Righteous Among the Nations

"Righteous Among the Nations" is an official title awarded by Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center on behalf of Israel to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Over 26,000 individuals from various backgrounds, including Christians and Muslims, have been recognized for acts like hiding Jews, providing false papers, or smuggling.USHMM

From Yad Vashem

The Righteous Among the Nations.

Attitudes towards the Jews during the Holocaust ranged from indifference to hostility. The mainstream watched as their former neighbors were rounded up; some collaborated with the perpetrators and many benefited from the expropriation of the Jews’ property. But in a world of total moral collapse there was a small minority who mustered extraordinary courage to uphold human values, risking their lives to save Jews by hiding them in their homes, providing false papers and assisting their escape: the Righteous Among the Nations.

The price that rescuers had to pay for their action differed from one country to another, but rescuers and rescued lived under constant fear of being caught, as there was always the danger of denunciation by neighbors or collaborators.

The Righteous Among the Nations come from different countries and nationalities, and from all walks of life. They teach us that each and every person can make a difference.

Names and Numbers of Righteous Among the Nations - per Country and Ethnic Origin, as of January 1, 2024:

The numbers of Righteous are not necessarily an indication of the actual number of rescuers in each country, but reflect the cases that were made available to Yad Vashem.

Albania - 75

Japan - 1

Armenia - 24

Latvia - 138

Austria - 115

Lithuania - 924

Belarus - 683

Luxembourg - 1

Belgium - 1,819

Macedonia - 10

Bosnia - 49

Moldova - 79

Brazil- 2

Montenegro - 1

Bulgaria - 20

Netherlands - 6,137

Chile - 2

Norway - 68

China - 2

Peru - 3

Croatia - 133

Poland - 7,318

Cuba - 1

Portugal - 3

Czech Republic - 129

Romania - 69

Denmark* - 22

Russia - 231

Ecuador - 1

Serbia - 141

Egypt - 1

Slovakia - 639

El Salvador - 1

Slovenia - 16

Estonia - 3

Spain - 9

France - 4,303

Sweden - 10

Georgia - 1

Switzerland - 49

Germany - 666

Turkey - 1

Greece - 365

Ukraine - 2,713

Hungary - 887

United Kingdom - 22

Indonesia - 3

USA - 5

Ireland - 1

Vietnam - 1

Italy - 810  

Total: 28,707