The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) published "Stronger Than Fear," which profiles Righteous Rescuers from nine countries along with stories of the Jewish people they saved. The initiative joins Israel's longstanding efforts to honor those who protected Jews during the Shoah.
At an event launching the collection in Limoges, France, Holocaust survivors will meet the children and grandchildren of the Righteous Rescuers who saved them. In other instances, living Righteous Rescuers will meet descendants of Holocaust survivors they helped save.
"During the Shoah, thousands of individuals across Europe risked their own lives to save Jews from the Nazis," President of the Claims Conference Gideon Taylor said. "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."
The gathering will include Jewish siblings Dr. Sophia Joachims, 89, and Mark (Manek) Schonwetter, 91, who were born in Poland and survived the Holocaust thanks to a Righteous Rescuer family that hid them. Survivor Colette Zeif from Paris will also attend. After her mother was deported to Auschwitz in 1942, Colette and her elder sister Jacqueline were taken in by the couple Marguerite and Charles Bayrand in Limoges, who presented them as their own children.
Rüdiger Mahlo, Representative of the Claims Conference in Europe, emphasized the educational importance of these stories: "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."
Bronislawa Bakun, a Righteous Rescuer from Janów/Sokólka in Poland who rescued more than 12 Jews from persecution and death, offered a powerful yet humble perspective: "We simply did what one does when one is human."
Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, noted that the publication provides 36 portraits of Righteous Rescuers who together saved more than 220 Jews. "Each portrait is a living example of humanity and courage," he said. "The Claims Conference is committed to passing their legacy of strength and active compassion on to future generations."
While more than 28,400 Righteous Rescuers have been vetted and registered by Yad Vashem, only about 150 remain alive today. Their testimonies are considered critical to Holocaust history and deeply personal to the global Jewish community, including Israel.
Pierre-Michel Kahn, the only survivor of the Montbéliard roundup of February 1944, saved by Righteous Rescuer Louise Blazer, shared his perspective: "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 book features rescuers from Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Germany and France. Currently available in English and French, further editions are planned in Polish, German, Hebrew, and Lithuanian 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, shared her family's approach: "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 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, reflected on the lasting impact: "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."
Regina Suchowolski Sluszny, a Holocaust survivor from Belgium saved by the Flemish couple Anna and Charel Jacobs-Van Dijck, explained her mission to share these stories: "The aim of my testimonies in various schools and organizations in Belgium is to help people understand the heroism of the Righteous through my own story and that of my husband, Georges Suchowolski. We are two Jewish children who were hidden for many years by non-Jews."
She added, "These Righteous risked their lives to protect children they didn't even know the day before. It is to honor all the Righteous Among the Nations that I recount what happened to us. These Righteous must never be forgotten, for it was they who enabled us, at the risk of their own lives and of being sent to forced labor themselves, to start a family after the war. Thanks to the Righteous, 50% of the Jewish people living in Belgium before the war survived. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!"
The Claims Conference has upheld a commitment to honor Righteous Rescuers since 1963, when Yad Vashem began officially recognizing individuals as Righteous Among the Nations. The program takes its name from the literature of the Sages (Chasidei Umot HaOlam), which describes non-Jews who came to the aid of Jewish people in times of need.
A digital version of the book "Stronger Than Fear" is available on the Claims Conference website.
