Saving Jewish Lives: What Would You Do?

The Scheffers, shown here with their six children, managed to hide two Jews in their home for two years. The parents, posthumously, received the same award as Oskar Schindler of Schindler's List. Their action led to a lifelong friendship between the two families -- one in Holland, and one in Canada. Click on the Wartime Wednesdays link to read more.

 

I am always amazed at the fortitude of people like this. I remember having a discussion with my children about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, taking us as the Gentiles and the family of their best friends as the Jews. One minute, the children are playing and going to school together, the next, the Jews are outcasts. My children, straight away said that they would hide them. I, however had to weigh up my duty to keep my children safe against standing up for my principles, no matter what. With the practice and propaganda in Nazi schools encouraging pupils to report anything that may be against the State, I wondered if young children could keep a secret. I still cannot decide and I suppose you 'had to be there'. The discussion was prompted by meeting my sister in laws mother who was hidden with her mother by a chain of people throughout the war. From her whole extended family, only her and a cousin survived. Her mother died the day the war ended.

 

You bring up a solid point; it depends very much on your own personal situation, and the circumstances you find yourself in.

It's also one thing to just keep your head down and ignore what's going on around, it's something else altogether when you're confronted with a direct plea for help.

 

yes, of course, some would've said no way...some even turned Jews in......pretty disgusting, when you think of why they have to hide someone in the first place!

 

I agree. Those families throughout Germany that witnessed first hand the impending and swift persecution of Jewish people. People who were once friends and neighbors losing businesses and their rights before being marched away to the ghettos. It is hard to imagine a human being with any sense of compassion and decency not protesting. The fear that was injected into the German people was horrific.

 

The Yad Vashem website says some people offered to help just for a short time, or in a small way, and then found themselves willing to go farther, especially after they became acquainted with the Jews and saw their fear and suffering. It's a great website, and I recommend reading g more personal stories here:

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

 

I echo that.

 

I'm not ashamed to say the truth, probably not my family...[but, I've never been put in that situation ]....very interesting question!!!

 

Has anyone heard of Sir Nicholas Winton? He was a stock broker, and he risked his life to save 669 children that were bound for the concentration/death camps and got them all to England. For 69 years he refused to take credit for what he had done, and I believe it wasn't until last year that it was discovered what he had done, because his wife found a scrapbook with pictures of the children that he saved. He is currently 105 years old.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29798434

 

a lot of unsung heroes

 

There was a Japanese ambassador, Chiune Sugihara, that saved 6,000 Jews. He disobeyed his governments orders and issued visas to the 6,000 Jews that he saved. Many people remember the heroics of Oskar Schindler, but few have ever heard of Chiune Sugihara and what he did.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/chiune-sugihara-japanese--jews-holocaust_n_2528666.html

 

We all hope that we would do the right thing, but until you are actually in that situation you never know.

 

Thanks , Elinor. The Yad Vashem website was very interesting and I will go back and read more. I grew up in infamous Selma, Alabama which had a large Jewish population which was industrious, prosperous and influential. .I felt fortunate to have had so many Jewish friends then and now. I spent a good bit of time in the Synagogue growing up. I think I would gladly risk my life to help both Jewish people and others persecuted during the Holocaust .
When one extends the risk to their spouse and children then no one probably knows how they would act. . But a number of Europeans did just that, risk their families lives to help. As has been noted some turned in virtually anyone to gain favor for themselves. As bronk7 would say, a study in human behavior. We can certainly be terrible monsters at times. I hope I would have had that courage within to help..

The Holocaust remains the most difficult thing for me to understand in my life I cannot understand how a nation of heretofore good people could be led astray like that.,my scary conclusion is that if it could happen in Germany it could happen anywhere and the victims could be a totally different group.. It is no doubt one of the reasons I have always been leery of extreme views, less they grow.. Human beings are certainly complex creatures, lovable and scary..
​Thinking about this makes be grateful and humble at the same time.

Gaines

 

That got me thinking of the book that I am reading about Reserve Police Battalion 101 Gaines. It's shocking how many of those men were 'ordinary' and they had 'ordinary' professions before the war. What made these 'ordinary' men do what they did has always been a mystery to me.

Even if there was a major risk on my life with saving Jews, I would take that risk, even if that meant hours of torture at the hands of the Gestapo or immediate execution.

 

probably because he was the 'enemy'?

 

That would make sense especially back then

 

I think it is very simple...there have always been and always will be genocides [ Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia, Armenia,etc etc...it's part of what humans do...as is war, conflicts....isn't there always an underlying/in the shadows dislike, contempt,hatred,etc of 'others'/tribes/races/etc in most countries ???..put in a little propaganda and opportunity, and presto<>genocide...

 

And yet the genocides and atrocities continue. Rwanda, Bosnia, Nigeria, etc.