THE RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS – RESCUING JEWS DURING THE HOLOCAUST
"Whoever saves a life is considered as if he saved an entire world," says the Talmud. We tell stories of people from Poland, the Netherlands and Germany who helped Jews in World War even though they were putting their own lives at risk.
Wherever there were Nazis who disenfranchised and persecuted Jews, there were also people who came to the aid of their Jewish neighbours. They were few, but nonetheless they were there. Unlike most, these people did not turn a blind eye. They offered their help in spite of risks to their own personal safety. They hid Jews, helped them to flee or even obtained false documents. They behaved humanely. Some managed to save many lives, while others paid for their courage with their own. Regardless of whether their support was successful or not, Yad Vashem, the official memorial to Holocaust victims in Jerusalem, honours these brave people as the "Righteous Among The Nations". It is the highest honour that the Israeli state can bestow upon non-Jews. Looking at stories from Poland, the Netherlands and Germany, this film shows that the motives of these "righteous people" were very different. We follow director Andrea Morgenthaler on her journey to Jerusalem, New York and elsewhere, and document her search for these stories.