordinar y Bulgaria n citizen s i n orde r t o forc e th e Germans t o abando n thei r plan s t o depor t th e Jews o f Bulgaria . I would sa y tha t th e complet e answe r t o who save d an d wha t saved th e Jews o f Bulgaria i s no t withi n ou r reach . Ther e i s n o on e clea r facto r t o which on e ca n point an d say , "Thi s i s exactly wha t happene d an d why. " Bu t le t u s remembe r that Bulgari a wa s th e onl y countr y wher e th e native , non-Jewis h people—th e Chaim Asa's father and stepmother outside of their department store, on June 21, 1941. The sign says, "Magazine (or Store), The Little Elephant, Abraham X. Assa "

proletariat, th e simpl e people—marche d i n th e streets , as the y di d i n Sofia , protesting. Thi s di d no t happe n s o muc h i n Marc h 194 3 because th e deportatio n of Bulgaria n Jews wa s averted , bu t i t did occu r late r o n tha t spring , i n May . In fact, som e no n Jewish peopl e wer e kille d b y the polic e a t nigh t durin g th e protests. The Bulgarian s wer e simple , good-hearted peopl e wh o refused , u p t o a point, t o go ahea d wit h th e edic t eithe r fro m th e fascis t governmen t o f Bulgari a o r fro m the Nazis . And wha t i s remarkabl e i s that the y succeede d i n preventin g th e Jews of "Ol d Bulgaria " fro m bein g deported .

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While I was not saved individuall y but as a member o f a group, there was a wonderful Christia n woman b y the name of Marika Karolova who was prepared to hide me if it became necessary . Fortunately, this never came to pass, but several years ago I asked he r why she was ready to help me , and she said, in her simple way of speaking: "How could I , as a good Christian , let little Enrico [that was my nickname] go with those people? Who knows where they were going to take him? I was going to keep him; I was going to protect him. "

Chaim Asa, now a rabbi in California, is a Bulgarian whose father was the president of the Burgas Jewish community. He and his family survived the Holocaust because of the efforts of non-Jews in Bulgaria

Chaim Asa, his father, and his stepmother, March 12, 1941.

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LEO EITINGER NORWAY

On Octobe r 25,1942 , lat e i n th e evening , the telephon e ran g i n th e hom e o f Mrs. Sigrid Helliese n Lund , a Norwegia n lad y know n fo r he r activitie s in th e Nanse n Committee an d wit h othe r humanistic , antimilitary organizations . A deep, obviously distorte d mal e voice said, "Thi s is from th e police . There will b e a larg e party tomorro w morning , bu t onl y the bi g parcel s will b e collected. " And the n the receive r was pu t down . Part y was understoo d immediately , bein g a nam e fo r the Gestap o actio n i n Noway , whil e th e othe r detail s wer e mor e enigmatic . After som e deliberation , i t became clear that th e Gestap o was preparin g a n actio n against th e Jews and tha t th e "bi g parcels " were th e mal e adults . Thi s was th e start o f the rescu e operation . Onl y a fe w hour s remaine d t o get th e Jews i n Oslo into hiding . Th e mal e Jews of Trondheim ha d alread y bee n arreste d i n othe r earlier actions. We don' t kno w precisel y how man y Norwegian s spen t th e nigh t o f October 25, 1942, warnin g th e Jewish familie s and tryin g t o find hidin g place s for them . They were fighting a n uphil l battle . They had littl e time, and the y ha d t o convinc e persons wh o di d no t understan d th e seriousnes s o f the situatio n t o agre e t o admi t unknown visitor s o r lodger s i n th e middl e o f the night . Thos e Norwegians wh o were tryin g t o hel p Jews als o were workin g agains t th e fac t tha t the y wer e askin g non-Jewish peopl e t o ris k thei r live s for th e Jews, som e o f whom the y probabl y did no t know . I n addition , the y were face d with man y Jews wh o neede d t o flee but wh o di d no t wan t t o believ e that the y were reall y i n dange r o f losing thei r lives. O f course, the rescuer s wer e als o struggling agains t th e polic e raiding al l the Jewish homes. The actio n starte d a t fiv e o'cloc k in th e mornin g an d i s described i n th e semiofficial histor y o f the illega l transports t o Sweden . It was i n Oslo , where eleve n hundre d o f the eightee n hundre d Jews in Norwa y lived, that th e mai n an d greates t battl e o f all was fough t betwee n th e Naz i persecutors an d th e rescuers . A month afte r th e arres t o f the males , all th e women an d childre n wer e t o b e arrested . Th e same warning wa s give n t o Mrs.

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Lund. This time, the voice said, u The small parcel s will be collected, too." Once again, Norwegians were stumbling around i n the streets, and not just because there was a black-out. But this time it was possible to find more helpers. Nevertheless, the rescue operation turne d ou t to be muc h mor e complicated . It was, of course, easier t o find a hiding place for on e single man tha n for a mother with two or three children. The mothers did no t want to leave their half-grown children , and sometimes they panicked. Som e had quite unreason able wishes to take the most superficial an d impractica l belongings with them. Frightened childre n were crying and that alone threatened t o dissolve the whole rescue action. A new group of rescuers had been mobilized . A refugee wh o was a close frien d of a doctor and his family b y chance had gotten som e hint s about th e impendin g mass arrest. Forty to fiftypeople were summoned b y the refugee t o an emergency meeting i n the doctor's flat. Neithe r the doctor no r hi s wife knew about it. Even one of the highest leader s of the underground wa s summoned, an d h e came. There they divided among themselves the task of warning the Jews, finding hiding places, and transporting people. All of those present were also ready to take some people int o hiding. The fathe r of the leader of the underground, a lawyer, also had several peopl e hidden i n his home. Unfortunately, tw o of them were discovered b y German soldier s at the Swedish borde r when the y were to cross. They tried to commit suicide , but on e of them was brought t o the hospital, revived, and immediatel y interrogate d by the Gestapo. Half in a coma, he gave them th e address an d the name of the family where they had been hiding . The lawyer was immediatley arrested. Knowin g that his son was in a position where hi s betrayal coul d destro y a large part of the Resistance, he committed suicid e i n prison—the sam e one i n which I was a prisoner—on th e first nigh t of his arrest. The son manage d t o escape to Sweden, and, later on, became a professor o f medicine. We have been colleague s and good friends fo r man y years, but h e has never mentione d th e tragedy of his father o r the rea l reaso n fo r hi s death. There was a Jewish children' s hom e i n Norway in which there live d 22 children from Austria and Czechoslovakia. They were brought t o Norway in order t o give their parents a better chance of finding a country to which the y could immigrate . These plans became futile when th e Nazis occupied Norway , too, but both the Nansen Committee and the Jewish community i n Oslo had t o care for th e children an d kept them i n this home. On the night when al l the women an d children were to be arrested, a female doctor, a psychiatrist, was alerted b y Mrs. Lund, who had received the message 83

about th e parcels. The doctor had permissio n t o drive a car, even during an air raid alarm. She immediately came to the children's home . Single-handedly, she evacuated all the children, hiding some under a blanket i n the rear of her car. She had to drive four time s to the children's hom e and t o the hiding places, but she manage d t o rescue all of them. Nine hundred thirt y Jews were rescue d and during th e following month s were brought t o Sweden—sometimes unde r th e most unbelievabl e difficultie s an d Oslo's most famous street during the German occupation

despite the mos t astounding complications. Among those who rendered th e most noble services were the so-called frontie r pilots , who helped brin g people into safety. I have known the lady psychiatrist and man y others of the rescuers for years, but they have never mentione d anythin g about their tremendous achievements during the months of October an d November 1942. In spite of their efforts, however , 600 Norwegian Jews and 120 refugees wer e deponed. Among these, only 11 o f the Norwegian-born returned . Fourtee n o f the Jewish refugee s i n

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Norway also happened t o survive their sta y in Auschwitz, and some of them returned t o Norway. I was among them. There is one small story that i s important i n order t o give a little impressio n of what it could mea n t o be a rescuer i n Norway. Mrs. K. and he r littl e daughter, aged four, were to be saved. The father ha d already been arrested . First , they were brought ou t of Trondheim, the second o f the two Jewish communitie s i n Norway, to a small, remote village. But even there , they were no t i n safety, and on November 29,1942 , they were move d t o an isolate d summer far m inhabite d only by cattle and a dairywoman durin g th e three or fou r summe r months . The distance from th e farm t o the Swedis h borde r was about 15 0 kilometers; the greatest par t of the trip had to be done on skis. But Mrs. K. was not Norwegian born and did no t know skiing. The two young peasants who had brought the m t o the farm devote d al l of their time to caring for Mrs . K, and he r daughter . The young me n ha d to go to the village at least once a week to get food. Thi s was not an easy task—not onl y because of people's curiosity, but also because i t was illegal, for al l kinds of foo d were rationed . The two young peasants started t o train Mrs . K. to ski. They prepared a special rucksack mad e of fur fo r th e littl e girl. They knew that the mother would neve r be able to make it on ski s alone, and therefor e prepare d a sort of collar for on e of the persons to lead Mrs. K. The other on e trained th e child to get used to sitting in the rucksack of fur, an d h e also trained himsel f to carry her an d to be able to help her i n all possible situations. In addition t o all that, they had to prepare a n escape route. After abou t a month, they decided t o make an attempt to get to the Swedish border . They succeeded i n their mission , and two days later the two Norwegian boy s returned t o Norway.

Leo Eitinger, M.D., a scholar and author, is professor of psychiatry at the University of Oslo. He is a survivor of the Holocaust.

This account wa s largel y base d o n th e followin g tw o sources: Jahn Ott o Johansen. Det hendte ogsd her. [It happened also here]. Oslo, 1984. Ragnar Ulstein. Svensketrafikken . [The Traffic to Sweden] Oslo, 1974. The author acknowledges them with gratitude.

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J0RGEN KIEL FR DENMARK

The Germa n invasio n o f April 194 0 left th e Danis h peopl e i n a paralyzin g stat e of despair, frustration , anger , an d shame . These wer e feeling s tha t continue d fo r nearly a year, int o 1941 . One mus t understan d tha t Denmar k wa s a split countr y which ha d no t ye t recovere d fro m th e economi c an d scxia l problem s o f th e thirties. O n to p o f tha t wa s th e Naz i occupatio n whic h meant , o f course , tha t Denmark ha d los t it s freedom . In 1941 , we Dane s experience d a nationa l reunio n o f politica l partie s an d socia l groups, al l o f who m graduall y realize d thei r commo n cultura l heritag e an d their commo n goal : nationa l independenc e an d democracy 7. Naz i sympathizer s remained, bu t the y wer e a very smal l an d despise d minority . Th e nationa l re union triggere d numerou s meetings , durin g whic h Danis h cultura l traditions , literature, an d nationa l song s wer e recognize d a s a treasur e belongin g t o all Danes. By 1942, however, th e Danis h internationa l positio n becam e a n issu e o f increas ing importance . Th e sham e arouse d b y the surrende r o f Denmar k withou t significant resistanc e i n April 194 0 was still alive . An active resistanc e movemen t was born . I t soon becam e clea r tha t th e Danis h peopl e wer e divide d onc e more , this tim e betwee n a larg e majorit y grou p preferrin g passiv e resistanc e an d a smal l but growin g grou p o f me n an d wome n wh o wante d so-calle d Norwegia n conditions, o r a n activ e figh t agains t th e Germans . Th e goa l wa s th e sam e fo r both groups : nationa l independenc e an d democracy , bu t th e mean s wer e different. I t was no t onl y a question o f strateg y o r courage , bu t i t was als o a question o f ethics . "Wha t wil l yo u do , i f the Gestap o enter s int o th e roo m t o shoot you r younge r brother? " was m y questio n t o on e o f m y sisters. "Protec t hi m with m y body , bu t I will no t earn 7 arms, " was th e bol d answer . I n 194 2 we wer e still waitin g t o se e wha t wa s going t o happe n an d s o th e discussio n continued . In spit e o f al l th e pacifis m amon g th e Danis h people , th e group t o which I belonged, an d man y othe r group s a s well, started t o accumulat e weapons . Durin g the sprin g o f 1943 , active resistance , includin g sabotage , riots , and strikes ,

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together with a rapidly growing illegal press, succeeded i n creating "Norwegian conditions" in Denmark. The Danish government resigne d o n the 29th of August 1943, and the Germans took over. This was a victory for th e Resistance Movement, but i t did not mean tha t the Danish people were united, and i t is very likely that the discussion concernin g active versus passive resistance would hav e continued i f it had no t bee n fo r tw o serious Germa n mistakes . In the middle of September th e first execution o f a Danish saboteur took place. Nobody could be i n doubt an y longer tha t participation i n active resistance implied willingness to risk one's own life . Were the supporters o f passive resistance willing to make a similar sacrifice ? They got an opportunity to answer that question abou t two weeks later, when th e Germans made their second blunder. They started the persecution o f Danish Jews.* It was the opportunity to "protect your younger brother with your own body." The opportunity was seized b y numerous peopl e who had been livin g in an ethical conflict wit h themselves for severa l months. I shared a three-room apartmen t i n the center o f Copenhagen with my brother and two of my sisters. We were all students from a provincial town i n Jutland. Our apartment was the meeting place of a group o f students and nava l cadets. It was also a printing office fo r the illegal press, and i t soon becam e a depot fo r guns taken from th e Germans or from th e Danish Navy headquarters. For months we had been discussin g active versus passive resistance. With the seizure of the Jews, this discussion was suddenly brought t o an end. Weapons, however, were not enough t o save Jews. We needed mone y and ships to carry the refugees t o Sweden. The financial problems were solved within 48 hours. Klaus, a young member o f our group, was well acquainted with most of the larger estates in the surroundings o f Copenhagen. Together with Elsebet, one of my sisters, he made a weekend tri p to these places, and when they returned, they had one million crowns, a considerable fortune . Additional funds wer e raised by other members of our group, and many refugees als o were able to make significant contributions . Through their personal contacts, two young girls, Ebba and Henny, who had joined our group, got in touch with several fishermen and the crew of a small supply ship which made daily tours to a lighthouse in the middle of the sound *This move caugh t th e Danis h populatio n i n th e middl e o f it s endless discussio n concernin g th e mora l issue of violence. No w al l thos e wh o wer e i n favo r o f passiv e resistanc e wer e read y t o prov e tha t thei r morality was of th e sam e qualit y a s those who were willin g t o sacrifice thei r lives .

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between Denmar k an d Sweden . I n this way, we established tw o important escap e routes from Copenhagen . Finding Jews, bringing them t o the harbor, and organizing and protecting their embarkation becam e our mos t importan t tasks during the following weeks. Ebba and Henn y were always there to see them on board. About 1,500 persons were rescue d via these two routes, without the loss of a single life. We did, however, lose one of our friends, Cat o Bakmann. Cato was a medical student wh o did not want to become a saboteur, bu t he was not afraid t o risk his life i n the service of the illegal press and the rescue organizations. One day he was surprised b y the Gestapo in an apartment belongin g to a surgeon a t the Copenhagen during the war. Kieler shared a three room apartment in the center of Copenhagen with his brother and two of his sisters. The apartment was the meeting place of a group of students and naval cadets, an underground printing office, and a depot for guns taken from the Germans or from the Danish Navy headquarters. Bispebjerg Hospital . He jumped out the window from th e second floor but was hit by German bullets . Severely wounded, h e was taken to the emergency roo m of the hospital, where he died i n the arms of the nurs e on duty . She was his wife. They had marrie d a few weeks before. Sh e buried he r young husband and continued hi s work. The transportation o f the Jews took about two weeks, but the resistance groups continued eve n after th e Jews were safe. Instead o f Jews, we began t o transport spies, agents, weapons , and secret materia l across the sound. N o longer did people i n the resistance groups discuss the question o f passive versus active resistance, for i t had become imperativ e to engage actively in resistance.

