RIGHTEOUS RESCUERS WHO SAVED JEWISH FAMILIES DURING THE HOLOCAUST WILL BE HONORED AT AN EVENT HIGHLIGHTING THEIR BRAVERY

To Commemorate The European Day Of Remembrance For The Righteous, A Collection Of Righteous
Rescuer Profiles Will Be Released And Featured Alongside The Stories Of The Jewish People They
Risked Everything To Save.

BERLIN, March 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) on the European Day of Remembrance for the Righteous, will release, "Stronger Than Fear," a book profiling Righteous Rescuers – non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust – from nine countries along with the stories of the Jewish people they saved. At an event launching the collection, Holocaust survivors will meet the children and grandchildren of the Righteous Rescuers who saved them. In other instances, Righteous Rescuers will meet the descendants of the Holocaust survivors they helped save.

Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference said, "During the Shoah, thousands of individuals across Europe risked their own lives to save Jews from the Nazis. Today, only about 150 of those Righteous Rescuers are still with us. The Claims Conference has been a long-time supporter and funder of many Righteous Rescuer programs around the world, and we are proud to continue honoring their sacrifice with this publication."

An official event to celebrate the launch of the collection of profiles will be held in Limoges, France. Righteous Rescuers and Holocaust survivors will travel from different parts of France, Poland, Belgium, Germany, Israel and the United States to take part in the public presentation. Included in the gathering will be Jewish siblings, Dr. Sophia Joachims, 89 years, and Mark (Manek) Schonwetter, 91 years old, who were born in Poland and survived the Shoah thanks to the Righteous Rescuer family that hid them. At the event, the survivor Colette Zeif from Paris will also be present. After their mother was deported to Auschwitz in 1942, Colette and her elder sister Jacqueline were taken by the couple Marguerite and Charles Bayrand in Limoges, who presented them as their own children. The descendants of the Bayrand family will also be present at the event. Also, the survivors Pierre-Michel Kahn, 92 years old, from Paris and Régine Suchowolski Sluszny, 85 years old, from Antwerp/ Belgium will be present.

Rüdiger Mahlo, Representative of the Claims Conference in Europe, said, "The history of the Righteous Rescuers extends beyond the lives they saved. They demonstrate the courage needed to speak out, to act and to choose empathy over apathy. The transmission of these stories is at the core of educating every generation on the Holocaust. By passing on the dramatic choices Righteous Rescuers made without giving in to fear, we preserve a sacred space of humanity for young people to refer to when their time comes to choose."

Bronislawa Bakun, a Righteous Rescuer from Janów/Sokólka in Poland, who rescued more than 12 Jews from persecution and death, said, "We simply did what one does when one is human. We saved lives."

Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, said, "This important publication provides 36 portraits of Righteous Rescuers who together saved more than 220 Jews from persecution and death at the hands of the Nazis. Each portrait is a living example of humanity and courage. The Claims Conference is committed to passing their legacy of strength and active compassion on to future generations. Holocaust Education is about lessons in humanity. The memory of the Righteous Rescuers' countless acts of selfless bravery during the Shoah is a critical history of mankind at its best that should be integrated into school curricula all over the world."

In addition to the profiles, this publication honors the unparalleled courage of Righteous Rescuers who fed, housed, hid and helped Jews escape persecution and death during the Holocaust. While more than 28,400 Righteous Rescuers have been vetted and registered by Yad Vashem, only about 150 of that selfless population is still alive. Their individual stories and testimonies are critical to the history of the Holocaust and personal to the global Jewish community.

Pierre-Michel Kahn, the only Survivor of the Montbéliard roundup of February 1944, saved by the Righteous Rescuer Louise Blazer, said, "Saving Jews at the risk of one's own life means preferring the lives of others to one's own. I'm thinking of Lou Blazer, a member of the Resistance and suspected as such by the German police, who didn't hesitate to ask the Kommandantur for a safe-conduct, allowing her to get a Jewish child out of prison, as he was about to leave for Auschwitz."

The featured rescuers are from nine countries: Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Germany and France. Currently edited in English and French, further editions are planned in Polish, German, Hebrew and Lithuanian and will be published throughout 2025.

Jaroslawa Lewicki, a Righteous Rescuer originally from Złoczów in Poland, who together with her mother and grandfather hid two Jewish boys in their house for more than a year, said, "To give the hidden Jews hope for survival, we had to conceal our own fear. My mother would remind us every day that we must be stronger than our fear, or nothing will succeed."

Witold Lisowski, a Righteous Rescuer from Warsaw in Poland, who along with his mother and brother smuggled food and medicine into the Ludwisin ghetto and hid Dudek Inwentarz in their home for several years, said, "Today, when I see the family of 30 that Dudek founded after we helped him survive the Second World War, I know that it was worth taking every risk."

The Claims Conference has upheld a commitment to honor Righteous Rescuers as a moral and ethical act of gratitude for the unparalleled courage they demonstrated during the Shoah. In 1963, Yad Vashem began officially recognizing individuals as Righteous Among the Nations, a program named for the literature of the Sages (Chasidei Umot HaOlam) which describes non-Jews who came to the aid of Jewish people in times of need. Under the leadership of Nahum Goldmann and Saul Kagan, the Claims Conference initiated material support for the Righteous. In 1986, The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous was established by Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis, z"l, to increase aid and awareness for the Righteous. After successful negotiations with the German government, the Claims Conference now provides increased assistance to Righteous Rescuers worldwide.

A digital version of the book "Stronger Than Fear" is available on the Claims Conference website https://www.claimscon.org/stronger-than-fear/.

SOURCE Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany