World
Claims conference launches new campaign to remind everyone to not be bystanders
The project is highlighting the actions of Righteous Among the Nations
January 27, 2022 13:37
The project is highlighting the actions of Righteous Among the Nations
January 27, 2022 13:37Claims conference launches new campaign to remind everyone to #Dontbeabystander
The initiative, a collaboration between the Claims conference and Yad Vashem is a Holocaust education campaign that highlights a lesser-known aspect of the Holocaust – stories of “Righteous Among the Nations,” brave non-Jews who risked everything, including their own lives, to save Jews during the Holocaust.
Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference: “The Jewish people owe a debt of gratitude to their Righteous rescuers. For some Jewish families at their most desperate hour, their saviours were guided by conscience and moral imperative, even above their own safety. It is our duty not only to honour the rescuers for their refusal to be bystanders, but also to share their heroic endeavours as a counterbalance to humanity’s darkness and indifference during the Holocaust. The Claims Conference is proud to be partnering with Yad Vashem in this important campaign.”
In a series of two-minute videos, the campaign highlights the heroic actions of non-Jewish individuals from all walks of life, including the dangers they faced to save Jewish men, women and children in German-occupied Europe.
Over the years the title “Righteous Among the Nations" has become a coveted title, bestowed by Yad Vashem on behalf of the Jewish people to individuals including Oskar Schindler.
https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/vG_2CmE4Qc1jz9u9Q2Jz?domain=fb.watch/
According to the claims conference: "These individuals were rays of light in one of the darkest chapters in modern history. Their stories are a source of inspiration in today's fractured world and will remain so for generations to come.
"#DontBeABystander offers a unique perspective in Holocaust education – highlighting those individuals who put morality and humanity ahead of personal preservation.”
Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference said of the project: “Whomsoever saves a single life, saves an entire universe is inscribed on the medals awarded by Yad Vashem to Righteous Among the Nations. Though not literal, the concept is not difficult to imagine; if a teenager was saved by a Righteous rescuer, we can look at that child's family tree and see the subsequent generations with its branches intact – children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Without these rescuers, refusing to be a bystander, they acted and saved the lives of Jews, otherwise this family tree could not exist.”
#WW2: Lidiya Savchuk’s family offered Jews shelter and food, including a desperate escapee, Isaak Tartakovskiy. After liberation he returned to the army, later settling in Kiev. 1951: he bumped into Lidiya. 1953: they married. #DontBeABystander #HolocaustMemorialDay #Holocaust pic.twitter.com/WlkWXh0j9Y
— Claims Conference (@ClaimsCon) January 27, 2022
Dani Dayan, Yad Vashem Chairman: “From its inception, Yad Vashem has been dedicated to recognizing the bravery and selflessness of non-Jewish individuals who stood up in the face of the absolute evil that swept across Europe, and protected Jews at a time when hostility and indifference prevailed. This project of the Claims Conference highlights a few of the some 28,000 Righteous Among the Nations recognized so far by Yad Vashem who are still alive today."
You can visit DontBeABystander.org to see the videos