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There are several reason s for th e successful rescu e of Danish Jews. Most important i s of course the well know n warning by Georg Duckwitz, the German attache, who deserves mor e credi t tha n an y one single person fo r alertin g us Danes to the impendin g action agains t the Jews. Nearby neutral Sweden , separated fro m Denmar k b y the narrow waters, was another importan t factor . The inability of the German Nav y to supervise the lon g Danish coastlin e also played a role, and interna l Germa n disagreement s were of great help . The rivalry between th e German hig h commissioner , Werner Best , and th e hea d o f the German Army in Denmark, General vo n Haneken , mad e the persecution inef ficient. While these were importan t factors , the reactio n o f the Danish peopl e was a decisive factor. I n my opinion, the discussion concernin g passiv e versus active resistance represents a background offerin g a reasonable psychologica l explana tion for thi s reaction, but a traditional humanisti c attitude to lif e and th e absence of serious anti-Semitism i n Denmark playe d thei r pa n too. Many of us came from th e organized Resistance , but other s cam e spontaneousl y when the y were needed. Nationa l independenc e an d democrac y were our common goals, but the persecution o f the Jews added a new and overwhelmin g dimension t o the fight agains t Hitler : human rights . Our responsibilit y towar d and our respec t for th e individual huma n bein g became the primar y goals of the struggle, a struggle which require d a maximum o f moral an d physica l strengt h from th e rescuer an d the rescued alike , and above all from thos e who were caught by the Germans. When the stream o f refugees ceased , our group continue d th e sabotage without further ethica l discussions. After abou t fou r month s and 2 5 actions, some of which represente d significan t blow s to the war industry , the group was finally broken u p by the Germans. After th e war, we were able to discover that two in our group ha d been sho t i n action, two had committed suicide , two were executed afte r torture , and tw o had died i n a concentration camp . Four survived deportation an d others survived undergroun d i n Denmark o r a s refugees i n Sweden. This was the price to be paid i n order t o pursue our commo n goals. I am not sure that the Danish Resistanc e Movement would hav e gained th e strength which i t actually did ha d i t not been fo r th e inspiratio n we receive d from th e Jews. Jews don't ow e us gratitude; rather, we owe each othe r mutua l friendship.

J0rgen Kieler, M.D., president of the Freedom Foundation in Copenhagen, Denmark, was active in the Danish Resistance Movement during the German occupation of Denmark.

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LEO GOLDBERGER DENMARK

I wil l neve r forge t it . It i s still as vivid i n m y memory a s i f it were yesterday . The moments o f unspeakable terro r a s well a s th e kin d an d war m socia l support network o f the Danes , friends an d stranger s alike . 7

I ha d jus t ha d m y Bar Mitzvah i n June o f 1943. Thoug h th e luncheo n celebratio n that followe d m y performanc e i n th e synagogu e wa s no t a s sumptuous a s that of my older brother' s tw o year s earlier , i t w as nevertheles s a happ y event . I even received a fe w fountai n pens , som e religiou s book s an d a shiny larg e police flashlight. To finall y becom e a "man! " No w perhap s I could d o som e rea l resistance wor k i n th e underground—no t jus t engag e i n ou r childis h for m o f antiGerman sentiment : wearin g a red , whit e an d blu e lape l pin , pinchin g a Germa n soldier i n a crowded stree t the n runnin g lik e the devil , or pourin g suga r i n th e gas tan k o f a German car , and th e like . r

With m y parents an d tw o brother s w e ha d move d i n 193 4 to Denmar k fro m Troppau (i n th e Moravia n par t o f Czechoslovakia) where m y father ha d bee n serving a s chie f cantor . (H e an d m y mothe r ha d originall y come from Bratislava, Slovakia, an d afte r a fe w years i n Yugoslavia, where I was born , ha d settle d i n Troppau, a prosperou s an d comfortabl e Jewish community.) Albeit a restless person, m y fathe r ha d sense d anti-Semitis m in th e ai r an d cas t about fo r a ne w position an d a ne w country . I t ma y hav e bee n a Naz i parade her e an d a Germa n nationalistic sloga n there , no t t o mentio n direc t anti-Semiti c remarks whic h mad e my father wan t out , despit e al l assurance s b y hi s man y friend s an d fello w Jews i n Troppau tha t h e wa s imaginin g things . B y chance, really, there wa s a vacancy for the prestigiou s cantoria l positio n i n Copenhagen' s Grea t Synagogue . He applied , tried ou t fo r i t and wa s appointed . Moving—furniture , gran d pian o an d all—w e quickly were settle d i n th e picturesqu e ol d cente r o f town, integrate d int o th e cozy Danis h wa y o f life, learne d th e languag e an d it s customs an d fel t ver y muc h at hom e there . Ther e was nar y a hin t o f anti-Semitism. Jews ha d achieve d thei r full civi l right s wa y bac k i n 1814 , generation s ago , and ha d ove r th e year s earne d a highl y respecte d plac e i n al l walks of life .

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Then came the fatefiil day . April 9,1940. The widening scope of the war hit our beautiful, little , and avowedly neutral land—afte r i t has only recently signed an antiaggression pac t with the Germans. The early morning sky was blackened by roaring low-flying planes . From m y window I reached ou t to catch a green leafle t coming down fro m th e sky like confetti. I n comical, broken Danis h th e leafle t appealed t o all Danes to remain calm . The German Wehrmacht had n o aggressive intentions, they only wanted t o protect u s from th e evil designs of the Allies. We were urged t o go about our dail y business as usual—as i f nothing ha d happened . And, indeed, after a n emotionally movin g appeal on th e radio b y the prim e minister and our beloved ol d king, Christian X, we did just that. Life went on— Tivoli remained open , the king rode his horse daily through th e busy streets in his usual routine , and government, police , and army remained i n place with n o external evidenc e of anything unusual havin g happened, except that we had a lot of armed "guests"—soldiers , airmen, naval and S.S . personnel no t to mention tanks—all over the place. It was like a gothic Hans Christian Andersen tale . It was unreal. In retrospect, i t seems even odder t o realize that Jewish lif e also went on as usual—Jewish clubs, the Synagogue, the Jewish school, which I attended—all functioned a s usual. Well, maybe not exactly as usual. There was an air of tense, ominous anticipation o f what might be i n store next, an uneasiness that was particularly strong among those in the Jewish community, lik e my father, who along with many Jews with Eastern Europea n roots , had already experience d pogroms of one kind or another . During the first years of the German occupatio n th e Danish Resistanc e movemen t was rather small, numbering n o more than some three thousan d i n a country of four an d a half million. With the help of the Allies and their secre t ai r drops they grew bette r organized, effective an d menacing—havin g evolve d from publishin g and distributing illega l newsletters to massive sabotage and bombings of strategic war related factorie s an d rai l tracks. This was more than th e Germans ha d bargained for. To them Dane s were an affable, apolitica l peasant people , and though freedom-loving an d strong-headed the y were easily handled a s long as they were not irritate d or provoked to o much by display of authority. The very mention of the so-called Jewish problem was an obvious irritan t to the Danes—it was none of the Germans' business. It was not to be pursued. At least no t righ t at the start. Yet, the infernal proble m o f the saboteurs ha d to be dealt with firmly . The Germans issued an ultimatum i n August 1943. The Danish authorities mus t see to it that all saboteurs be handed th e death penalty . Other encroachments o n Danish judicial and governmental autonom y were also at issue. The Government refused t o give in to the ultimatum—and al l hell brok e loose. Christian an d Jewish leader s representing al l walks of life were arrested a s hostages. My father, 91

Leo Goldberger was a young man when the Germans invaded. 7 had just had my Bar Mitzvah in June of 1943. Now perhaps I could do some real resistance work in the underground—not just engage in our childish form of anti-German sentiment: wearing red, white and blue lapel pins, pinching a German soldier in the street, and then running like the devil, or pouring sugar into the gas tank of a German car."

as a functionary o f the Jewish community, was among those to be arrested. It was the night of August 28, or rather three o'clock i n the morning—I was awakened b y loud ring s and knocks on our fron t door . I t sounded lik e rifle butts against the door an d the heavy metallic footsteps o f soldiers. My father quickl y came into my brother s and m y room an d whispered tha t the Germans were outside and that he would not under an y circumstances open th e door. For me, this was the most terror-filled momen t I had ever experienced. The insistent loud knocks of rifle butts. Fearing that they would break down th e door any minute, I implored m y father t o open it , but he was determined no t to. Then, in the nick of time, we heard our upstair s neighbor s voice telling the German soldier s that we—the Goldbergers—were awa y for th e summer, and that three o'clock i n the morning was in any case no time to make such a racket! Though they posted a guard outside our apartment building , which we could see through ou r curtains, we first hid i n the bomb shelter accesse d through bac k stairs and then snuck out the back way some 24 hours late r with my father i n disguise—he ha d shaven off his Vandyke in order t o look less conspicuous. We hastened t o the train and headed ou t of town, my father's fac e burrowed i n a newspaper. I t had been his fortieth birthday , August 28th. Leo Goldberger's father was one of the chief cantors at Copenhagen's great synagogue.

We joined the rest of the family—my mothe r an d two younger brothers—wh o were, indeed, in our rente d summer hom e on the coast near Elsinore. My father had foiled th e Germans; he had no t become a hostage. But there were even more threatening events to come in the next weeks. The crisis that had begun i n early August reached it s crescendo. The Government had stood it s ground an d finallychose to resign en masse . An entirely new situation i n the German-Danish relationshi p took place on August 29. No more pretense of who ran the show. The country was no longer divided with the government o n one side and the resistance movement on the other. It was clearly the Germans who were no w in power. The king was under guard at his summer palace. The army was stripped, demobilized. Officers wer e placed along with the hostages i n camps north o f Copenhagen. The police and coast guard n o longer thought i t their duty to carry out anything other tha n clearly nonpolitical, domestic functions—which exclude d apprehendin g saboteurs or, for tha t matter, people escaping to Sweden. By the middle of September, my parents decided tha t things had cooled down enough fo r u s to return t o our apartment i n Copenhagen. After all , my brothers and I had to continue school. Though the idea of escaping to Sweden had rarel y surfaced a s a viable option before—it wa s considered almos t impossibl e because of heavy patrols, Danish as 92

well as German—the time was getting close at hand t o at least try. Then came the warning—the Germans were planning to round u s all up and send u s off to a concentration camp , the time was now more than ripe . The warning came near the end o f September fro m a courageous Germa n i n the high command' s offic e in Copenhagen—Naval counselo r G.F . Duckwitz. It was forwarded t o us through Danish intermediaries and announced a few days prior t o Rosh Hashanah i n the Synagogue. We were urged b y Rabbi Melchior to go int o hiding and t o try and escape to Sweden i f possible. The German pla n was to round u s up during the night of Rosh Hashanah Taken in 1942, in the living room in their apartment in Copenhagen, is the Goldberger family (from the left): Leo's brother, Gustave, his father, his brother, Milan, Leo, his mother, and his brother, Erik.

between Octobe r 1 an d 2, when mos t Jews presumably would b e at home fo r th e high holidays. Where to hide? Our first nigh t was spent as guests of a wealthy Jewish family who lived in Vedbaek, on th e coast some 35 miles away. To our chagri n th e familytook off for Swede n durin g the night , without eve n tellin g us or thei r Jewish refugee maid . Apparently m y father ha d been aske d by our hos t whether h e wanted to chip in for a boat t o take us all to Sweden bu t ha d been force d t o decline. He simply did not have that kind of money. Near panic but determine d 93

to "get tough" and to find a way somehow, my father too k a train back to the city; he needed t o borrow money, perhaps get an advance on hi s salary and to see about contacts for passag e on a fishing boat . As luck would have it, on the train a woman whom he knew only slightly recognized hi m and inquire d about hi s obviously agitated facial expression . He confided ou r plight. Without a moment's hesitation th e lady promised t o take care of everything. She would meet my father a t the main railroad station with all the information abou t the arrangements within a few hours. It was the least she could do, she said, in return for m y father's participatio n som e years back in a benefit concer t for her organization—"The Women's League for Peac e and Freedom. " After escaping to Sweden, Leo Goldberger became very active in the scout movement. He was not yet old enough to join the Danish Brigade which was organized to fight in the Resistance.

True to her word, she met my father late r that day and indicate d that all was arranged. The money would b e forthcoming fro m a pastor, Henry Rasmussen (Israel Mission). The sum was a fairly larg e one—about 25,00 0 Danish crowns, 5,000 per person , a sum which was more than m y father's annua l salary. (Though it was ostensibly a loan, I should ad d that pastor Rasmussen refuse d repaymen t after th e war.) The next step was to head for a certain addres s nea r the coast, less than a n hour from Copenhagen . After hurriedl y getting some things together from ou r apartment—a fe w clothes, some treasured paper s and family photos, and, in my case, the newly acquired police flashlight—wewere off by taxi to our unknown host s for th e night and our uncertai n destiny . The following nigh t we were standing, huddled i n some lo w bushes along the beach nea r Dragur, an outskirt of Copenhagen's islan d of Amager. It was a bitter 94

cold October night . My youngest brother , barel y three years old, had bee n given a sleeping pill to keep hi m quiet. My brave and stoic little mother wa s clutching her ba g with socks and stockings to be mende d whic h sh e had taken alon g for reasons difficult t o fathom rationally . We were anxiously and eagerl y waiting for the promised ligh t signal. As we were poised t o move toward th e signal, I could not hel p but wonder why this was all happening. What had we ever done to be in hiding, escaping like criminals? Where would i t all end? And why in God s name did th e signal not appear? Then finall y th e light s flashed. We were off ! Wading straight int o the sea, we walked ou t some 10 0 feet throug h ic y water, in water that reached u p to my chest. My father carrie d m y two small brother s on his arm. My mother hel d on t o her ba g of socks. And I clutched m y precious flashlight. M y older brothe r trie d valiantly to carry the suitcases but finall y ha d to let them drop i n the water. We were haule d aboar d th e boat, directed i n whispers to lie concealed i n the cargo area, there t o stretch ou t covered by smelly canvases; in the event the German patrol s were to inspec t th e boat, we would b e pasvsed over as fish. There seemed t o have been som e 20 other Jews aboard. As we proceeded ou t toward th e open se a m y father chante d a muted prayer from th e Psalms. A few hours later , bright light s and th e pastoral scener y of Skane along the coast outline of Sweden appeared . Wonderful, peacefu l Sweden . A welcoming haven , never to be forgotten, wher e we remained unti l our retur n t o Denmark a t the end o f the war i n 1945. How can 1 eve r forget? Ho w can I ever stop mullin g i t over, wondering abou t th e whys and wherefores? Th e Danes were trul y fantastic. N o doubt abou t it . Our neighbor upstairs , on th e night they came to arrest m y father, wa s great. The lady on the train was an angel. Pastor Rasmussen , a true Christian. The fisherman , although h e charged a good penny , was after al l diverted fro m hi s fishing t o the transportation busines s and neede d t o make a living. But he did ris k hi s life, and was a courageous, yes, a noble soul. And there were thousands o f others all across Denmark, helping and caring , tending t o us—some 7,20 0 of us as it turned out. What a magnificent feat ! And to think that for the Danes the rescu e seemed only natural. Not a big deal, Not something fo r which specia l recognitio n shoul d be given. For them i t was the only way. Yet their dee d remain s i n m y mind a moral lesso n of how we all ought t o behave when huma n being s act cruelly and unjustly an d forc e great sufferin g o n thei r fello w huma n beings . Leo Goldberger, professor of psychology at New York University, lived in Denmark and was helped by the Danish people to escape to Siveden.

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Leo Goldberger after the war when the family returned to Copenhagen.

