The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust

Most people have heard of Oskar Schindler's heroics probably because of Steven Spielberg's amazing film Schindler's List. But have we ever heard of those who did similar heroics, yet they never got a movie in honor of them, and are seldom heard of today?

Sir Nicholas Winton, a Czechoslovakian stock broker, risked his life to save the lives of 669 Jewish children who were bound to head to the concentration/death camps. He refused to take credit for his actions, and even his family never knew what he did, until his wife discovered a scrapbook filled with photos of the children that he saved last year. Sir Nicholas Winton is currently 105 years old and is still alive today.

http://www.nicholaswinton.eu/en/pribeh-nicholase-wintona

Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat, refused to follow the orders of his government and issued visas to 6,000 Jews, all of whom would live. Chiune Sugihara died in 1986 at the age of 86.

http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/stories/sugihara.asp

There are probably thousands of people such as these who still humbly refuse to take credit for their heroics. People such as these are all people who deserve every bit of our respect.

 

shouldn't there be/isn't there a documentary or book on the heroes like this?

 

I would hope so. I'll have to do a little search for that. I have never heard of either of these two figures until last year.

 

Nor I.

 

My wife recently showed me a video of Sir Nicholas Winton being honored for his amazing heroics. As a surprise, a good portion of the audience were the same children he saved (as adults). It was a heart warming scene. I'll try to find the video. If you throw his name into a search engine I am sure it can be found.

 

I just found this 60 Minutes piece on Sir Nicholas, very touching story and well worth a the 15 minutes to watch.
https://youtu.be/c0aoifNziKQ

Also there is a documentary called Nicky's Family
http://www.nickysfamily.com

 

There was an obscure (I am tempted to say proto-hippie) literature and gymnastics club simply called the Bund by its members that hid Jews in the houses of its members. Led by a well-integrated Jewish couple, Artur and Dore Jacobs, a schoolteacher and PE instructor, their method was simply to pass off Jews as family members whose houses and identity papers were lost in Allied bombing raids. They saved a lot of people, according to one historian more than either Canaris or Schindler. The members of the Bund showed amazing courage and skill, and never sought recognition. The fact that members of the club were humble, ordinary German citizens aided the secrecy of the organization.

Biography of Dore Jacobs:
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jacobs-dore
A well-received historical biography of a survivor the Bund rescued:
http://us.macmillan.com/apastinhiding/markroseman

 

There were a lot of people doing all they can to save as many people as possible. Here is some background information. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005185

The story of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat is very interesting and a worth of further look. It is claimed (depending on the source obviously) that he saved more people in total than anyone else.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005211

Here is also a list of people who saved jews and more information about them.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/righttoc.html