The Righteous - Softcover

Gilbert, Martin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0552998508 ISBN 13: 9780552998505

Publisher: Black Swan, 2003

Synopsis

'He who saves one life, it is as if he saved an entire world'The Holocaust will be forever numbered amongst the darkest of days in human civilisation. Yet even in that darkness, there were sparks of light. Many will recognise the names of Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg and Miep Gies. But there were thousands of others throughout Europe who risked their own lives to save Jews from the Nazis and their horrific campaign of obliteration that was the Holocaust. By the beginning of 2002, more than 19,000 non-Jews had been recognized as Righteous (Among the Nations) by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. Some were officials, some were clergy; others were citizens of countries who united in their efforts to protect Jews. Many were merely individuals who had the courage to stand up against a growing tide of collaboration and simply say: 'We did what we had to do'.Martin Gilbert, the foremost British historian of the Holocaust, here presents the evidence collected over many years. Cumulatively, these accounts, from every occupied country in Europe, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, from the Atlantic to the Black Sea, and from inside the Third Reich itself, form an inspiring tribute to those heroic individuals who, without thought to the risk to their own lives, dared to challenge barbarism, and hold out the hand of rescue to the Jews of Europe.

About this title

About the Author

Sir Martin Gilbert is Winston Churchill's official biographer, and one of Britain's leading historians. His The Holocaust- The Jewish Tragedy is considered the classic work on the subject, and he is the author of more than sixty other books, including Churchill- A Life, First World War, Second World War, Israel- A History, A History of the Twentieth Century and The Righteous. He lives in London.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From The Righteous:

"What were the motives of those who tried to save Jews from deportation and death?" This question is raised with every account of rescue, as the reader, like the historian, wonders whether they would have behaved in such a courageous manner. First and foremost, the Righteous of this book chose to act; theirs was a deliberate decision to behave in a civilized, humane manner, rather than to do nothing, or to refuse to be involved, or to take the route of barbarism.

In the circumstances of a combination of Nazi rule, SS power and Gestapo terror, inaction motivated by fear cannot be belittled. Those who turned against the tide of terror were all the more remarkable. "We did what we had to do"; "Anyone would have done the same"-the words of many rescuers mask the courageousness of the course they chose, knowing it to be full of danger, often the danger of execution of their families as well as themselves. Yet these were not foolhardy, rash or intemperate people; most of them made their choice calmly, deliberately and with full realization of the risks, risks that they faced, and took, for months and even years.

Edition details

• Publisher: Black Swan
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0552998508
• ISBN 13: 9780552998505
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English