I

INTRODUCTION

Le Chambon-sur-Lignon i s situated o n a high plateau surrounde d b y rugged mountains i n south-central France . It is a place where th e winters are very long and very cold. But there, in that little village, during World War II, the climate of the heart was warm, for i t was in Le Chambon tha t people fleeing from th e Nazis were welcome and found a place of refuge. Adults as well as children wer e cared for b y people i n the village and b y peasants from th e surrounding countryside . Jewish children take n from internmen t camp s like Gurs and Rivesaltes , were hidden and helped b y these good people . There Jewish children went to school and had their lesson s together with non-Jewis h childre n fro m th e area. They played tug-of-war an d other games. They had a pig named Adolf. The people of Le Chambon-sur-Ligno n no t only resisted the Nazis, they resisted the policies of their own country, Vichy France. While there i s no single explanation for thei r actions—perhaps w e should leav e that to future socia l scientists— the most importan t fac t for u s to know is that they were brought u p to understand all the idioms of the language of love. When their heart s spoke to them, they first listened, then the y acted.

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MAGDA TROCME FRANCE

My husband, Andr e Trocme , was a Protestan t minister . Durin g th e war , we live d with ou r fou r childre n i n th e smal l villag e of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon i n centra l France. Peopl e were conten t t o b e there , an d w e wer e happ y t o b e abl e t o take car e of them, althoug h i t was th e first tim e tha t w e live d amon g peasants . Previously, we ha d live d i n a city , bu t w e appreciate d thi s change , because i t is always interestin g t o get t o kno w differen t people . The villag e of Le Chambo n wa s a Protestan t one , with a bi g church . O n Sunday s the sermo n wa s somethin g ver y important , becaus e a t tha t tim e ther e wer e n o movies, n o specia l lectures . The sermon wa s somethin g tha t everyon e wante d to hear . M y husband's preachin g wa s differen t becaus e he wa s a conscientious objector. Th e Protestan t Churc h wa s no t happ y abou t it , because a t tha t tim e conscientious objector s were no t admitte d a s ministers . Bu t the paris h wante d a man lik e my husband , no t onl y becaus e of his idea s abou t wa r an d peac e bu t on accoun t o f his general idea s abou t trut h an d justice . My husband wa s a very impressiv e man . H e was interestin g an d genuine , original. He alway s thought tha t h e ha d t o preac h fo r peace , for bette r lov e and under standing. Th e parish aske d fo r hi m becaus e th e peopl e wante d him . S o later, when th e dange r came , how coul d the y no t bac k him? My husband's mothe r wa s Germa n an d hi s fathe r French . My father wa s Italia n and m y mothe r wa s Russian ; we wer e a good combination . We tried t o encour age th e paris h t o b e mor e broad-minde d tha n the y perhap s woul d hav e bee n if they ha d no t bee n livin g with internationa l people . We ha d th e opportunit y t o go t o se e ou r families , sometimes i n Italy , sometimes in Germany , and w e sa w what wa s goin g o n there , especiall y in Germany . Even before th e war , w e alread y kne w th e trut h abou t wha t wa s happenin g t o Jews and others . I t was no t tha t w e wer e mor e cleve r than th e others , bu t w e ha d more experienc e and coul d gues s wha t woul d happe n i f the German s invade d France. Littl e by little, Andre trie d t o prepar e th e population , preachin g t o them , preparing the m t o stan d fast . When th e danger s came , we wer e no t surprised .

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The people i n our village knew already what persecutions were becaus e their ancestors were the old Huguenot s who, when the y accepted th e Reformation , were persecuted b y the Catholic kings of France. They talked ofte n abou t thei r ancestors. Many years went by and they forgot, bu t when th e Germans came, they remembered an d were able to understand th e persecution o f the Jews better perhaps than people i n other villages, for the y had already had a kind of preparation. When la drole guerre, the "funny war, " was declared i n 1939, nothing happened . We knew, of course, that the Germans were coming always nearer t o us. We also realized tha t our government wa s changing, that Marshal Petain , who was a very old man , had becom e the head o f the government an d that many people believed i n him an d thought h e was like the flag—a symbol—because h e was a national her o from Worl d War I. But what man y people di d no t realiz e was that World War I was very different fro m Worl d War II. After th e fall of France, Andre went on preachin g a s he always did. He spoke against the war. Little by little the Germans, having crossed th e border an d bein g in Paris, arrived i n our region . The danger was there. They started to persecut e the Jews, but we never imagine d what would happe n t o the Jews in France. Even before th e Germans crossed th e Vichy line, some Jews managed t o get int o our pa n o f France, and they tried t o come to where we were. It started with the French Jews who often cam e to our village for th e summer. Ou r peasant s were so poor tha t they took payin g guests i n the summer. Som e of the French Jews were i n Le Chambon befor e th e rea l danger cam e because they were afraid t o stay in the city. They were afraid o f the Germans because the y knew something about what was happening i n Germany. Then th e German Jews came. At first, they were paying guests i n the hotels and at the farms. Later they became refugees. Why did they come to us? Because we were i n the mountains, because i t was a Protestant place, because someone ha d spoken, perhaps, of a minister wh o at that time had funny ideas , who was a conscientious objector . You could no t know how people knew that they might have a good plac e in our town . I can tell you what happened i n our house , but I cannot tel l you what happened i n other houses, although I know that littl e by little there were Jews all over the place. When the "funny war" started to be a real one , a poor woman cam e to my house one night, and she asked t o come in . She said immediatel y tha t she was a German Jew, that she was running away , that she was hiding, that she wanted to have shelter. Sh e thought tha t at the minister s house she would perhap s find someone who could understan d her . And I said, "Come in." And so it started. I 101

The Protestant temple of Le Chambon-surLignon. "On Sundays the sermon was something very important... something everyone wanted to hear."

did no t kno w tha t i t would b e dangerous . Nobod y though t o f that . But al l a t once , man y peopl e wer e i n th e village . When yo u hea r tha t ther e ar e nice peopl e wh o wil l receiv e yo u i n thei r home s i n a certain place , and yo u think yo u ar e i n danger—an d late r whe n yo u reall y ar e i n danger—yo u wil l d o anything t o get there . Bu t ther e wa s n o advertisement . The y jus t came . Those o f u s who receive d th e firs t Jews di d wha t w e though t ha d t o b e done — nothing mor e complicated . I t was no t decide d fro m on e da y t o th e nex t wha t w e would hav e t o do . There wer e man y peopl e i n th e villag e wh o neede d help . How coul d w e refus e them ? A person doesn' t si t dow n an d sa y I' m goin g t o d o this an d thi s an d that . We ha d n o tim e t o think . When a proble m came , we ha d to solv e i t immediately . Sometime s peopl e as k me , "Ho w di d yo u mak e a decision?" There wa s n o decisio n t o make . The issu e was: Do yo u thin k w e ar e al l brothers o r not ? Do yo u thin k i t i s unjust t o tur n i n th e Jews o r not ? Then le t u s try to help! "

Andre Trocme was the Protestant minister. "My husband," says Magda Trocme, "was a very impressive man... He always thought that he had to preach for peace, for better love and understanding. The parish asked for him because the people wanted him. So later, when the danger came, how could they not back him?"

It was no t somethin g extraordinary . No w tha t th e year s hav e gone by , perhaps w e exaggerate thing s a little , although I can tel l yo u tha t thing s di d ge t complicate d later. Bu t i n th e beginning , when th e firs t Jew cam e t o m y house , I just opene d the doo r an d too k he r i n without knowin g wha t woul d happe n later . I t was eve n simpler tha n on e migh t suppose . In th e beginning , w e di d no t realiz e th e dange r wa s s o big . Later, we becam e accustomed t o it , but yo u mus t remembe r tha t th e dange r wa s al l over. Th e people wh o wer e i n th e cities ha d bomb s comin g dow n an d house s comin g i n on thei r heads , an d they were killed . Other s wer e dyin g i n th e war , i n battles . Other peopl e wer e bein g persecuted , lik e thos e i n Germany . I t was a genera l danger, an d w e di d no t fee l w e wer e i n muc h mor e dange r tha n th e others . And, you see , the dange r wa s no t wha t yo u migh t imagine . You migh t imagin e tha t th e peopl e wer e fightin g wit h weapon s i n th e middl e o f the square , tha t you woul d hav e ha d t o ru n away , that yo u woul d hav e ha d t o g o into a littl e street an d hide . The dange r wa s no t tha t kin d a t all. The dange r wa s in havin g a government that , littl e b y little , came int o th e hand s o f th e Germans , with thei r laws , and th e Frenc h peopl e wer e suppose d t o obe y thos e laws . The polic e wer e n o longe r "French " police ; they wer e polic e tha t acte d fo r th e Vichy government tha t wa s unde r th e Germans . At that time , we wer e mor e afraid o f th e polic e an d th e Vichy government tha n w e wer e o f th e Germans , who wer e no t ye t reall y i n ou r country . We starte d t o disobe y i n very littl e ways. For example , i n ou r schoo l i t was sug-

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gested tha t we put a picture of Marshal Petai n on th e wall. We decided no t to do it. It was a small disobedience, but then we started t o be mor e disobedient . In the mornings, to give another example , the flag ha d to be put u p i n front o f the school and the children were supposed t o salute it. We decided no t to do it. Ours was a private school, a school founded b y the Protestants, not the school of the state. The state school di d as the marsha l said, but we disobeyed . Because the director of the public school was one of our friends , h e said, "You don't want a flag. I understand. I f they want to salute the flag, they can come to my school." At that time, we were just across the street. For a while, some teachers and students went to the flag at the public school. Little by little, it was forgotten an d i t stopped. It is true that we had Jewish childre n i n our village. Once when m y husband was in Marseilles, he spoke to Burns Chalmers, who was responsible fo r man y of the Quakers' activities on behal f of the inmates of the concentration camp s in the south of France. Andre told him that he wanted t o volunteer t o go to one of the French camp s where there were Jewish children an d hel p take care of them. Chalmers said to him, "But Monsieur Trocme, we have volunteers fo r th e camps. We have lots of volunteers fo r th e camps. What we do not hav e is a place, a village, a house, a place to put people who are hiding, people that we can save. We get people out of the camps, but nobod y wants them. I t is dangerous to take them. Is your village prepared t o do such a thing?" My husband cam e back to the village and h e spoke to the council o f the church, and they said, "OK, go ahead." Within minutes , they were willing to help. They did not always agree one hundred percen t with all that m y husband said, but they agreed i n general with him, and so they helped. Yes, there were dangers, but u p until then, nothing had happened . More and more we would disobey. We had a habit of doing it . One day, finally, the governor—the prefec t o f the Department o f the Haute-Loire—Monsieur Bach , came and said to my husband, "Now you mus t give the names of all the Jews that are here." It was at the time that the Jews had to put on th e sign, the yellow star. My husband said , "No, I cannot. First, I do not know their names"—the y ofte n changed thei r names—"and I don't know who they are. And second, these Jews, they are my brothers." "No," Monsieur Bach said, "they are not your brothers . They are not of your religion. They are not of your country." "No, you are wrong," Andre responded. "Here , they are under m y protection."

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Magda Trocme in a photograph taken after the war.

"You must give me their names, " said the prefect, u or who knows? Maybe you will be taken t o prison, if you don't tel l me who they are." Immediately I prepared a suitcase. I put int o it everything that I thought would be necessary i n prison, something warm, a change, and so on. We called that suitcase "the prison suitcase. " Then th e prefect left , an d i t was put aside. Some months later, it was February 13,1943 , around seve n o'cloc k i n the evening, two gendarmes knocked a t the door o f the old parsonage i n Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. I was cooking and m y husband was not home. They asked to see Pastor Trocme, and I told them that he was at a meeting, and that he was coming back later, but that I could answer all their questions because I knew all about m y husbands work. They said that it was something very personal an d that they wanted t o wait. So I put them i n his office, an d I went on cooking , doing whatever I had to do, and I forgot abou t them. When m y husband cam e back, it was about eight o'cloc k o r eight-thirty , he rushed int o the house, with his Bible under hi s arm, with hi s papers, and went int o his office. After awhil e he came out and said, Tve bee n arrested. " Why arrested? At that time, nobody even dared to ask why such things happened . The entire Trocme family in Le Chambon before 1940. In front of Andre and Magda stand their children: (from the left) Daniel, Jacques, Jean-Pierre, and Nelly.

And I said, "Oh m y goodness, what about th e suitcase?" It was now February and the suitcase was empty, because i t had been pu t together th e past August. And then th e gendanne said , "What is this suitcase business?" So I told hi m and he said I could have all the time I needed t o prepare Andre's things, but that no friends o r neighbor s could b e aware of what was happening. These gendarmes, you know, were French people , and they were very much worried abou t doing what they were doing. It was a dirty job, but what could they do? If you are a gendarme, you arrest people. There we were, and i t was time to eat, so I said to the gendarmes, "Sit down and eat." People now, when the y write a book, or when the y write a newspaper article , or a magazine article, or when the y speak of these things, they say, "Oh, what a wonderful woman . The gendarmes came to arrest he r husband , and she invited them t o sit down and eat with them." It was nothing at all. We always said, "Sit down," when somebod y came. Why not say it to the gendarmes? And besides, I had to hunt around for di e suitcase so that I could pack it. They could just as well sit down and get out of the way. Before m y husband left , you cannot imagine what happened. A young girl, Suzanne Gibert, rang the doorbell. Her father was a church counsellor , and we had been invite d to their home because it was her father' s birthday . Of course, we had forgotten becaus e of all the excitement. She came, saw the police, ran

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away, told everyone what was happening i n the parsonage, and a few minute s later, the people of the village started a sort of "procession" coming to say goodbye and to bring presents—queer presents , things that we had no t seen i n years began to appear. A box of sardines, which i s nothing now, but at that time a box of sardines was put aside for th e worst time, for the future. A candle. We had n o candles for light . At the end, we discovered tha t matche s were missing , and the gendarme captai n gave his own. Someone els e brought a piece of soap—we had soap but i t was like stone—but somebod y brough t m y husband rea l soap. And someone brough t toile t paper—not a roll, but loose , flat papers . There i t was, wonderful toile t paper. It was only later, when I was able to visit my husband i n the camp—it was not a concentration camp , but a Vichy detention camp—tha t h e said to me, "Do you know what was on that paper? With a pencil, very carefully, th e person wh o gave this toilet paper ha d written o n i t verses of the Bible, of encouragement, o f love and understanding. I had a message, but I don't kno w from whom. " My husband was a prisoner, and yet someone too k the time to write him messages of love and understanding. I t was a compensation. Peopl e would forge t that there was some danger, because they were involve d i n the work. I remember onc e toward the end o f June 1943, my husband was not home, and I was called by a girl, Suzanne Heim, early in the morning. She told m e that the Gestapo was taking away young people from th e student home , "La Maison des Roches." Most of the students there were of military age and foreigners. The Gestapo had gone to the children's home where Daniel Trocme, my cousin, lived, and had taken him with them to the student home . I went there immediately from m y kitchen. I had an apron on , so when I arrived the Gestapo thought I was a maid of the house. They let me in, and I sat in the kitchen. I tried to go into the dining room where all the Jewish students were i n a line. My cousin Daniel who was responsible for th e students was with them. The Gestapo screamed a t me and kicke d m e out, but the y let me go into the kitchen, which meant that they thought I was a maid, that I was someone belongin g t o the house. After a while I had to go to the village. When I returned, my young son Jean-Pierre, who was 13, came to be with me for the moment when th e students were taken, because he did no t want me to be alone. I saw all those boys passing to go int o a little room where there was a man with a booklet with man y names. He was interrogating them, interviewin g them on e by one. Most of those who went through ha d a little bit of paper and said to me, "Send this to my mother. Here's the address of my father. Thi s is for my fiancee. I have some money in my room." They did no t know that all the

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rooms had already been searche d an d that there was no longer an y money, no jewels in the rooms. But it did no t matter . We would hel p them anyho w if possible. My son was so upset when h e saw those Gestapo beating those Jews as they were i n line coming down th e stairs, going int o the trucks. They were beating some of those young boys and screaming, "Schweine Juden! Schweine Juden!" We saw all those young people get int o the trucks, and m y cousin Danie l said to me, "Do not worry. Tell my parents that I was very happy here. It was the best time of my life. Tell them tha t I like traveling, that I go with m y friends." For many refugees, the "poetic gate" of the presbytery was the real entrance into the village of refuge. To the left of the door is the ancient coat of arms of the village.

