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Rescue (Abridged Article) - Photograph

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rescuers rescue hiding Righteous Among the Nations anti-Nazi opposition

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Dr. Joseph Jaksy, who rescued 25 Jews during the war. [LCID: 89113] — Dr. Joseph Jaksy, who rescued 25 Jews during the war. He provided them with hiding places, money, medicine and forged identification papers. Jaksy was named "Righteous Among the Nations." Czechoslovakia, prewar.
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Johannes Post organized a network of 250 people in Nieuwlande who smuggled Jews out of Amsterdam and found them shelter and identity ... [LCID: 89807] — Johannes Post organized a network of 250 people in Nieuwlande who smuggled Jews out of Amsterdam and found them shelter and identity papers. He was awarded the status of "Righteous Among the Nations" in 1965. The Netherlands, date uncertain.
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Gertruda Babilinska with Michael Stolovitzky, a Jewish boy she hid. [LCID: 00901] — Gertruda Babilinska with Michael Stolovitzky, a Jewish boy she hid. Yad Vashem recognized her as Righteous Among the Nations. Vilna, 1943.
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Hermine Orsi sheltered a number of Jews in her home and helped others reach refuge in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. [LCID: 01106] — Hermine Orsi sheltered a number of Jews in her home and helped others reach refuge in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon. Yad Vashem recognized her as "Righteous Among the Nations." Marseille, France, 1940.
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Calvinist minister Gerardus Pontier and his wife, Dora Wartema, at Yad Vashem, where they were honored for hiding Jewish children ... [LCID: 05741] — Calvinist minister Gerardus Pontier and his wife, Dora Wartema, at Yad Vashem, where they were honored for hiding Jewish children in the Netherlands. Pontier and Wartema were named "Righteous Among the Nations." Jerusalem, Israel, 1968.
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Bert and Anne Bochove, who hid 37 Jews in their pharmacy in Huizen, an Amsterdam suburb, pose here with their children. [LCID: 89798] — Bert and Anne Bochove, who hid 37 Jews in their pharmacy in Huizen, an Amsterdam suburb, pose here with their children. The two were named Righteous Among the Nations. The Netherlands, 1944 or 1945.
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Semmy Woortman-Glasoog with Lientje, a 9-month-old Jewish girl she hid. [LCID: 90788] — Semmy Woortman-Glasoog with Lientje, a 9-month-old Jewish girl she hid. Woortman-Glasoog was active in a network which found foster homes, hiding places, and false papers for Jewish children. She was later named "Righteous Among the Nations." Amsterdam, the Netherlands, between 1942 and 1944.
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Chiune Sugihara, Japanese consul general in Kovno, Lithuania, who in July-August 1940 issued more than 2,000 transit visas for Jewish ... [LCID: 77563] — Chiune Sugihara, Japanese consul general in Kovno, Lithuania, who in July-August 1940 issued more than 2,000 transit visas for Jewish refugees. Helsinki, Finland, 1937–38.
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Joop Westerweel, schoolteacher executed by the Nazis for helping Jews escape from the Netherlands. [LCID: 77485a] — Joop Westerweel, schoolteacher executed by the Nazis for helping Jews escape from the Netherlands.
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The house in Amsterdam where Tina Strobos hid over 100 Jews in a specially constructed hiding place. [LCID: 90230] — The house in Amsterdam where Tina Strobos hid over 100 Jews in a specially constructed hiding place. Her house was raided eight times, but the Jews were never discovered. Netherlands, date uncertain.
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Identity photo of Dirke Otten, who gave her identity card to a Jew in order to save her. [LCID: 90941] — Identity photo of Dirke Otten, who gave her identity card to a Jew in order to save her. Otten and her husband hid as many as 50 Jews in their home at one time. Nieuwlande, the Netherlands, date uncertain.
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Six Jewish girls hidden from the Nazis at the Dominican Convent of Lubbeek near Hasselt. [LCID: 78027] — Six Jewish girls hidden from the Nazis at the Dominican Convent of Lubbeek near Hasselt. Belgium, between October 1942 and October 1944.
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Dr. Joseph Jaksy poses with (from left to right): Valeria Suran, Lydia Suran, and his wife. [LCID: 89117] — Dr. Joseph Jaksy poses with (from left to right) Valeria Suran, Lydia Suran, and his wife. The Suran sisters were among 25 Jews Dr. Jaksy rescued during the war. Czechoslovakia, date uncertain.
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Rabbi Marcus Melchior, Danish chief rabbi, who warned his congregants that the Germans intended to round up Denmark's Jews. [LCID: 76000] — Rabbi Marcus Melchior, Danish chief rabbi, who warned his congregants that the Germans intended to round up Denmark's Jews. Melchior himself went into hiding and escaped to Sweden. Copenhagen, Denmark, before 1943.
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Danish fishermen (foreground) ferry Jews across a narrow sound to safety in neutral Sweden during the German occupation of Denmark. [LCID: 70737] — Danish fishermen (foreground) ferry Jews across a narrow sound to safety in neutral Sweden during the German occupation of Denmark. Sweden, 1943.
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Danish fishermen used this boat to carry Jews to safety in Sweden during the German occupation. [LCID: 62187] — Danish fishermen used this boat to carry Jews to safety in Sweden during the German occupation. Denmark, 1943 or 1944.
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Quaker delegates of the American Friends Service Committee who set up a relief and rescue operation in Toulouse. [LCID: 03090] — Quaker delegates of the American Friends Service Committee who set up a relief and rescue operation in Toulouse. France, January 1941.
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Hannah Szenes, in the garden of her Budapest home before she moved to Palestine and became a parachutist for rescue missions. [LCID: 60123] — Hannah Szenes, in the garden of her Budapest home before she moved to Palestine and became a parachutist for rescue missions. Budapest, Hungary, before 1939.
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A group of children who were sheltered in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, a town in southern France. [LCID: 08745] — A group of children who were sheltered in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, a town in southern France. Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France, August 1942.
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Stefania Podgorska (right), pictured here with her younger sister Helena (left), helped Jews survive in German-occupied Poland. [LCID: 89799] — Stefania Podgorska (right), pictured here with her younger sister Helena (left), helped Jews survive in German-occupied Poland. She supplied food to Jews in the Przemysl ghetto. Following the German destruction of the ghetto in 1943, she saved 13 Jews by hiding them in her attic. Przemysl, Poland, 1944.
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Irena Sendlerowa, a member of Zegota, an underground organization of Poles and Jews that coordinated efforts to save Jews in Nazi-occupied ... [LCID: 89130] — Portrait of Irena Sendler in Warsaw, Poland, circa 1939.

