This articles tells about five rescuers who were diplomats or otherwise working with agencies, but the vast majority of Holocaust rescuers were ordinary people who acted independently, such as Miep Gies who tried to save Anne Frank and her family. Thus this article is not representative.... most books on the subject, however, talk about these ordinary citizens, such as "Rescuers" by Drucker or "Heart Has Reasons" by Klempner. Certainly the few diplomats who helped did a great deal, but most of the rescuing was done by ordinary citizens in their respective countries.

I've lived long enough to know that most people, even when challenged in the extreme, won't put themselves on the line, so what these people did was extraordinary, because it wouldn't have changed their lives if they did nothing, and could have ended their lives if they did anything.

Wonderful article and how blessed were those who were in a position to help the Jews.

i think this is very sad and i would hate for this to happen a gain

I am in a relationship with a man who was rescued by the NV group (the Naamloze Vernootschap) in Amsterdam in 1942 when he was around 2 1/2 years old. Not much is known about his actual rescue, other than he was hidden at the Creche across from the Hollandse Schouwberg in Amsterdam, where his parents were awaiting transportation to the camps. Because of the courageous efforts of the young students who made up the NV group, he was eventually hidden in the south of Holland, near Heerlen, Limburg.

The book "The Heart Has Reasons: Holocaust Rescuers and Their Stories of Courage" by Mark Klempner has come the closest to enabling me to picture how he was rescued and his life during the war. I kept feeling that one of the stories might be about him, and that the answers to "by whom" and how he actually got rescued could finally be answered. I recommend this book to those who are interested in Dutch rescue.

Also not mentioned is Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who issued against orders from his goverment over 30,000 visas (free of charge) to refugees, half of them jews.
He was later demoted and persecuted by his own govnt.

I watched the film Valarian's War on the television the other day and thought what a beautiful soul. How goodness shines out amidst the evil. What a pity he died alone. We should all aspire to be like him and all those who risked their lives to save the jewish people from this hatred, even in this day and age. God Bless all those who played a part in the rescue of the jews and God Bless the jewish people, everywhere.

as a teacher and a christian, i am amazed at the bravey of some people and annoyed at the stupidity of others. how can people claim to be religious and not follow the teachings of their religious leaders who said it all when they wrote-do unto others as you would have them do unto you-if we could all follow that golden rule, which is in every religion, what a world we would live in-sharon ivey

It was a pleasure to read your March, 2009 article "Bingham's List. My father and his parents were three of the two thousand people that Hiram Bingham had saved from Nazi Germany's ovens. You did a fine job and helped the world to understand that just because the holocaust occurred almost seventy years ago, the message from that darkest day in our civilization is still pertinent today. People, countries, and governments still have not learned the lessons of the Holocaust. Prejudice and hatred is still rampant in our world today. May be your readers will learn from this article and apply it to their lives today. How do people say that they are religious and believers but do not follow the teachings of their religions?

what amazing stories.they are truly Rightous Among Nations!

My father, Harry M. Donaldson, was a consular officer during this same era and in the same general geographic location (Bordeaux, French North Africa and Lisbon) 1940-42. Not sure if he had yet risen to the rank of Vice Consul while in Lisbon. I was only nine at the time and had been evacuated from France in June 1940. Unfortunately, my father died in August 1948, so any historical facts which he might have provided me in later years, were not to be. I do recall some conversations he had with my mother about providing aid to the French Maquis (resistance group) during that time. Whether he was able to provide visas to an extensive number of Jews is unknown to me though I know he worked in the visa section in Lisbon. His boss was Patrick Wiley, American Consul, from North Carolina.

As my wife read the conclusion of the article, where Harry Bingham's daughter recounts the hymn her family used to sing, she could easily fit those words to the tune of the chorus of Beethoven's "Choral" Symphony, the 9th. I agree with her that if you replace the Bingham family's lyrics for the ones of Frederich von Schiller's "Ode to Joy," which Beethoven adapted, it will ring true for you.