When they left, m y son was green, I would say, like a sick boy. And he said, "Mother, I am going to get reveng e later. Such things cannot happe n again . I am going to do something when I am grown up. " And I said to him, "But you know what your father says : 'If you do such a thing, someone else is going to take revenge against you. And that i s why we are never finished. We go on an d on and on. We must forgive, we must forget, we must do better.'" He was silent, and we left. And Daniel neve r came back.

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During the war things were very difficult. Whe n m y husband afte r a few weeks did return safel y from th e Vichy camp, we continued ou r work taking care of people. After th e war, I traveled i n America for th e Fellowship of Reconciliation. I spoke English at that time much better. I was asked lot s of times to speak about these things, to say what the lesson was that we must learn fro m al l this. The lesson i s very simple, I think. The first thin g is that we must no t think that we were the only ones who helped durin g those times. Little by little, now that we speak of these things, we realize that other people di d lot s of things too. Also, we must not be afraid t o be discussed i n books or i n articles and reviews, because it may help people i n the future t o try to do something, even i f it is dangerous. Perhaps there is also a message for young people and for children , a message of hope, of love, of understanding, a message that could give them th e courage to go against all that they believe i s wrong, all that they believe i s unjust. Maybe later on i n their lives , young people will be able to go through experi ences of this kind—seeing peopl e murdered , killed , or accuse d improperly ; racial problems; the problem o f the elimination o f people, of destroying perhap s not their bodies but their energy, their existence. They will be able to think that there always have been som e people i n the world who tried—who will try—to give hope, to give love, to give help to those who are i n need, whatever the need is. It is important, too, to know that we were a bunch o f people together . This is not a handicap, but a help. If you have to fight i t alone, it is more difficult. Bu t we had the support o f people we knew, of people who understood withou t knowin g precisely all that they were doing or would b e called to do. None of us thought that we were heroes. We were just people trying to do our best . When people rea d this story, I want them t o know that I tried t o open m y door. I tried to tell people, "Come in, come in. " In the end, I would lik e to say to people, "Remember tha t in your lif e there will be lots of circumstances that will need a kind of courage, a kind of decision o f your own, not about other peopl e but about yourself." I would no t say more.

Magda Trocme, who with her daughter, Nelly Trocme-Hewett, is in the movie, "The Courage to Care," lives in Paris, France. During the German occupation of France, she and her husband, Pastor Andre Trocme, helped Jews hide in and around the village ofLe Chambon. Madame Trocme and her husband have been honored by Yad Vashem.

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Major Julius Schmahling

PHILIP HALLE I want to tell you about a certain Germa n arm y officer who , while being dutiful , and even efficient, i n Hitler's military managed to save the live s of many people in the mountains of southern France . He was a good ma n who was part of an evil cause, and so his story is paradoxical a t its very center. First, I want to give you a-context i n which you can understand thi s paradoxical man . After havin g spent a large part of my adult lif e studying the evil perpetuated by the German natio n betwee n 193 3 and 1945, 1 found i t necessary for m y emotional well-being to seek out what goodness, what hope I could salvag e from th e story of those years. Happily, I found th e village of Le Chambon , a tiny village in the Cevennes Mountains of southeastern Franc e that saved thousand s of children from the gas chambers and the deep pits . The goodness of the people of L e Chambon di d not reside only i n saving those young lives ; it resided als o in the fact that the more than thre e thousand peopl e i n that village did no t hate or kill anyone, even the children-killers. Ethics is the celebration o f life, and throughou t the years from 194 0 to 1945, when th e Germans occupied France , they celebrated lif e by both helpin g the defenseless an d no t hatin g or hurtin g their victimizers. Unlike soldiers or guerilla fighter s the y were n o persons enemies . They were morall y pure, uncompromising i n their efficaciou s caring . But when I finished findin g an d writing out thei r story in m y book, Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed (Harper an d Row , 1979), I found mysel f with two puzzles. The first was: How did they manage to protect th e bitterest enemies of the Germans—Jews—for fou r lon g years without bein g utterly smashed? How did that little train manag e to keep coming in , afternoon afte r afternoon , wit h refu gees aboard, filling u p that "nest of Jews in Huguenot country, " as Le Chambon was called throughout th e region, without th e Germans and thei r French collaborators massacring them all? The second puzzl e was: Who was "Le major," the major I had heard s o much about? Many times when I was living in the village, and when I was interviewing villagers now living elsewhere, I would mentio n m y puzzle about th e survival of 109

this village packed with Hitler's worst enemies. And many times I got the simple answer, "Ah! Cetait le major" "I t was the major." When I pursued the question, all I learned was that he was a German name d Julius Schmahling, who had a position o f responsibility i n the government o f the region durin g the last two years of the occupation o f France. The first detail s I learned abou t hi m were i n the autobiographical note s of the leader of Le Chambon, Pastor Andre Trocme. These notes simply stated that he saved the lives of many people i n the Haute-Loire, of which h e was occupation governor i n 1943, until h e was replaced b y an ardent Nazi , Colonel Metger. Apparently the major wa s considered t o be too soft an d too old—he was about sixty years old then—to administer thi s dangerous an d sensitive region o f France, and he was replaced b y a tough career officer fres h fro m th e brutal war in Russia. But Schmahling stayed on a s second-in-command unti l the end of the war in France in August 1944. But these facts did no t clear up my puzzles. They did no t tell me if , and if, how, he saved the lives of so many people i n the region an d protected th e rescue machine of Le Chambon fro m hi s fellow Germans . The solutions to my puzzles were becoming very important t o me. After writing a book about thi s morally pure group o f people, the people of Le Chambon, 1 found mysel f depressed. I felt s o small, so impure compared t o them. I began to feel tha t my book about them was not a concrete story that had meanin g for m e and people lik e me—it was more of a parable, or a n allegory about ideal creatures, who happened t o have been real . I even foun d mysel f resenting the pure-hearted Chambonnais —they ha d not killed, and I had. They hadn't tried to stop Hitler's armies, and I had, as a combat soldier i n Europe during the last year of the war. They were too good for me to understand, because i n the war, and at other times , I had compromised with m y profound revulsio n agains t hating and harming m y fellow huma n beings . I had found mysel f thinking one day, "Oh yes, these Chambonnais were good people, but people lik e me, haters and killers, stopped Hitler, kept him from spreadin g hi s art of cruelty and murde r acros s the face of our earth." And here, in the major, I found a man lik e us. He did some good, just as I have done some good, but h e was deeply implicated , deeply compromised b y doing harm. He was closer to me, this German I might have killed without a qualm during the war, than those almost angelic Frenchmen an d Frenchwomen ! It occurred t o me that if I could understand why I admired thi s man i n spite of his duty to Hitler's Third Reich , I might learn something about admiring—or a t least being friends wit h other maculat e beings, like my family, and lik e myself. I might 110

learn something about th e goodness I see around me , whenever I look and see, though i t might be a tainted goodness. I lived with hi s children i n Germany. (They are middle-aged lik e me, and his son was a German soldie r i n battles i n which I fought opposit e him. ) The more I found ou t about hi m and the more I learned fro m talkin g to my various friend s in the Resistance i n the Haute-Loire, the more clearly I saw how deeply tainted he was. One of the reasons he could protect th e village, and other s i n the region, was that he was a friend o f the dreaded Armed-S.S. general, Josef ("Sepp" ) Dietrich. Dietrich was one of the original henchme n o f Adolf Hitler i n the streets and beer hall s of Munich, and h e ha d participate d i n the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934. On tha t night h e helpe d wipe out the SA (th e Stormtroopers ) leadership. He was rightly called "th e learned butcher. " They first met i n the north o f France, when Schmahlin g was criticizing the arrogant and cruel behavio r of Dietrich's S.S. men. Both of them were plainspoke n Bavarians who had the same outgoing, sensual temperaments , and the y also shared a great respec t fo r inferior s wh o could b e critical without bein g disloyal. They both love d food an d drink, and love d to talk on th e telephone. And on th e telephone they kept their friendshi p aliv e after Schmahlin g lef t hi s post i n the north o f France in order t o take over the Haute-Loire i n the south. I have no record o f those telephone conversations , but Frenc h peopl e who worked i n Schmahling's office i n France, and Schmahling s childre n hav e convinced m e that these telephone conversations—an d on e visit between Dietric h and Schmahling i n the south—had muc h t o do with Schmahlings powe r t o protect the region fro m Klau s Barbie and other Gestap o chiefs i n the south. The Armed S.S. and the Gestapo were at the peak of the Nazi power structure, and they shared no t only theories and practices but personne l wit h each other. A word fro m Dietric h on the telephone could , and I am convinced, did prevent Gestapo raids in the Haute-Loire. But the force tha t helped Schmahlin g protect peopl e i n the Haute-Loire, and people i n Le Chambon i n particular, also compromised Schmahlin g deeply. Schmahling was supping with the Devil, and h e ha d to be careful no t to offen d one of the most powerful leader s of the Third Reich. Still, tainted a s he was, how could h e save "many people i n the region, " as Pastor Andre Trocme put it ? At first I thought tha t Schmahling migh t b e a deeply religious man practising Christian lov e quietly. Like most Bavarians he was a Catholic. But it turns out that he was totally nonreligious. When h e was in his teens he scandalized an d paine d hi s mother, who begged hi m to go to church.

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Julius Schmahling in Munich, Germany, 1939.

He refused t o go—except t o admire the architecture. When a friend woul d mee t him i n the street and would say, "I haven't seen you i n church, Julius," he would usually answer, "You see me better out here. Its lighte r outside."

Julius Schmahling in Le Puy (Haute Loire), France, 1943.

He was a high school teacher i n southern German y before an d after th e war, and one would think that as a teacher of history and literatur e he would be articulate about what he believed; but when an y of his students or colleagues would ask him what he meant by calling somebody "good " or "wicked " instead of presenting a neat theory of ethics he would almost always utter on e littl e sentence, "What's right i s obvious, obvious." As a student o f philosophy, I found i t impossible to find any principles i n his speech o r i n his behavior. All I found wa s what he once described as "my hot-blooded passion. " He loved the present, and was full o f compassion fo r thos e who came to him for help. He had n o plans or goals—only passionate and compassionate reaction s to his own and t o other people' s present needs . He was baroque, unruly, exuberant, not classical or restraine d o r lucid . As a civilian and as a reserve officer h e was the exact opposite of the "orders-are-orders" personality. He lived spontaneously. For instance, when hi s friends wer e driving him somewhere h e would urge them to run the stop signs and run th e red traffic light s if he wanted t o be there now. Duty-oriented type s would follow order s fro m above—no t he . He was not a man who had things to do; he was a man who had to do things out of the boiling wellspring of his immense physical and menta l health . Instead of going into the depths of his soul, or claiming to do so, let me tell you two stories about him . He was a young teacher i n northern Bavari a when on e day he came int o his wooden classroo m t o give his students a lesson on lions. He had prepare d a dramatic lesson o n th e king of beasts, and full o f it, and of himself, he walked int o the classroom. As he spoke the first words, "The lions," he noticed a little boy in the back of the roo m wh o had been sittin g dumbly on his wooden benc h during the whole term. The boy was waving his hand i n the air trying to catch his teacher's eye. The young teacher kept talking about the great beasts. In a few moments the boy jumped of f his bench an d called out "Herr Professor , Herr— " Schmahling looke d a t him i n anger—he coul d not believe that this little dunce was going to interrupt hi s discourse on lions . Then the boy did something that reall y amazed the teacher. He called out, without permission, "Yesterday, yes, yesterday I saw a rabbit! Yesterday I really saw a rabbit!" Before th e words were all out, Schmahling yelled out, "Sit down, you littl e jackass." The boy sat down, and neve r said a word fo r the res t of the year.

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In his old age, Schmahling looke d bac k at that moment a s the most decisive one in his whole life. Then, while he was crushing the boy with all the power of German pedagogical authoritarianism , h e was destroying something i n himself in the very act of destroying the momen t o f sunlight i n that little boy's life. When the class was over he vowed to himself tha t he would neve r d o such a thing again to a human being . Teaching and livin g for him , he vowed, would fro m tha t moment forwar d involv e making room fo r eac h of his students and eac h of the people he knew outside of the classroom t o speak about th e rabbit s they had seen. Julius Schmahling with other German officers, in Le Puy (Haute Loire), France, 1943.

And he kept hi s vow. It was as simple as that—and a s infinitely comple x as keeping such a vow during the German occupation o f France. If he had had a complicated ideolog y or theory he might well have been recognize d a s a Gegner, an enemy of the Third Reich , and migh t well hav e been smashed . As it was, he was no ideological threa t t o the Nazis around him . This was why Dietrich coul d like him—because h e was simply likable, and likabl y simple. In his nonreligious, nonprincipled wa y he carved ou t an ethical space for carin g 113

in his classrooms and i n his duties as the military governor o f the Haute-Loire in 1943 and 1944. He was no hero, no declared enemy of Nazism or of any other "ism"—seen fro m a distance he was just one dutiful membe r o f the Nazi war machine. But seen u p close, and seen fro m th e point of view of the hundreds, possibly thousands, of people he protected fro m th e Gestapo and from hi s own vicious auxiliary troops i n the Haute-Loire, he was a good man . He compromised with evil, and helped defenseles s peopl e as much as he could. He did not try to save everybody, the way German heroe s lik e Dietrich Bonhoeffer an d Kurt Gerstein did—h e trie d only to save a few people, and h e succeeded i n that limited task. But seen from th e distant point of view of history he was an obedient part of the paw of the monster tha t was Nazism. He was a good ma n in an evil cause. In his last days in the Haute-Loire, after th e Germans had been defeate d i n France, he was called i n for a "seance" before th e local Resistance chiefs. A seance was an informa l cour t hearing, usually preparatory for a full cour t hearing, or, in some cases, for summary execution. As a German h e was the target of all the frustrations an d angers the French felt afte r fou r year s of murderously cruel and humiliatin g occupation. There had been a massacre of Germans just a few miles to the north, and to the east 50 Germans were being killed and dumpe d into a great well. At this time, on August 20,1944, the door o f the room i n the Haute-Loire was opened, and i n walked th e former Commandan t o f one of the most dangerou s regions in occupied France . Julius Schmahling at the age of 60 was a small, rotund man , with a balding, egg-shaped head . As he rolled dow n th e aisle with his sturdy body and i n his slightly worn, green-gray, Wehrmacht officer's uniform , h e was not a figure o f distinction, and h e seemed a n easy target for al l the hatred the French were feeling the n agains t the Germans. But when h e got halfway dow n th e aisle everybody i n the room, including the toughest chief s o f the Haute-Loire Resistance , stood u p and turned t o him. As he walked up the aisle, people whispered t o him, "Major, do you nee d mor e food in jail? Do you nee d writing material s or books?" As he walked, he smiled, and shook hi s head gently. When he came up to the head o f the tribunal, the tough ol d French Resistanc e chief who was chairman o f the seance bowed t o him (for h e had stood up with all of the others) and made a little speech o f gratitude to him on th e part of all of the Frenchmen i n the Haute-Loire. Later, in his diary, Schmahling described th e meeting as "fastpeinlich," almost painful: h e was glad for their praise and their affection, bu t didn't they realize 114

decency is the normal thing to do? Didn't they realize that decency needs n o rewards, no recognition, that it is done out of the heart, now, immediately, just in order t o satisfy th e heart now? This was Major Julius Schmahling, who i n the mids t of battle made room fo r thoughts and acts of love unconsoled, unsupporte d b y religion o r by ethical or political principles. In studying him an d i n learning to admire him , I have learned muc h about respectin g mysel f and others i n a maculate world. I have learned tha t ethics is not simply a matter of good an d evil, true nort h an d tru e south. It is a matter of mixtures, like most of the other points on th e compass, and lik e the lives of most of us. We are not all called upon t o be perfect, bu t we can make a little, real difference i n a mainly cold and indifferen t world . We can celebrate human lif e in a local, intimate celebration, even with the coldness not far away.