Irena Sendler (1910–2008) was a member of the Council for Aid to Jews, codenamed “Żegota.” Żegota was a clandestine rescue organization of Poles and Jews in German-occupied Poland. Supported by the Polish government-in-exile, Żegota coordinated efforts to save Jews from Nazi persecution and murder. It operated from 1942 to 1945.

Irena Sendler (Sendlerowa) was working as a social worker in Warsaw when World War II broke out in 1939. After the Nazis forced Warsaw’s Jews to move into the ghetto in the fall of 1940, Irena used her position and prewar network to supply food and offer financial assistance to Jews. By early 1943, Irena had joined Żegota. Żegota members secured hiding places for Polish Jews. They also delivered money, food, false identity documents, and medical assistance to those in their care.

Under the alias “Jolanta,” Irena helped smuggle several hundred Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto. She found hiding places for them in orphanages, convents, schools, hospitals, and private homes. Irena provided each child with a new identity. She carefully recorded their original names and placements in code so that relatives could find them after the war. In the fall of 1943, Irena was appointed head of Żegota’s children's section. Only a few days later, she was arrested by the Gestapo (German secret state police). The Gestapo brutally beat and tortured her. Nonetheless, Irena never revealed the names of the children or her colleagues. She was later released from the Gestapo prison thanks to a bribe organized by her fellow rescuers. Despite the dangers, Irena continued working with Żegota under a new alias.

Irena Sendler survived the war. In 1965, Yad Vashem recognized her as “Righteous Among the Nations.”
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