Re:March 2009 issue

I,too,am the recipient-owner of a travel document issued by an US consul in France, Lawrence Taylor, who also had the foresight and understanding of the dire straights of the Jews. His document became the underlying means to escape Europe and reach the American shores. It was respected by a German MP colonel who,also defying official policy,issued a "safe order" to my Grandmother and me; a document which I treasure as my Stay-OF-Execution.
I sent a letter to James Baker when he was Secretary of State to see if Consul Taylor could be traced in order to thank him or his family for valor. Nothing was done.
Today, after many experiences including "Normandy" with the 28th Infantry Division and three Purple Hearts, I consider myself the Luckiest 84 year old in the world.

Jean W. Baer

These people were truly brave. They risk all they had mostly their own lives. My grandparents left Belgium before WWI. When they visited after WWII some of their stories were unbelievable. Belgium managed to save about 80% of their Jewish population. I would like to hear about this since the entire county Belgium was under what amounts to house arrest.

While this is a fine article I am surprised that the name of the Quaker leader Bertha Bracey was omitted. Her work in saving at least 10,000 Jews from the Nazis included Kindertransport and getting children out through British Bomber Command. She was awarded Dame of the British Empire for her work. I gave her name and digest of work to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. They asked that I have some of the people she saved write them. Kindertransport Bulletin allowed me to request such letters and survivors wrote testimonials which I supplied. When these were received I was then told I must supply proof that she had stood between a Nazi with a gun and his victim before she could be considered. This seemed unrealistic. Memorials are in England at a railway station, and I do have the letters from some people she saved. She was my cousin.

I was a child livng in Wash. State when WWII broke out, since those years I have many friends both German and Jewish. A couple of my Jewish friends were in Austwitz where their parents were killed. One had a Uncle living in Los Angeles, he brought she and her sister over after the war. He had the numbers removed from their arms. My other dear friend went to Isreal where he became an Office in the Israely Army. He later was killed in his plane in Phoenix, AZ. Having been to Israel and all of Europe, my heart gives thanks for the many people who tried to same as many of these dear people. My God Bless and Keep All of these brave people.

A memorial in Padua, Italy reads as follows: Giorgio Perlasca 'Just Man of Nations' who in the winter of 1944-45, in Hungary, saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust." Along the bottom it reads: "Whoever saves a life saves the entire universe." In short, he grew up in Padova Italy and later on saved over 5,000 Jews by pretending to be a Spanish ambassador to Hungary and gave documents to Jews to go to Spain.

Didn't the future Pope John XXIII issue passports when he was the Vatican representative in the Balkins?

It is almost impossible to believe that these events occured!!! I lived through those years in Pennsylvania, but confess that I really never heard of these circumstances. It was much later that I became apprised of them What amazes me is that the Nazi's functioned as executioners. It is also a mystery how they could behave the way they did. Had they no feelings? Had they no hearts? Or was it true that they believed their masters that the Jews were somehow less than human? I shudder just to think about those times.

These are incredibly moving stories! I so often think that humankind, left to its own devices, is uncaring, totally self-absorbed and self-protective (unless a different attitude will be of personal benefit). To read of these amazingly brave men and women who risked their lives and livlihood to help those trapped by evil, thrills me to bits and reminds me that the Bible tells us we were all created in the "image of God." In the case of the Nazis, that image was so totally deformed that it was unrecognizable--the antithesis of all that is divine. We are allowed to make our own choices, after all. I do praise God that some courageously chose mercy and grace, the divine intention for humans relating to others of their kind, instead of their own safety and self-preservation. I hope we continue to read stories like this. Thank you Smithsonian magazine for printing these stories. I am not Jewish but my life would be the poorer without my Jewish friends.

We Swiss knew for a longtime of Karl Lutz's help to the Jews during the Second World War. Does anybody in Hollywood take notice? He was not alone, there were many others in Switzerland that did similar deeds. I myself witnessed during the mid 1930 when we lived next to the Otterbach Border Crossing Station in Basel the following incidence. A completely naked father, mother with 2 sons exiting the German post and crossing into Switzerland. The Swiss guards,me and my father gave them clothing we could spare, we must have been a funny group walking to our modest home nearby. We hosted that family for over a month until the Jewish welfare community provided a home for them. Appearantly the well educated father tried to escape from the Nazis and the family swallowed his fortune in diamonds. The Nazis suspected such a ruse and they had to stay in confinement there for 2 days. The enraged German took everything they had, including of course their waste. At least they appreciated their forced gift and let them live. All of them later became Swiss Citizens. Their sons even were drafted into the Swiss Army and helped defend our Borders. Thanks to these Jewish refugees we were informed by their published White Papers of Nazy atrocities that were commited in the Third Reich. I remember well listening to the German Mobil Schwarz Radio Station every Sunday morning at 10 reporting the newest cases as well telling us of new Nazi Konzentrations Lager. These Broadcast lasted only for a half an hour as the Nazis were also listening in on their mobil units and found by triangulation their location. With Nazi Germany surounding Switzerland for 5 more years we did had a hard time with all of the refugees looking for safety and that included a whole Polish Army.