Philip Hallie, Griffin Professor of philosophy and humanities at Wesleyan University, is the author of many works, including Lest Innocent Blood be Shed, (Harper and Row, 1979) a book about Le Chambon.

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Hans Solomon Hanne Liebmann Rudy Appel

THREE SUR\A/ORS Hans Solomon: I arrived i n Le Chambon-sur-Lignon o n Friday , the 13th, which was, than k God, a golden Frida y instead of a black Friday. We were roughl y 40 students, mixed—Jews and non-Jews . Half were non-Jewish boy s and the other half were Jewish boys liberated fro m concentratio n camps , mostly the Camp de Rivesaltes and the Camp de Gurs. These camps were no t extermination camp s like Auschwitz and Buchenwald, but the conditions were extremely bad. Starvation was the main thing that killed people, and i t was very common. At first, in Le Chambon, we Jewish boy s kept to ourselves. We remained quit e separate from th e gentile boys, some of whom were liberate d i n the same way we were. Within two weeks, however, after Pasto r Trocme ha d talked to us and we all knew that we were free a t last and could talk as we wanted, we began to relax. It got worse in August 1942, when pan o f the Gestapo found ou t that Jews were being hidden i n the Maison des Roches in Le Chambon. What happened was that at night all the Jewish boys were taken i n by farmers i n the neighborhood. We slept in the barns and i n the stables and i n the mornin g we would walk back to the Maison des Roches, where we went to school. We had a way of knowing i f it was safe or no t to return t o school i n the morning. One gentile boy was in charge. If the coast was clear, he would ope n the shutters on the window of his room; if the Gestapo were i n the house, he would no t open th e shutters. It was very important. One mornin g we walked toward the Maison des Roches, and we saw that the shutters were closed. Immediately, we went bac k to our farmers , where they again took us in and we stayed overnight . Of course, we could no t forget tha t our parents , our aunt s and uncle s were still in concentration camps , but we younger peopl e ha d a will to live. It was given to us by the people of Le Chambo n an d b y an American man , Tracy Strong, who as vice president o f the European Studen t Fun d was partly instrumental i n getting Jewish boys liberated fro m th e Rivesaltes detention cam p to Le Chambon. 117

Hanne Liebmann : Originally , there were seven of us young people who came from th e concentration cam p in Gurs. In the camp, we were asked whether we would lik e to leave and go to a French village. We were not given a lot of infor mation, other than that there were people who wanted to take youngsters out of the camp, that they wanted t o help us, that there was a Protestant pasto r involved, and that the community at large supported hi m i n his effort. I said, "Yes, I want to leave," and that was that. We came to Le Chambon, the seven of us, and we were received very wonderfully. O f course, to us, even a warm meal, a complete meal , was a tremendous La Maison des Roches where young Jewish students stayed during the war.

thing. We were placed i n a home where there were about 2 0 or 2 5 boys and girls from outsid e of France, some French Jewish children, and some non-Jewish children—all sort s of children. We really found a haven there. Then, in 1942, things became mor e dangerous, and we had to be hidden. We were taken to farms, and the farmers too k us without a question. They were happy to have us, and they shared thei r bread wit h us, though ther e was very

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little of that. I can say that I think my faith i n humankind—perhaps thi s is true for al l of us—was really reestablished b y those gentle people. Rudy Appel: M y experience was that there was no pressure a t all for Jewish children t o become Christian. And I think, undoubtedly, that the temptation mus t have been great for the m to try to influence us , to encourage u s to convert. But, in fact, with the help of Pastor Trocme, we held our ow n religiou s services on the Jewish Holy Days, either i n the Protestant Temple of Le Chambon o r i n the school. I have not heard o f anyone who was under pressur e at any time to become a Christian. The Christians in Le Chambon ha d a fundamentalist belie f that the Jewish people, or the Jewish religion, was the basis of their own religion , and, therefore, that the people who were Jews—believers o f that ancient faith—ha d t o be protected, that to protect them was to do the work of God. I sensed thi s throughout m y stay in Le Chambon, even though the y might no t hav e been abl e to put this basic belief into words themselves, they felt i t in their souls. In fact, I think this fundamentalist belie f i s alive even today in le Chambon.

Hans Solomon, Hanne Liebmann, and Rudy Appel, all Jewish survivors sheltered in Le Chambon, now live in the United States.

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Why Were There So Few?

ELIE WIESEL I am going to tell you a story. It happened i n May 1944, somewhere i n Eastern Europe. A ghetto entered th e last phase of its brief, convulsive existence. Transports. Deportation. Destination unknown . I remember th e unique destin y of that evening, the quietness that hung over the ghetto i n secret turmoil , the 30 to 40 neighbors gathering i n our courtyard , and their whispers, "Where are we going? For what purpose?" We were the last living Jews in occupied Europe , and we had neve r heard of Treblinka an d Birkenau, but we felt th e threat. Somebod y was knocking at the window facing the other side of the ghetto. Who could tha t be? By the time we managed t o open th e window, the person ha d vanished. Later, an eternity later, my father an d I would recal l that incident . My father wa s convinced tha t a gentile friend ha d tried to warn us—an d perhaps , to save us from ou r collectiv e appointment with death at Auschwitz. Why did that unknown perso n choos e to stand between a Jewish famil y an d its enemy. What motivated hi m or her , what mad e him or he r differen t fro m s o many others? What is memory i f not an attempt t o increase humankind's sensitivit y by enlarging the scope of its awareness? If I had to choose between feelin g th e burning of scars or no t feeling a t all, I would choose the former. Numbnes s was a danger then, and i t still i s today. Your encounters i n this book ma y bring you some joy— and muc h sadness. It is important t o feel the m both . When we look at all those collaborators, accomplices, and passiv e onlookers, our memory i s invaded b y sadness. Treblinka was so near Warsaw, Maidanek so near Lublin, and Babi-Yar near Kiev—no , Babi-Yar is in Kiev ; it is Kiev. Is it possible that the inhabitants of Kiev didn't know ? They saw the lon g processions o f Jews going to the ravine; they heard th e shooting. How is it that they did no t ope n their doors for a child here, a grandfather there ? But, on the other hand , there were some me n an d women who , in many places, 123

did opt for humanity . Surrounded b y terror, oppressed b y absolute evil, they had the courage to care about their fello w huma n beings . Isn't that a reason for u s to feel comforte d and , indeed, uplifted? These individuals did save a Jewish woman, a Jewish family. Where did they find the courage to care? They were not protected by visible or invisibl e armies, nor di d many of them belon g to organized clandestine movements . They were alone—as the victims themselves were alone—and s o the question we must confront i s what made them so special, so human, so different ? Why Denmark? Why Bulgaria? Why are most rescuers anonymous peopl e who just happen t o belong to that noble category of human being s who act simply because of their commitment to humanity? You will find among them few highranking officers, renowne d writers, or influentia l politicians , and my question to you is , Why? What happened t o the well-educated liberal s and humanists , those who loudly proclaim ho w much they care for every victim, how tirelessly they will fight against every injustice, and ho w deeply they will get involve d i n every battle for decenc y and dignity. Why did they choose t o remain insensitiv e to the plight, the tragedy, the murder of Jewish me n and women an d children ? Was it a choice? If not, what was it? These are difficult an d disturbing question s and they lead inevitabl y to others. Why was the tragedy of the Jews treated a s a low-ranking priority i n so many quarters? Why did the brave German officer s wh o attempted t o assassinate Hitler on July 20,1944, totally neglect the moral element an d forget t o mention that their plan had been motivate d by moral imperative s linke d to Germany's Final Solution? Why did the French police collaborate with Eichmann's emissaries in rounding u p French Jews in 1942? If the rescuers of the Jews justify ou r faith i n humankind, they must also—on another level—justif y ou r suspicion o f society; for eac h Oskar Schindler, how many accomplices were there? For each Raou l Wallenberg, how many blackmailers, how many schmalzowniks? When we allow ourselves to become captivated by the melancholy beauty of the rescuers' gestures, let us also never forge t the savage scenery surrounding them . Raoul Wallenberg and Charles Lutz were helped b y brave young Zionists in Budapest; clandestine groups were active in many cities, in many countries, helping Jews to steal across borders to relative safety and then t o the land of Israel—a country which, since the war, has taught all the others a lesson: that it is possible to save whole communities from persecutio n an d threat. Remember that it was easy to save human lives . One did no t nee d t o be heroic or craz y to feel pit y for a n abandoned child . It was enough t o open a door, to 124

throw a piece of bread, a shin, a coin—it wa s enough t o feel compassion . It would have been enoug h fo r th e U.S. Department o f State to send mor e visas. In those times one climbed to the summit o f humanity simply by remaining human . The principle that governs the biblical vision of society is, "Thou shal l not stand idly by when your fellow ma n i s hurting, suffering, o r bein g victimized." It is because that injunctio n wa s ignored o r violated tha t the catastrophe involvin g such multitude s occurred. The victims perished no t only because of the killers, but also because of the apathy of the bystanders. Those who perished were victims of Nazism and of society—though t o different degrees . What astonished u s after th e torment, after th e tempest, was not that so many killers killed so many victims, but that so few cared abou t u s at all. The Holocaust was made possible because of the enemy's successful effort s t o divide humankind int o innumerable opposin g categories . The old were pitte d against the young, the rich against the poor, nationals against strangers, frien d against friend—and al l against th e Jews. The memory of the Holocaust therefor e is meant to bring us all together. I f it divides those who study its meaning, then we shall continue to bear it s weight of malediction; but i f we resis t divisiveness and realiz e that though a unique Jewish tragedy, it had universa l implications , we may see i n memory a haven and refug e fo r al l our children .

Elie Wiesel, author, teacher, and human rights activist, is the Andrew Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University. He is the Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

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"What astonished us after the torment, after the tempest, was not that so many killers killed so many victims, but that so few cared about us at all."

Examples of Heroism

MOSHE BEJSW There i s a Talmudic saying that whoever saves one life , it is as if he saved the entire world. These are the words engraved o n th e medal tha t Yad Vashem presents to those found deservin g of the title, "Righteous Among the Nations." For 30 years we at Yad Vashem have been searchin g out these selfless peopl e who, on their ow n initiativ e and following th e dictates of their consciences, came to the aid of their fellow huma n beings . By their actions they saved no t only the tormented Jews whom the y took unde r thei r protection, but also the honor o f all humankind. Those noble individual s livin g in occupied Europ e who refused t o countenance the fate that the Nazis had pronounced upo n th e Jews overrode their fear s about the personal ris k involve d and , without anticipatio n o f remuner ation o r personal gain, put their live s on th e lin e to save others. The truth i s that it is not easy to find the m all . They acted i n secrecy, and even after th e war was over, some of them chos e to remain anonymous . In a number of instances the Jews they saved perished late r i n the war, leaving no one to recount th e story of the things they did. There are other case s in which th e rescuers perished togethe r with the Jews they were hidin g when thei r deed s were discovered. After carefull y examinin g th e evidence for ever y individual cas e brought t o our attention, we on Yad Vashems Committee for th e Designation o f the Righteous Among the Nations have found s o far about 4,70 0 individuals who, in the spirit of the Martyrs' and Heroes ' Remembrance Law (1953), are worthy of the title "Righteous Among the Nations." We have been abl e to draw two principal conclusions from th e cases we have examined. First, the ways in which peopl e from variou s parts of the population helpe d o r saved others were truly remarkable and widely varied, whether i t was by sharing a meager portio n o f food—like th e 16-year-old girl who, day after day , brought a slice of bread to the Jewish woman prisone r with whom sh e worked i n a weapons factory—or b y supplying forged paper s that would enabl e a Jew to pass as a non-Jew, and thereby be exempted fro m th e transport t o Auschwitz and

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Treblinka. Some benefactors wen t s o far as to build hidin g places and bunker s in their apartments an d places of business—as di d the people who hid Anne Frank and he r family—and kep t a Jewish family fo r weeks, months, even years— thereby placing themselves and their own familie s i n constant peril. Many cases have come to our attention. Behind ever y one of them i s an extraordinary tale of unsung valor. One of these i s the story of an impoverished farme r who lived on the edge of a forest i n which a unit of Jewish partisan s was hiding. He served a s their contact with the outside world an d thei r sole source of food. When an informer mad e this action know n t o the S.S., the farmer wa s ordered t o lead them t o the forest hideout . He refused an d was subsequently shot and killed in front o f his wife. Threatened with a similar fate i f she did no t revea l the partisans1 hiding place, she, too, refused—and wa s similarly murdered. I t is difficult to appreciate full y th e heroism o f this act of honor, for it s significance la y not only in the rescue of a unit of partisans, but i n the supreme humanit y of the act. Jewish legen d ha s it that the world repose s upon 3 6 Just Men, the Lamed Vov, who are indistinguishable fro m simpl e mortal s and whose identit y i s never revealed. During the Holocaust, they had helpers . Alongside acts of unprecedented cruelty were the deeds of a few thousand suc h righteou s souls who for their time salvaged th e honor o f all humankind. The regrettable thin g is that there were only a few thousand, while millions of courageous me n an d women were neede d to save the million s of Jews whom th e Germans were determine d to destroy. Unfortunately, whe n th e time came, millions were no t to be found . Second, from th e thousands of files we have handled a t Yad Vashem, we have learned tha t i t was possible to aid and to rescue Jews in every known circum stance—even withi n the death camps themselves. In Auschwitz, for example, there was an extraordinary, selfless physician , Dr. Adelaide Hautval, who was sent to the camp because she had protested s o adamantly to the Gestapo in France about thei r cruel treatmen t o f the Jews. Dr. Hautval found hersel f i n the famous experimenta l Bloc k 10, and late r in the death factory i n Birkenau. Not only did she refuse t o cooperate with the infamous Dr. Mengele and Drs. Agrad and Wirths in their experiments on Jewish women, but she cared fo r the Jewish prisoner s with her lovin g hands. When an epidemic of typhoid broke out and all the patients would probabl y have been sent to the gas chambers, Dr. Hautval hi d the m i n bunks and nurse d the m with maternal devotion . She truly earned fo r hersel f th e sobriquets "Th e White Anger1 and u The Saint." In 1984, I visited Dr . Hautval i n France, and throughout th e years of my association with her—ever sinc e she was honored a s one of the "Righteous Among the Nations"—I hav e repeatedly concluded tha t she i s to be

