We Remember: The Righteous

Dr. Lawrence Bell
Arizona Jewish Historical Society Executive Director

What makes a person risk their life to save another person they don’t even know?  
What makes them overcome centuries of religious prejudice and decades of political indoctrination to help a victim of oppression?  
What makes them take the step from being just a bystander to events to being an upstander?  

We Remember: the Righteous explores these questions and more by focusing on the stories of Righteous Gentiles who rescued Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution during World War II.  It also explores local connections to these events by including the stories of survivors who  were rescued by these brave individuals and who rebuilt their lives right here in Phoenix, Arizona.   The exhibit is the third is a series of We Remember exhibits, which utilize the artwork of Scottsdale artist Robert Sutz to tell the often-unknown stories of survivors of the Holocaust, soldiers who liberated the camps, and the Righteous persons who risked everything to save the lives of Nazi victims.  This exhibit stands as a testament for all of us to overcome the barriers of racism, hatred, and difference, and instead to build bridges of hope, healing, and compassion for our fellow human beings.

“And so we must know these good people who helped Jews during the Holocaust. We must learn from them, and in gratitude and hope, we must remember them.”
— Elie Wiesel - Holocaust Survivor
Yad Vashem Medal of Righteous Among Nations

Yad Vashem Medal of Righteous Among Nations

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following people for their generous help and support on creating this fabulous exhibit that you will now be able to view online at the Arizona Jewish Historical Society.

  • Dr. Lawrence Bell, Ph.D., Executive Director

  • Rabbi Jeffrey Schesnol, MAJS, PMP, Associate Director

  • Susan Teichman, M.A, Curator

  • Pamela Levin, Community Chair (Volunteer)

  • Debra Lynne Hrynyk, W&C Marketing & Designs, Graphics and Webpage Design

This exhibit would not have been possible without the generous funds provided by the Arizona State Jewish Studies, Phoenix Holocaust Association, Az Humanities, and the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix.

In Remembrance of Jews Shot by Czech Soldiers in World War II on the banks of the Danube River in Budapest Moshe Harosh/Pixabay

In Remembrance of Jews Shot by Czech Soldiers in World War II on the banks of the Danube River in Budapest
Moshe Harosh/Pixabay

Additional sources: https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous.html, Pixaby

Unless credited with prior ownership and copyright - all displayed imagery, documents, brochures, books, materials, recordings, video, broadcasts, and promotional materials of every form and description, whether in written, analog, digital, film or electronic form, prepared by Arizona Jewish Historical Society shall remain the copyrighted property works of Arizona Jewish Historical Society. Any unauthorized use of that information or materials may violate copyright, trademark and other laws. Any rights not expressly granted are reserved.

 

AZJHS is deeply grateful to all our donors and sponsors for their generous support and gifts throughout the year. Because of you, we are able to continue providing to the public at no cost our many programs, events and exhibits.

You have just entered our exhibit the
We Remember: The Righteous

  • Each exhibit room will end with a button asking you to click to enter the next online room.

  • If you prefer to choose your own room and not follow the structured suggested exhibit tour, please look below for the outline “key” of links allowing you to choose the room you would like to enter.

We Remember: The Righteous Exhibit Key

(Please choose from the links below to enter the exhibit room of your choice.)

  1. Exhibit Entrance

    1. Introduction

    2. Prologue

  2. Schindler & White

    1. Righteous Among the Nations

    2. Oskar Schindler

    3. Emilie Schindler

    4. Dr. Alexander White

  3. The Quatrevilles & Adelman

    1. The Rescuer

    2. The Quatrevilles & Charolette Adelman

  4. Lier & Speyer

    1. The Dutch Resistance

    2. Geertuida van Lier & Philip Pach Speyer

The rescuers with the rescued, Yad Vashem, La Clayette Photo Credit: Comité Français pour Yad Vashem - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

The rescuers with the rescued, Yad Vashem, La Clayette
Photo Credit: Comité Français pour Yad Vashem - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

“In 1963 Yad Vashem embarked upon a worldwide project to pay tribute to the Righteous Among the Nations who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. This represents a unique and unprecedented attempt by the victims to honor individuals from within the nations of perpetrators, collaborators and bystanders, who stood by the victims' side and acted in stark contrast to the mainstream of indifference and hostility that prevailed in the darkest time of history.” - Yad Vashem