This was an excellenty article. I am glad to learn about these righteous persons who helped my people i9n their time o0f extreme need. Thank you for the information -Howard Hershberg

Considering that Iran (and, by extension, its citizenry) is widely and unjustly reviled as a hotbed of antisemitism and holocaust-denial, mention might be made of the Paris-based Iranian diplomat Abdol-Hossein Sardari, who provided Jews--and not just Persian Jews--with Iranian documents, thereby keeping them from the clutches of the Nazis. His story recently served as the basis for an Iranian television mini-series.

I found this a very interesting article. My father was Czech and went to Berlin for his papers before leaving eastward via Poland, Russia, China and across the Pacific. His two brothers escaped with the help of the British Underground, (both were doctors and went to work for the Underground after escaping). His parents and sister, unfortunately, did not make it. As my father never talked about it, I don't know who helped him out, but I wonder if it was one of the people you mentioned.

I seem to recall that Max Schmelling, the one-time world heavy weight champion, rescued two Jewish boys.

You did not mention the Turkish diplomats Necdet Kent (1911-2002) and Selahattin Ülkümen (1914-2003), who risked their own lives in order to save those of hundreds of Jews during the WWII.These two were also recognized and honored by by Yad Vashem with the title "Righteous Among the Nations" and declared honorary citizens of the state of Israel. The Turkish General Directorate of Post and Telegraph Organization (PTT) has recently issued issued two new stamps to honor these diplomats.

Disheartened that you did not mention Unitarian minister Rev. Waitstill Sharp and his wife, Martha, a social worker. Leaving their young children behind in Wellesley Hills, MA, the Sharps went to Prague on a fact-finding mission for the American Unitarian Association in 1939. They set up a clandestine network to rescue intellectuals, artists, children from the Nazis. They escaped to Lisbon one day before the Gestapo was coming to arrest them. In Lisbon and subsequently Marseilles, they set up the Unitarian Service Committee (today the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and credited with saving over 2000 lives. Along with Varian Fry, they are only the second American man and first American woman to be honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Israel for putting their lives in danger to save Jews. For more info visit www.uusc.org. or visit the Holocaust Museum in DC.

I'd like to mention that Francoist Spain, although it shared some political concomitances with Germans hard right ideas, were absolutely opposite to the exterminatoin politicis and thus its diplomatic body made its best to save as many as it could. Conspicuous examples are Ángel Sanz Briz, who in Budapest saved more than 5200 people, giving them Spanish passports. Juan Palencia, in Sofía, saved 600 hundreds. Bernardo Rolland de Miota, in Vichy, more than 2000. Sebastián Romero Radigales, in Athens, saved 500. In Berlin, in the beast lair, José Ruiz Santaella, risked his life to help escape an undetermined number of jews. Finally, in Bucarest, José de Rojas, took so seriously his commitment to save jews from german grips, that allowed every jew who asked for it, to place a sign at their doors reading "HERE LIVES A SPANIARD", so they would not be arrested. It's a small number compared to the six millions that lost their lifes, but as Talmud says: "Who saves a man's life, saves the whole world"

odd that you should forget col. foley. his name is remembered in israel as a righteous gentile. b farrel

People who risked career and life like these throughout history are certainly reaping their rewards with God in heaven--if there is a heaven-if not, then the souls of their progeny and the descendants of those they saved.We cannot all be as honorable as these people, but we can all be proud to be of the same species.

It is thrilling to read of these genuine heroes who risked their lives, and certainly their careers, to help save the lives of so many people they never knew, but would almost certainly have perished without their help. I write this as a Jew and as a veteran of the U.S. Army during World War II Some years ago I saw a testimonial to Valerian Fry at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.