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counted among the 36 Just for who m th e world i s sustained. There was no limit to the ways in which i t was possible to help and save people, nor was there any end t o the forms o f initiative taken by the stouthearted me n and women o f conscience who are credited with saving one or man y souls. Each acted according to the circumstances, the extent o f his or he r ability , and the risk he or she was prepared t o take. Raoul Wallenberg's work i n saving 30 thousand Jews in Budapest i s well known. He took on th e special missio n o f extending aid to the Jews of Hungary at the very time when transport s were leavin g Budapest fo r Auschwitz every day—ten thousand deportee s a day. On hi s own initiative , when h e reached Budapest , he began t o print up Swedish certificate s o f protection an d distribute d the m amon g the Jews slated for deportation . When h e saw that the authorities were honorin g these documents, he went on t o establish th e so-called internationa l ghetto . At a certain stage , this colony absorbed 3 3 thousand peopl e who were cared fo r an d protected fro m deportatio n t o Auschwitz. Recently, I met with a close aide of Wallenberg's fro m tha t period, Pe r Anger of Sweden, and hear d additiona l detail s about thei r work, which include d drawin g people out of the death marche s that were heade d towar d th e Austrian border . Wallenberg drove up to the columns with truckload s of food an d medica l supplies, distributing them amon g the marcher s to ease their suffering , an d h e continued t o release from th e transport an y person h e could possibl y liberat e on th e basis of any slip of paper imaginable . This truly dazzling display of resourcefulness wa s the work of a single man. He saved tens of thousands of Jews by exploiting every opportunity to aid, ease, and rescue . Arrested b y the Soviets on the day they entered Budapest , he neve r returne d fro m th e Soviet Union. The Kremlin's protestations tha t h e succumbed t o a heart attac k i n Lubyanka priso n have been show n t o be false , and we ma y never kno w the rea l trut h abou t thi s episode. At a certain stage the Swiss, Spanish, and Portugues e embassie s too k a number of Hungarian Jews under thei r protection . Bu t for th e mos t part , the Righteou s Gentiles acted as individuals, sometimes fo r purel y humanitarian reasons , sometimes from profoun d religiou s conviction. I n some places , such as Norway and Holland, they operated i n the framework o f the anti-Nazi underground . It was not easy to swim against th e current i n an atmosphere o f fear an d hostility—especially i n light of the enormous ris k that a person an d hi s family took in aiding a Jew. During this era of darkness, in the climate of incitement agains t the Jews and widespread inhumanity , the actions of those isolate d individual s are all the more outstanding. 129

Unfortunately, anyon e who extended a hand to aid a Jew could no t expect any help, either from th e outside world o r from hi s immediate environment. To the contrary, from th e viewpoint of the Nazi regime, if such a deed became known, the rescuer stood to suffer th e same fate as the Jew who had been take n under his protection. These fine, principled peopl e did no t even receiv e any consideration fro m thei r own countrymen. Take, for example , the case of the Swiss police officer Pau l Grueninger. After th e annexation o f Austria, he turned a blind eye to the passage of a certain numbe r o f persecuted refugee s ove r the Swiss border—which th e authorities had closed. Tried and convicted of a dereliction o f his formal dut y for this humanitarian act , he was dismissed from hi s position an d denied hi s pension. It took 30 years for hi m to get his due. It was only after h e was recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the "Righteous Among the Nations" that a public outcry arose against the injustice don e to him, and he was rehabilitated. Similarly, the Portuguese ministe r i n Bordeaux foun d tha t he could no t follow his government's order s forbidding entr y to Jewish refugee s who , fleeing the Nazis, had reache d southern Franc e in 1940. Thousands of such refugee s wer e crowding the streets of the city, and Aristides de Souza Mendes could no t be on the side of terror. Following his conscience, absolutely contrary to orders, he granted entry visas to homeless and defenseless Jews and paid for hi s humanity with his position an d his career. Stripped o f all his prerogatives by the Portugues e government, he remained faithfu l t o his principles and sense of humanity to the day he died, in exile, here i n the United States. Yad Vashem ha s recently completed a thorough stud y of the quite extraordinary case in which the whole populace of a village acted as rescuers. In fact, we have seen only one such case for the entire period—that o f the Dutch village of Niuvelande. (I have not forgotten th e French village of Le Chambon, but i t is somewhat different. ) In 1942-43 the residents of Niuvelande decided tha t every household would take and hide one Jewish family or, at least, an individua l Jew. And that is precisely what they did. It was only in such a collective action that the ris k was diminished. No one feared bein g informe d upo n b y his neighbor, because all were equally implicated i n the "crime" of concealing a Jew. In speaking of collective action, one must mention th e rescue of about 7,200 Jews of Denmark, who were transferred t o Sweden i n a special operation mounte d by the Danish people. The transfer wa s accomplished i n small boats, over three nights, at a time when th e port of Copenhagen wa s already teeming with boats sent by the Nazis to carry the Jews of Denmark to their death. Denmark is the 130

only country in occupied Europ e that succeeded, throug h a common effort , i n saving—virtually at the eleventh hour—almos t al l of its Jews. It is hardly necessary to explain that this was possible only because of the willingness of so many who were willing to lend a hand i n the rescue venture. It is a sign of the greatness of the Danish people and will never be forgotten, fo r i t shows what might have been don e throughout Europe , had a similar readines s t o act been i n evidence i n other countries . Transit visa issued contrary to his government's wishes by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, France, June 18, 1940. (His signature is directly adjacent to the consular stamp.) Like thousands of others he signed, this visa allowed the Spett family to escape from France. Michael Spett, then five years old, came later with his family to New York City. He now is president of the printing firm, reestablished by his father, which designed and manufactured this book.

In referring t o the rescue of Danish Jewry, it is important t o mention th e name of another Righteous Gentile, a German who contributed enormousl y t o the success of the Danish rescue operation: the naval attache at the German Embass y in Copenhagen, Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz . Aware of what might befall th e Jews of Denmark, Duckwitz did no t hesitate. When the time came for their deportation i n 1943, he warned Danis h Resistanc e

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leaders about why the German boat s were coming int o port and what was about to take place. The disclosure of this plan by Duckwitz—whose informatio n wa s known to be both solid and reliable—convinced th e Jews and the Danish people of the immediate danger. They all went int o frantic actio n to carry out the massive and perilou s rescu e operation tha t i s credited with saving almost all the Jews of Denmark. For a number o f years now, Yad Vashem ha s been preparin g a lexicon o f all those who have been recognize d a s "Righteous Among the Nations," and the day is not far off when we will be able to publish this commemoration o f the rescue actions of these men and women. The "Righteous Among the Nations" deserve to have their deeds known b y all and to become a part of our commo n legacy . 1 do not know whether anyon e who has not undergon e th e harrowing experiences of being pursued t o death b y the Nazi regime can fully appreciat e the terror an d torment know n b y the Jews of occupied Europe . For more than five and a half years, when al l doors were closed and all roads led to Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, and other camps, I lived with these feelings. I shall never forget th e humiliation, the hostility fairly cracklin g all around me , the sensation of being trapped with n o hand extende d i n aid. In 1942 I was able to escape the camp where I was imprisoned, and returne d to my parents' village in Poland. When the final actio n was conducted t o deport th e surviving Jews for exterminatio n i n the Belzec death camp, I eluded the Germans. But then came the searches, in which every Jew found hidin g was summarily shot. I managed to flee from th e S.S., and at night I walked through th e snow to the house of a Polish friend i n a nearby village. I hoped to stay there for a day or two, until the men of the Sonderkommando (Specia l Detail s in the death camps) left th e vicinity and the hunt for th e Jews in hiding was over. He was a school frien d wit h whom I had studied fo r seven years. All I asked was to take refuge i n the pigpen durin g the daylight hours, so that the next night 1 could mov e on. But he wouldn't le t me near that pigpen, even though the dawn was breaking and i n broad dayligh t I was sure to be caught and killed. Only someone who has endured suc h experiences, hour after hour , day after day, month after month , is able to appreciate the wonder o f it all when, later on the road of my suffering, I came upon th e camp established b y Oskar Schindler, a successful Germa n businessma n wh o nevertheless treate d th e Jews working for him benignly and tried to make life as bearable as possible within the limitations of a concentration camp.

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The deeds of Oskar Schindler, who has been recognize d a s one of the "Righteous Among the Nations," are described i n Thomas Keneally's book, Schindler's List, (Penguin , 1983). It is thanks once again to the initiative of a single individua l that twelve hundred Jews were saved from almos t certai n death . It is due to Oskar Schindler tha t I mvself survived.

Moshe Bejski is a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Israel Judge Bejski is chairman of the Committee for the Designation of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

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TEN QUESTIONS

PIERRE SAUVAGE One day, 50 years ago, a young French pasto r arrive d with hi s wife an d childre n in what seemed t o these cosmopolitan cit y people a rather sleep y mountai n community. The new parish had , however, one promisin g feature. The pastor, Andre Trocme, in a letter to an American friend , date d Septembe r 19 , 1934, described th e village of Le Chambon i n France: Here, the old Hugueno t spiri t i s aJive. The humblest peasan t hom e ha s its Bible, and the father read s it every day . So these people , who d o no t read the papers bu t th e Scriptures, do no t stan d on th e movin g soil o f opinion but on th e roc k o f the Wor d of God.

Time would soo n prov e just how right he was. Le Chambon ha s affected m y life twice, and I am no longer certain which of the two times i s the more important . It was in Le Chambon tha t I was born, i n March 1944, a Jewish baby , lucky to see the light of day in a place on eart h singularly committed t o his survival at the very time when muc h o f my family was disappearing int o the abyss. But it is only in the last few years that I have come to sense, in my bones and in my soul, the importance of what the people of Le Chambon, and others like them, can tell u s about ourselves, if only we can lear n t o listen, if only we can recognize our nee d t o listen. Above all, what I have learned s o far i s that we need t o know about th e Righteou s Gentiles during the Holocaust fa r mor e than they need our gratitude. I shall ask ten question s about th e people of Le Chambon an d other rescuer s of Jews during the Holocaust, questions tha t suggest ten areas of interdisciplinary , interreligious research an d reflection : 1. Virtuall y all of the people of the area of Le Chambon conside r themselve s committed Christians . Most of them ar e the descendents o f the Huguenots who fled to this windswept, wintry plateau i n the mountain s o f south-central Franc e so that they might continue practicin g their own bran d o f Christianity without persecu tion b y the kings and Catholic s of France. 135

Aristotle asserts that the true natur e of anything i s the highes t form i t can become. But, for a Jew, that i s a particularly difficult criterio n t o apply to Christianity during the Holocaust. The Holocaust occurre d i n the heart o f Christian Europe , and would no t have been possibl e without th e apathy or complicity ' of most Christians and without the virulent traditio n o f anti-Semitism tha t had lon g infected th e very soul of Christianity. Are we to view these Christians of Le Chambon, and other caring Christians of that time, as rare but representativ e of an exemplary Christian faith , or merel y as marginal, possibly accidental successe s of an otherwise disastrousl y ineffectiv e one ? To summarize, just how Christian were they? 2. Howeve r muc h psychologists, social scientists, and traumatize d secula r Jews, like me, wish to minimize the spiritual an d religious—an d henc e no t scientificall y accessible—dimensions o f righteous conduct durin g the Holocaust, the evidence will inevitabl y generate fundamental question s about th e essential natur e and specific characteristic s of the religious faith o f the righteous Christians. What were their distinctive religiou s attitudes and perceptions ? What did the peasants and villagers of Le Chambon understan d tha t so tragically eluded thei r Christian brethre n fro m th e pope on down? Could i t be, for instance , that the righteou s Christians were exceptionally comfortable wit h the Jewish roots of their faith, indeed , with the Jewishness of Jesus? For them, was Christianity perhaps mor e the religion of Jesus than th e religio n about Jesus? This appears to have been th e remarkabl e case in Le Chambon. Many Jews never got over their astonishment a t being no t only sheltered bu t welcomed a s the "people of God," in a place where even their practice of Judaism wa s protected to some extent. 3. Bot h Andre Trocme and Assistant Pasto r Edouard Thei s were determine d pacifists. On th e very day after th e armistice with Naz i Germany was signed, they proclaimed durin g Sunday services that the responsibility o f Christians i s to resist through th e weapons of the spirit the violence that i s brought t o bear on their consciences. What can we learn fro m th e dramatic effectiveness o f these "weapon s of the spirit" i n Le Chambon? If it is true, as the American Roma n Catholic bishops proclaimed i n their impor tant "Pastora l Letter on War and Peace " that "nonviolent mean s of resistance to evil deserve muc h mor e study and consideration tha n the y have thus far received," should we not begin with the obvious examples of Le Chambon an d the 136

Righteous Gentiles of the Nazi era, including a number o f caring, devout Catholics—in whom the Church thu s far ha s shown ver y little interest? And to my fellow Jews, I would also like to ask this: Independent eve n o f our share of responsibility i n the survival of humankind i n this most perilou s time in history, do we not have a special incentiv e to be intereste d i n the only weapon s that were specifically an d productivel y use d b y others a t that time to save some of us? Pierre Sauvage was born March 1944, in a peasant house like this at Le Chambon.

In Le Chambon, as elsewhere, women playe d a key role i n rescue. It was often women who were faced wit h the initia l all-important decision s as to whether o r not to take a stranger int o their kitchen s and int o their homes , a stranger whose presence could imperi l th e lives of their families . Certainly , the women o f Le Chambon were the backbone of much o f what occurre d there . Could i t be that one reason we have been taugh t so little about Righteou s Gentiles i s that socalled higher education i s dominated b y distorting, conventional mal e values? Is it

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easier for mal e historians to get excited over the sometimes meaningles s clatter of military hardware than to get excited abou t manifestation s o f spiritual resistance, even when thi s resistance produced muc h mor e tangible results? Do conventional mal e values limit our perspectiv e on resistanc e during the Holocaust? 5. Th e people of Le Chambon, as Protestants i n a Catholic country, were n o doubt especially sensitive to the oppression o f minorities, and I hasten to add the Catholics of Le Chambon, a minority within a minority, joined actively in the rescue effort. Just how important, just how determinant o f the active empathy that developed was this sense of being a minority? Is not every single one of us a minority of one sort or another ? And could i t be that many of the Righteous Gentiles had a greater sens e of this, even befor e the y joined th e tiny minority of people who resisted th e persecution o f the Jews? 6. Th e moment I became interested i n righteous conduct, I had to start rethinking my vocabulary. I am hardly enthusiastic about using the word "righteous " in English, for instance , given that too many people hear "self-righteous " instead . Even the word "gentile " suggests an emphasis on unintende d "otherness. " I'm interested i n righteous people and righteou s conduct, not i n non-Jews per se. (I also do not lik e the inadvertent implicatio n tha t there weren't som e equally remarkable Jews acting on similar values and about whom, incidentally, we know even les s than abou t the gentiles.) But words such as "righteous" and "gentile" appear unavoidabl e at this stage, and perhaps they can be shaped t o meet our needs . Other words, however, are dangerous and must be jettisoned. Just one example that I believe raises a crucial issue is the adjective "selfless, " which preclude s any understanding o f the people it is misleadingly used to praise. I am among those who suspect that Hitler and Eichmann suffered fro m wha t could b e called a particularly dreadful for m of "selflessness," but that could no t be said of the people of Le Chambon. If, indeed , it is true that the people of Le Chambon an d elsewhere ha d a very secure, very anchored sense of self, a spontaneous access to the core of their being, that resulted i n a natural and irresistibl e proclivity to see the truth and act upon it , and i f it is indeed tru e that many or all of the Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust displaye d the characteristic of psychological solidity , then a question arises that my wife an d I face all the time as we raise our young son: How does one nurture that powerful an d benevolent sense of self-esteem? If self-esteem wa s indeed a characteristic of the Righteous, what was special about their upbringing that they succeeded i n developing it?

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7. I t is a rare Righteous Gentile who believes that there was something remarkabl e about his or he r own courage. The people of Le Chambon, through thei r individual and collective actions, endangered th e live s of each and every one of them. Yet, there, too, the risks are acknowledged bu t no t considered t o have been a critical part of the decision-making process . We tend t o interpre t this , and indeed dismiss it, as modesty. But could i t be that everybody, except the courageous themselves, attaches more importanc e t o courage than i s warranted? Could i t be that whenever we overemphasize th e courage of the righteous, we do not communicate anythin g about it s nature or hel p to encourage its emergence? The town square at Le Chambon.

