The Righteous of the Nations

Open up the gates that a righteous nation may enter, one that keeps faith (Is 26:2, NAB, Revised)

In early September, my husband and I spent two weeks in Poland. We visited many World War II memorials, including museums, concentration camps, and prisoner of war camps. One of the most amazing things about the Polish people that seems to be their resiliency. I really had no idea how badly they were affected by the Nazis and the Soviets.  Warsaw had been totally destroyed and has been rebuilt, keeping the flavor of the pre-war years.

The physical rebuilding can be viewed as an outward sign of the stamina of the largest ethnic group in Europe.  I was amazed to learn several facts about the Poles and the Nazis.  In the countries of Western Europe aiding a Jew usually meant imprisonment and possibly death.  In Poland aiding Jews was punishable by death for the person and his/her entire family and yet some experts estimate over 100,000 Poles aided their Jewish neighbors despite the threat of death.

The nation of Israel awards those non-Jews who are known to have helped European Jews escape or hide during those horrific years the designation the Righteous of the Nations.  Twenty-five percent of them are from Poland.  This is a larger percentage than the Netherlands which is the next largest group known for aiding Jews.

Below is a picture of a plaque on the front of the Schindler Museum in Krakow.  The quote, written in Hebrew, Polish and English is from the Talmud.  “He who save a life saves the world.”  

Eileen