A glib reference t o the courageous, selfless peopl e of Le Chambon ma y thus have a hollow ring to our ear s and generate no real responsiveness i n these people, because such words correspond t o an empty concept. Perhap s the subconsciou s intent of such vocabulary i s in fact t o make such people seem essentiall y differen t from yo u and me , and thus not really, not challengingly, relevant t o our daily lives.

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How do we learn t o view the people of Le Chambon, and others like them, as people with a solid, productive grasp on life , and no t as incarnations of fairy-tale vinues which we can then preac h abou t and/or ignore ? 8. Th e people of Le Chambon remembe r a lot about their heritage and about other important thing s as well. The people of Le Chambon were well acquainted with the Bible—including th e part that Christians designate as the Old Testament, which is , among other things, an exaltation o f memory. Just how important is memory i n the genesis of righteous conduct? I might ask, in passing, how much do we Americans remember ho w many of our ancestor s came here to escape oppression o f one sort or another ? And perhaps i f Americans had remembere d better the oppression o f the native Americans and the almost-unfathomabl e viciousness of slavery, the State Department woul d hav e been pressure d int o helping the persecuted o f Europe, instead of being allowed to slam the door on them. Were all havens of refuge fo r Jews during the Holocaust reall y havens of the memor y of oppression, just as in Le Chambon? 9. Traditional , hierarchical leadershi p was largely absent among Christians when it came to resisting the appeal o f Nazism. But is it not true that we have only the leaders that we deserve? And should we be so hasty as to disregard the possibility that leaders of an untraditional sor t ma y have emerged durin g that time and that what happens i n such situations ma y be, at least in part, a matter of whether we are capable of recognizing untraditional leaders ? We must learn to recognize leader s in a time of moral decay and we should study the forms that their leadershi p takes. What sort of leaders did the dynamics of collective rescue produce i n Le Chambon and what can we learn about humane leadershi p from th e remarkabl e effectiveness o f Andre and Magda Trocme? 10. I t appears that the people of Le Chambon often di d no t know about the rescue efforts thei r neighbor s were making . They barely, if ever, talked about i t at the time or afte r th e war when th e Jews left. Although there certainly were some overtly collective actions undertaken i n the area, the conspiracy of goodness that occurred was, in important respects , a tacit and unspoken one . One might say there was a minyan i n Le Chambon. To my knowledge an instance of communal righteousness lik e this did no t occur on thi s scale, for thi s length of time, anywhere else in occupied Europe. Did it result from thes e persons placing their trus t i n the beneficence o f collective responsibility or from thei r understandin g tha t this can only occur when there i s individual responsibilit y that starts with oneself ?

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And sinc e tha t probabl y i s merel y a rhetorica l question , le t m e as k this : If bot h individual an d collectiv e responsibilit y begi n wit h th e notio n tha t i t i s indee d better t o ligh t on e candl e tha n t o curs e th e darkness , the n ho w d o the y ulti mately differ ? Albert Camus , whose allegorica l novel , The Plague, wa s conceive d an d begu n i n the are a o f Le Chambon ha s hi s narrato r sa y this: There alway s comes a time i n histor y whe n th e ma n wh o dare s t o say that tw o plus tw o equal s fou r i s punished wit h deat h .... An d th e issue i s not a matter o f what rewar d o r wha t punishmen t will b e th e outcome o f tha t reasoning . Th e issu e i s simply whethe r o r no t tw o plus tw o equal s four. Fo r thos e o f our townspeopl e wh o were the n risking thei r lives , the decisio n the y ha d t o mak e was simpl y whethe r or no t the y were i n th e mids t o f a plague an d whether o r no t i t wa s necessary t o struggl e agains t it . The challeng e fo r u s no w i s t o lear n t o understan d di e banalit y o f goodness , even durin g th e Holocaust—an d t o recogniz e tha t t o car e abou t othe r peopl e i s also t o car e abou t yourself .

Pierre Sauvage was born in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon a few months before the end of the German occupation of France. He is president of the Friends of Le Chambon and now lives in California, where he is working on a film about Le Chambon.

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They Could Do No Other

ROBERT McAFEE BROWN As a member o f the United States Holocaust Memoria l Council, I was privileged to visit Europe i n 1979 with other member s of the Council, to get idea s for an appropriate Holocaust memoria l i n the Unite d States. We visited Warsaw and Treblinka, Auschwitz and Birkenau, Kiev and Babi-Yar, and Moscow. Our final destination was Israel. During the early part of the trip, in both Polan d and Russia, we saw monuments, but they were all monuments of dead stone, reminding u s of human degradation . In Denmark, however, we encountered monument s of living flesh tha t testified t o the power of human goodness. These were the Danes themselves, those members of the Resistance who, by extraordinary and selfless heroism , reversed th e normal experienc e of Jews in countries occupied b y the Nazis. Thanks to these living monuments, 95 percent o f Denmark's Jews survived th e war. Why did the Danes side with and shelte r Jews, at great ris k to themselves, when most of Europe did not ? We met with some of them, heroes an d heroines no w in their seventies and eighties, and asked them why they behaved s o nobly. And every time, the reaction was the same: not only did they refuse t o be labele d heroes and heroines, they discounted th e notio n tha t they had done anythin g exceptional. Their answer to our question wa s always to ask another question : "Wouldn't you have helped your neighbor s i f they had been i n trouble?" And the deeply disturbing thin g is that mos t of us do not know. Would we have tried to save another's lif e i f it had mean t riskin g ours? Most of us, if we are honest, must acknowledge that we become cautiou s in the face of such a question. When the price can be very high, we search for, an d usuall y find, reasons to excuse ourselves from involvement . The Danes did not . About three weeks after m y return, I received a copy of a then forthcomin g book , Philip Hallie's Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed (Harper an d Row , 1979). So enthralling was it that I read i t in a single sitting in a day. I remain grateful fo r that book, which not only reminded m e of the horror o f those years, but als o highlighted that tiny moment o f human splendo r tha t was revealed when th e people 143

of the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon unite d a t their own ris k to save the Jews who needed thei r help. What struck m e in my reading, so soon afte r th e time I had spent i n Denmark, was that the people i n Le Chambon ha d reacted i n the same way as the Danes: they refused t o see anything unusual i n what they had done. The people of Denmark and Le Chambon ar e not alone i n reflecting suc h an attitude. It seems to have been almos t universa l among rescuers of Jews during this period. But they are "alone," in the sense that they were atypical of most people confronting simila r choices, almost all of whom capitulate d to the Nazi mentality toward Jews when force d t o choose. Why, then, did a few Europeans see it as a matter of course to risk their lives for Jews, while most, if they ever had such impulses , efficiently curbe d the m so as not to run afou l o f the Nazis? There are surely times when religio n i s the dominant motive . Le Chambon s Andre Trocme was, after all , a French Reforme d pastor , and man y who worked fearlessly wit h him were member s o f his congregation, people who had learne d in their Protestan t upbringin g that "Go d alone i s Lord of the conscience." In addition, at least some of the Danes must have retained vestiges of the Lutheranism that had informed thei r nationa l history , and knew well that a time might come when Lutherans, like Luther, might have to say, "Here we stand, we can do no other." Many rescuers i n other pan s of Europe came from families , or even countries, in which religio n wa s a central feature . Durin g a visit to Poland, for example, I had the privilege of going with Eli Zborowski, a survivor, to visit the Catholic family that had sheltered hi s family 35 years earlier, and thereby saved their lives . I asked the mother i n that home why, in a town and a culture that had littl e use for Jews, she and her family had taken i n the Zborowskis? A simple, unlettered woman, she gave a clear and uncomplicated response : "I do not understand," she said, "why the rest did no t hid e Jews. We are all Catholics here. How could anyon e refuse t o hide Jews when ou r Lord told u s that we should help those i n need?" It is a shared resource , then, in the Reformed, Lutheran , and Catholic faiths, and in the Jewish faith a s well, that all people, without exception , are made in God's image and therefore mus t be treated a s infinitely precious ; they must be afforde d whatever protectio n ca n be provided b y a fellow huma n being . No other conclusion i s possible for those with a true commitment eithe r to God or God's creatures. It would b e comforting i f we could sto p there and announce th e verdict, "case proven." We know, however, that we cannot stop there. The case is not proven, and for tw o reasons at least. First, there are too many people whose actions on 144

behalf of those i n danger sprin g from othe r motivation s for u s to claim that their actions are the result of religious commitment. Second , the overall track recor d of religious people i s abysmally weak; despite the fact tha t their article s of faith assert that to believe i n a just God mean s to challenge huma n injustice . More often tha n no t they fail t o honor thi s conviction. The sad truth i s that when we cite instances i n which religiou s faith ha s led people t o protect th e weak, we are describing a few brilliant exceptions t o the general rul e of cowardice or apathy i n the face o f human need . Those of us who are Christians mus t remember tha t we cannot le t the few who took risks—th e occasional Fathe r Delp, Bishop Lichtenberg, Dietrich Bonhoeffer , o r Martin Niemoeller—absolve th e res t o f us of our failure . St. Paul was not enunciatin g some complicated doctrin e of sin, but merel y makin g a descriptive comment , when h e said of himself, in words that describe th e res t of us, "The good tha t I would I do not ; the evil that I would not , that I do." (Romans 7:19) The value, then, of the appeal t o religion, i n dealing with our question , is that it provides both a way of challenging member s of the religious community with the moral yardstick against which the y must be measured , and of reminding the m (in Johannine terms ) that if any persons say they love God but hate their brother s and sisters, they are liars. (1 John 4:20 ) So I do not think that religiously incline d peopl e ca n convincingly offer religio n as the full explanatio n fo r righteou s behavior o f those who are not so inclined. "By their fruits yo u shall know them" (Matthew 7:16) is an awesome and yet justifiable criterio n fo r testin g the authenticity of any religious claim. We are to be judged by the quality of our action s rather tha n b y the quantity of our affirma tions, by the immediacy of what we do rathe r tha n b y the intensity of what we say. "Love must not be a matter of words or talk ; it must b e genuine and show itself in action." (1 John 3:18) So we need t o reflect furthe r o n consideration s tha t may lead to righteous behavior. Let me suggest five : 1. I t is important t o take the disclaiming of heroic deeds seriously. Such statement s may be les s an instanc e of false humilit y than tru e indication s about thos e who make them. For some people, i t may be that the ingraine d habit s of a lifetime d o make it "easy" for the m t o do what others will not . We need t o reflect o n th e biographies o f those who, for whateve r reasons , did ris e to heights of selflessnes s to a degree that most di d not . 2. Doe s not involvemen t i n the lif e of a community o f like-minded peopl e rende r exceptional action s more likely ? It is hard a s an individua l t o initiate and maintai n

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actions tha t g o agains t th e accepte d more s o f one's society . If there ar e other s involved, taking simila r stands, i t ma y sometime s be easie r for individual s o r minority groups t o def y th e prevailin g wisdo m o f the majority . This communal support surel y helpe d bot h th e Dane s an d thos e i n L e Chambon. 3. Thos e who too k risk s were, b y and large , ordinary people . The comment i s not made demeaningly , bu t a s a source o f encouragement. Th e evidence i s that th e A deportation in Lodz, Poland.

instinct fo r lov e ran dee p i n unexpecte d places , and wa s presen t no t onl y amon g leaders o r highl y gifted people . We nee d t o reflec t on th e fac t that ther e ma y be more potentia l fo r disintereste d actio n o n behal f o f others tha n we usuall y assume. 4 . I n addition , however , we ma y find a further clu e t o selfles s action i n th e pres ence o f role model s fo r th e initiall y timid. The peopl e o f Le Chambon ha d Andr e Trocme, providin g a n exampl e they coul d no t ignore . Trocme himself had Kindler, th e Germa n soldie r h e me t durin g World War I who wa s a conscientious objector, a s well a s Jesus of Nazareth. Marti n Luthe r Kin g had Gandhi . And wh o knows ho w man y blac k children, whose name s w e wil l neve r know , ha d th e

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courage to suffer i n the civil rights struggles of the sixties because Kin g himself was their model ? 5. Thes e questions deserve fuller treatmen t tha n i s possible here, but even i n this brief presentation i t is clear that they pose another questio n fo r al l of us: Is it not a pan of our ow n obligation toda y to anticipate crises, to try to determine ahead of time how we wish to act in an emergency ? We should a t least be clear that certain attitude s and actions are to be ruled out , come what may—informing o n innocen t peopl e or bein g craven befor e th e perpetrators o f injustice i n the hope of salvaging something for ourselves. We can at least anticipate a spectrum o f possible response s an d begi n t o train ourselves in the discipline necessary to carry them out . One of our mai n resources will surely be to continue listenin g to stories from th e Nazi era in which ordinary peopl e lik e ourselves did ris e to heroic actions, stories that confront u s as well as their participants with the necessit y of moral choic e and empower u s to deal with our own dilemma s by letting us live through th e decisions that others had to make for themselves . In this way we can prepar e ourselves for th e challenges, whether routin e or extraordinary , that lie ahead, so that we may act against injustic e an d inhumanity , and for justic e and humanity in whatever situations we find ourselves.

Robert McAfee Brown is a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council He is an author, teacher, and theologian who has written many articles and books, including Elie Wiesel: Messenger to All Humanity (University of Notre Dame Press, 1983).

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The Courage to Care

SHLOMO BREZNITZ Courage is never alone, for i t has fear a s its ever-present companion . An act deserves to be called courageous if , and only if, i t is performed i n spite of fear. The greater the fear, the more courageous the action that defies it . Thus, it is only when fear an d anxiety rule supreme tha t courage can truly assert itself. But how is it possible to act on a decent principle ? How can one expect t o overcome the urge for self-protection an d safety? And why should a person wish to do so in the first place? Emotions are often viewe d as the supreme caus e of the condition i n which we lose control ove r our activities. Overwhelmed b y the powerful physiologica l change s that accompany an emotional arousal , we are thought to be at the merc y of what ha s come over us. Emotions are considered a perfect excus e for a total abdication o f responsibility . In view of its major evolutionar y functio n a s the guardian o f self-preservation , fear occupie s a unique position amon g all the emotions. It is by virtue of fear, so goes the argument, that our species, just lik e its predecessors, managed t o escape and avoid at least some of "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. " This was accomplished b y ancient biologica l structures , which neve r fail t o respon d with majo r physiologica l change s to a serious environmental threat . The racing heart and the shortness of breath guarantee tha t when face d wit h adversity, the dry and bitter taste of fear will always play an importan t rol e i n determining ou r actions: an importan t role , yes; total determination, no. Here, now, is the crux of the matter, for althoug h we often experienc e th e tyranny of fear, we are not forced t o be it s slaves. It is the difference betwee n th e two possible reactions to fear which opens for member s of our species a variety of noble opportunities to transcend ou r evolutionar y bondage . The story of primate evolution i s the story of attempts at emancipation fro m th e omnipotenc e of reflexes an d instincts . It is a story of transition fro m automati c responses t o behavioral choices , from undifferentiate d unanimit y to the emergence o f individual differences, fro m dul l brute masse s to persons.

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The attempts of cultures to forge a homo sapiens more free t o control hi s or her destiny are, however, still too fragile t o withstand a major assaul t from th e everpresent primitiv e core. And nothing testifies t o this inherent vulnerability of ours in as clear and frightening a manner as the regression o f humankind durin g the Nazi era. Cultural progress is a precariously weak enterprise tha t must be cherished and protected a t all times. The view which considers emotions solely as unavoidable and uncontrollable outcome s of the provocation o f external circumstance s is, however, becoming increasingl y untenable. Evidence from psychologica l researc h suggests that emotions are at least partially determined b y the manner i n which individuals appraise a given situation. Thus, we can no longer be seen as the passive prisoners of external events . The way we feel an d experience the world is to some extent determine d b y ourselves. Men and women ar e not yet full master s of themselves, but interna l cause s pertaining to their history , attitudes, and mora l upbringin g ar e perhaps as important i n determining thei r actions as objective threat s and challenges are. This opens vast opportunities, matched only by the increase of personal responsibility for one' s actions. Although psychiatry rightly teaches that nobody can stand i n judgment o f those stricken b y fears and anxieties, when we experience fear an d anger and love , it is our fea r an d our ange r and our love. And, by far mor e important , our act s in the face of these emotions hav e all received ou r ow n stamp of approval. Now we have reached th e stuff tha t courage is made of. I t is when fear dictates, "Run," and the mind dictates, "Stay"; when the body dictates, "Don't," and the soul dictates, "Do," that the heroic battle is being waged. At times, for an alldecisive split second, one muster s the strength t o force th e issue; at other times, the difficult decisio n mus t be upheld fo r a long time against renewed attack s of fear an d doubt. A short poem b y an anonymous soldier which was found o n a scrap of paper i n a desert trenc h illustrate s this: Stay wit h me , God . Th e nigh t i s dark , The nigh t i s cold : m y littl e spar k Of courag e dies . Th e nigh t i s long ; Be wit h me , God , an d mak e m e strong . —Poems from the Desert, 1944

Courageous acts are often quic k and short, as they are in the heat of battle. They are single acts of extreme import , and then th e crisis is over. If the individual survives, the next reactions are of relief, vindication, and even, perhaps, gratitude

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and glory. How, then, can we understand act s that had to be sustained, against all odds, not for seconds or minute s or hours , but days and weeks and months and years? And where? In the midst of the most evil of all empires. And when? During the darkest of all ages. I have mentioned tw o measures of courage: the intensity of fear tha t one has to overcome and the length of time involved. Both are forces agains t performing a courageous act. With all due caution, I now want to suggest two additional, closely related measure s that involve the forces fo r carryin g the act to its completion. A brave act, by definition, implie s risk taking. The issue to consider is , for whos e sake is the risk taken? Is it for the sake of the individual himself or herself, a close relative, a dear friend, o r i s it a commitment t o one's group or society? The more distant and intangibl e the cause, the greater th e courage implie d b y the action. At the farthest extrem e of motivation we find those who do not act for themselves or for thei r close kin, but, like Emile Zola, for th e sake of an abstract idea. I maintain that there is even something mor e courageous than that. It is when one human bein g risks everything in order t o help save another huma n bein g who has been hunte d down , degraded, and abandoned b y all. As the great poe t John Donne wrote: No man is an Island entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the maine; If a Clod be washed away by the Sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Manor of thy friends o r thine own were; any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore neve r send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. Last, but not least , there is the issu e of expected outcomes . In the midst of the hopelessly unfai r battl e between fea r an d courage, one can use any argument, any thought, any image available to bolster one' s yet shaky attempts to gain the upper hand. Whether the arguments involv e a sense of loyalty, anticipated support from friend s an d relatives , or image s of gratitude, and however weak the arguments are, they are all indispensable. The Righteous Gentiles, however, had to do without i t all. As in the highest leve l of charity (described b y the great thinker Rambam) , they had to act without anticipatio n o f any reward o r acknowledgment. Furthermore, there was a need t o maintain secrecy and silence, so that the only source of support die y had was from within , from thei r own commit ment an d strengths. 151

Next, consider th e alternatives to risking everything for what some could easily perceive as so little. They could have protested, "True , I saw someone i n need and did not help. So what? There i s a war raging, and thousands of innocent people are dying daily. Why me? And why now?" You see, there i s a good reason to believe that after a while the declining of help would at best remain an unpleasant memory , to be conveniently represse d fro m consciousnes s at the first opportune moment . Only a few could do better than that; thus, only a few of us were saved. Those that lived up to the occasion discovere d tha t their rewar d was in the act itself, carried ou t i n "a still and silent voice." Life shrinks or expands in proportion t o one's courage. On March 7,1944, Anne Frank wrote i n her diary, "Whoever i s happy will make others happy, too. He who has courage and faith will never perish i n misery." Let us take these loving words as our beaco n of hope. We will be forever gratefu l t o those who refused t o let the light fail.

Shlomo Breznitz, a survivor of the Holocaust, lives in Israel where he is professor of psychology at Haifa University.

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"Courage is never alone, for it has fear as its ever-present companion. An act deserves to be called courageous if, and only if, it is performed in spite of fear. The greater the fear, the more courageous the action that defies it. Thus, it is only when fear and anxiety rule supreme that courage can truly assert itself."

INDEX

Alsace, 6 6 Amager, 94 Amsterdam, 26 , 27, 29 Anger, Per, 129 Anglican Church , 3 3 Appel, Rudy, 116,119 Arbe, 76 Aristotle, 136 Asa, Chaim, 78, 79, 81 Assa, Abraham X. , 80 Auschwitz, 10,14,15,19, 84,117,123,127,128, 129,132,143 Austria, 6, 9, 83,130 Babi-Yar, 123, 143 Barbie, Klaus, 11 1 Bavaria, 112 Beaune-la-Rolande, 19 Bejski, Moshe, 127,133 Belgium, 7 , 8,12, 5 9 Belzec (camp), 132 Berlin, 3 8 Best, Werner, 89 Birkenau, 19, 20,123,128,143 Bispebjerg Hospital , 88 Black Sea, 78 Bobrow, Maria Warchiwker, 38, 42, 43 Boegner, Pasto r Marc, 68 Bonhoeffer, Dietrich , 114,14 5 Bordeaux, 66,130,13 1 Boston University, 125 Breznitz, Shlomo, 149,152 Brown, Robert McAfee , 143,147 Buchenwald, 34,11 7 Budapest, 124,129 Bulgaria, 8,12, 78, 80, 81,124 Buna, 15 Burgas, 78, 79 California, 23 , 50, 51, 65, 87,141 Camus, Albert, 141 Canada, 3 5 Chalmers, Burns, 103 Chambon, Le, 3, 97, 98, 99,100, 101,104,107, 109,110, 111, 115,117,118,119,130,135,136, 138,139,140,141,144,146 Chateau Brout-Vernet , 71 , 72 Chelmno, 10 Christian X , 91, 92 Cirquenizza, 7 5 Cohen, Gaby, 66, 69, 71, 73 Collonges, France , 58-60 Comite de Defens e de s Juifs, 12 Comite d e Nimes , 68, 69

156

Copenhagen, 87, 88, 92, 93, 94,130,131 Croatia, 8, 74, 75 Czechoslovakia, 6, 83, 90 Danish Resistanc e Movement, 8 9 Davidowicz, Lucy, 6 Delmonte, Kurt, 25 Delp, Father, 145 Denmark, 3, 7, 8,12, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 95,124, 130,143,144 Detroit, 5 7 Dietrich, Josef ("Sepp") , 111 , 11 3 Donne, John, 151 Dragur, 94 Drancy, 19 Dubno, 4 0 Duckwitz, Georg Ferdinand , 89, 93,131,132 Dutch-Paris, 59, 60, 65 Eichmann, Adolf, 124,138 Eimatzgruppen, 8 , 10, 40 Eitinger, Leo, 82, 85 El Salvador, 24 England, 7, 8, 28, 52 Estonia, 9 Evian (France), 5 Fein, Helen, 9 Finland, 8 Fiume, 74 Florida, 43 France, 7, 8,12,18,19, 23 , 52, 58, 59, 61, 65, 66, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 99,100,101,103,107,109, 110, 111, 113,114,118,128,130,13*. 135,140, 141 Frank, Anne, 29,128,152 Friesland, 32 Gandhi, 146 Geneva, 58 , 59 Germany (during World War II), xvii, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 26, 34, 35, 38, 40, 43, 45, 50, 52 , 66, 79, 100,102, 111, 11 2 Gerstein, Kurt , 114 Gestapo, 27, 37, 46, 48, 49, 53, 60, 82, 83, 86, 88,105,106,114,117,128 Goldberger, Leo, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95 Gospic, 74 Graebe, Hermann, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 Greenberg, Irving , 3, 15 Groningen, 3 2 Grueninger, Paul , 130 Gurs (camp), 99,117,118

Hague, The (Holland) , 58 Haifa University , 152 Hallie, Philip, 109,115,143 Haute-Loire, 103,110, 111, 114 Hautval, Adelaide, 128 Herzer, Ivo , 75, 77 Hilberg, Raul , 10 Hilfman, Moana , 25, 26, 27 Himmler, Heinrich, 13 Hitler, Adolf, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 26, 32, 89,124,138 Holland, 9, 24, 26, 27, 31, 34, 36, 58, 59,129 Hoist, Henrietta Roland , 35 Huguenots, 101,13 5 Hungary, 8,12 9 I.G. Farben, 15 Ijssel, 3 2 Israel, 37,124,133,143,15 2 Israeli Knesset , xvi Italy, 8, 74, 76, 77,100 Janowka, 4 7 Jerusalem, xvi, 133 Jesus of Nazareth, 146 Jewish Theologica l Seminary , 35 Judenrat, 6 8 Jung, Max, 38 Jutland, 8 7 Karolova, Marika, 81 Keneally, Thomas, 133 Kielce, 5 7 Kielerjorgen, 86 , 88, 89 Kiev, 123,143 King Boris III , 80 King, Martin Luther, 146 Klarsfeld, Beate , 68 Klarsfeld, Serge , 68 Kobasa, Mila , 56 Kozlowa Gora , 45 Krakow, 50, 52, 53 Kraljevica camp , 75 Kristallnacht, 5 Krynice, 54 Lamed Vov, 12 8 Latvia, 3, 9 Lichtenberg, Bishop, 145 Liebmann, Hanne, 116,118,119 Lithuania, 3, 9 Lodz (Poland), 146 London, 59 , 60 Lublin, 123 Lund, Sigrid Helliesen , 82 , 83 Lutz, Charles, 124

Lvov, 38 Lyons (France), 5 9

Quakers, 67,10 3 Queen Wilhelmina , 34

Maidanek, 10,12 3 Maison des Roches , La, 105,117,118 Marburg an der Lahn , 43 Marseilles, 103 Melchior, Rabbi , 93 Mendes, Aristides de Souza , 130,131 Metger, Colonel, 110 Meyer, Pastor Oscar , 5 8 Meyers, Odette, 18,19, 20, 21, 23 Miechow, 5 3 Milice Prison, 61 Moglia, 52 , 53, 55 Morris, Esther, 5 0 Moscow, 143 Munich, 111 Nansen Committee , 82, 83 Netherlands, 7, 8, 24, 28, 34 New Jersey, 37 New York City, 15,131 New York University, 95 Niemoller, Martin , 145 Nightingale, Florence , 44 Niuvelande, 130 Norway, 7, 8, 82, 83, 84, 85,129 Nymegen, 2 8

Radom, 4 5 Rambam, 151 Rasmussen, Henry, 94, 95 Reichstag, 6 Rhineland, 4 Righteous Gentiles, 24,136,137,138,13 9 Righteous Rescuers, 15 Rivesaltes (camp), 99,117,118 Romania, 8 Rosenzweig, Franz , 39 Rothschild, Max , 34, 37 Rotterdam, 3 6 Rovno, 39, 40 Russia, 7, 8,11, 38,110 Rustin, Bayard , xvii

Oeuvre de Secours au x Enfants, (OSE), 67, 69, 72 Olympics (1936) , 4 Opdyke, Irene, 44, 45, 47, 49, 50, 51 Orandour-sur-Glane, 61 Organization Todt , 3 8 Oslo, 82, 83 Palestine, 34, 66 Palestine Pioneers , 34 Paris, 18,19, 20, 58, 66, 68, 73,101 Petain, Marshal, 101,103 Pilis, Hedi, 75 Pithiviers, 19 Poland, 3, 6, 7, 9,10,11,12,18, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 50, 51, 52 , 53, 54, 57, 79,132,143,144 Pollak, Lex, 33 Pollak, Tom, 33 Pope Pius XII, 12 Porto Re , 75 Pritchard, Marion P . van Binsbergen , 28 , 29, 31, 33 Puy, Le, 112,113

Saint Paul , 145 San Francisco , 43 Sauvage, Pierre, 99,135,137,14 1 Schindler, Oskar, 124,132,13 3 Schmahling, Major Julius, 108,109,110, 111, 112 , 113,114,115 Sdolbonov, 3 8 Seminaire Adventiste du Saleve , 59 Serbia, 9 Shakespeare, William, 35 Silberman, Franka , 50 Slovakia, 8 Sobibor (camp) , 10,132 Sofia, 78 , 79, 80 Solingen, Germanv, 38 Solomon, Hans , 116,117,119 Soviet Union, 129 Spett, Michael, 131 Stalin, Josef, 8 Steinburger, Moses , 50 Steiner, Jacob, 50 Strong, Tracy, 117 Sweden, 82, 83, 84, 87, 88, 89, 92, 93, 94, 95, 129, 130 Switzerland, 58 , 59, 60 Tanav, Emanuel, 52, 53, 55, 57 Tarnapol, 45, 46, 47 Tatra Mountains , 55 Theis, Edouard, 136 Third Reich , 111 Tito, 77 Tivoli, 91

Toulouse, 61 Tour d'Aubergne , 6 9 Treblinka, 10,123,128,132,14 3 Trocme, Andre, 100,101,102,104,110, 111, 117, 119,135,136,140,144,146 Trocme, Daniel, 105,106 Trocme, Jean-Pierre, 104,10 5 Trocme, Magda, 100,102,103,104,107,14 0 Trocme-Hewett, Nelly , 104,107 Trondheim, 82 , 84 U.G.I.F. (L'Union General e de s Israelite s d e France), 68 Ukraine, 38, 42, 43 United States , 50, 51, 52,119,130,143 United States Holocaust Memorial Council, xvii University of Geneva, 58 University of Oslo, 85 Vanifosse, 2 2 Velodrome d'Hiver , 18 Vermont, 3 3 Vichy, 67, 71, 99,101,102,105,10 7 Virginia, 7 7 Visser't Hooft , Dr . W. A., 59 von Haneken , General , 89 Vosjohtje, 24 , 25, 27 Wallenberg, Raoul , 124,129 Wannsee Conference, 13 Warsaw, 10, 41,123,143 Warsaw ghetto, 11 Washington, D.C , xvii Weidner, Gabrielle, 58 , 60 Weidner, John, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65 Weinbaum, Henry , 50 Wesleyan University , 115 Western Front , 7 Wiesel, Elie, xii, xvii, 123,125,147 Wilner, Morris, 50 Women's League for Peace and Freedom, The, 94 Yad Vashem, xvi, xvii, 33, 43, 51, 65,107,127, 128,130,132,133 Yom Kippur, 75 Yugoslavia, 8, 74, 90 YWCA, 67 Zakopane, 5 5 Zborowski, Eli, 144 Zola, Emile, 151

157

We gratefully acknowledg e th e following peopl e an d organizations fo r their kin d permissio n to use the photographs i n this volume. Rijksinstituut Voor Oorlogsdocumentatie, The Netherlands. The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research , Inc. Muzeum Historyczne , Warsaw, Poland. Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs ' and Heroes ' Remembranc e Authority, Jerusalem, Israel . Zydowski Insrytu t Historyczny , Warsaw, Poland. Photo Helios, Geneva, Switzerland . Ceskoslovenska Tiskova Kancelar/Stat e Jewish Museu m of Czechoslovakia . Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot , Israel . Judith an d Noel Lawson, Southfield, Michigan . Mrs. Odette Meyers . Mr. and Mrs . Johtje Vos. Mrs. Marion P . van Binsbergen Pritchard . Mrs. Irene Gu t Opdyke . Dr. Emanuel Tanay, M.D. Mr. John Weidner . Ms. Gaby Cohen . Mr. Ivo Herzer . Rabbi Chaim Asa. Dr. Leo Goldberger . The Trocme Family . Dr. Philip Hallie.

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