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Ringelblum, Emanuel (1900-1944) was a Jewish historian and scholar, best known for his work documenting the experiences of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. Ringelblum was a key figure in the Oneg Shabbat project, a secret historical archive he founded in 1940 to record the atrocities and daily life under Nazi occupation. Ringelblum, deeply concerned about the Nazi regime's efforts to erase Jewish history and culture, gathered a group together to collect documents, personal accounts, and testimonies that would bear witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust. Despite the constant danger, they meticulously preserved records of daily life, persecution, and resistance in the ghetto. The archive, made up of documents, testimonies, and personal accounts, was intended to preserve the truth of the Holocaust for future generations. Despite the severe danger of being discovered by the Nazis, Ringelblum and his colleagues worked tirelessly to collect materials that would stand as a testament to the suffering and resistance of the Jewish community. In 1943, as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was crushed, Ringelblum and several associates buried the archive in metal boxes and milk cans in an attempt to preserve it. After the war, Oneg Shabbat staff members helped recover much of the archive, providing invaluable historical insight into the Ghetto’s existence and the atrocities committed. The Gestapo had arrested and executed Ringelblum in 1944, but his legacy as a dedicated historian and documentarian of the Holocaust remains crucial to understanding the history of that period.
Robota, Roza (1925-1944) was a Jewish woman who helped organize the smuggling of gunpowder into the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in an attempt to blow up the crematorium, an action for which she gave up her life. Born in Ciechanów, Poland, Roza was a member of the Zionist youth movement and became involved with the resistance group known as the ZOB (Jewish Fighting Organization). In November 1942, the Nazis deported her to Auschwitz-Birkenau. In response to the organized violence of the camp, she organized resistance with other prisoners. She played a crucial role in smuggling small amounts of gunpowder from the Union-Werke factory into the hands of prisoners employed in the operation of crematoria and gas chambers in Birkenau. In October 1944, Robota and other members of the resistance succeeded in detonating explosives, which led to the destruction of Crematorium IV. However, she was arrested, tortured and interrogated by the SS. The Nazis murdered her and three other prisoners in the last public execution at Auschwitz on January 6, 1945, just weeks before Soviet forces liberated the camp. Rosa Robota's bravery and sacrifice are remembered as part of the larger resistance movement within the Holocaust, and she is honored for her courage and determination to fight back against the brutal Nazi regime.
Roosevelt, Eleanor (1884-1962) was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She played a significant yet often complex role in the international response to the Holocaust. As an advocate for human rights, she was deeply concerned by the persecution of Jews and other marginalized groups under the Nazi regime. However, while she spoke out against Nazi atrocities, her influence on U.S. policy regarding the Holocaust was limited by the political realities of the time. Roosevelt was outspoken about the need for the U.S. to assist refugees fleeing the Nazis and advocated for the creation of a post-war international human rights framework, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which she championed as chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights. During the war, she made personal efforts to raise awareness of the situation in Europe, including meeting with Jewish leaders and speaking publicly about the need for action. However, she faced challenges in advocating for more direct intervention, and the United States government was slow to respond to the scope of the Holocaust, particularly in terms of military intervention and refugee resettlement.
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Schindler, Oskar (1908-1974) was a German industrialist and member of the Nazi Party who became famous for his efforts to save over 1,200 Jewish people during the Holocaust. Schindler initially joined the Nazi Party for business advantages and was motivated by profit. During World War II, he established an enamelware and later a munitions factory in Kraków, Poland, where he employed Jewish workers, benefiting from their cheap labor under Nazi policies. However, as he witnessed the brutality inflicted upon Jews, particularly during the liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto, Schindler underwent a moral transformation. He grew increasingly appalled by the Nazi regime's treatment of Jews and gradually shifted his priorities. Risking his own safety and wealth, he used his resources to shield his Jewish employees from deportation to concentration camps by bribing Nazi officials and asserting that his factory’s workforce was essential to the war effort. His story became widely known through Thomas Keneally's historical novel Schindler’s Ark and Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List, cementing his legacy as an example of individual resistance and humanity amidst atrocity.
Sendler, Irene (1910-2008) was a Polish social worker and resistance fighter who played a heroic role in saving Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Sendler became a member of the Polish underground resistance and was particularly active in the Żegota organization dedicated to rescuing Jews. Between 1942 and 1943, she helped smuggle approximately 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto, providing them with false identities, hiding places, and safe passage to non-Jewish families, convents, or orphanages. Despite the great risk, Sendler's courage and resourcefulness saved countless lives. In 1943, the Gestapo arrested and tortured her, but she never revealed the names of the children she had helped. She was eventually released, though she remained in danger throughout the rest of the war. After the war, Sendler's work remained largely unrecognized until much later in life when her story gained international attention. Irena Sendler's legacy is one of extraordinary bravery, compassion, and selflessness in the face of unimaginable danger.
Sousa Mendes, Aristides de (1885-1954) was a Portuguese diplomat who saved thousands of refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe by issuing visas in defiance of his government’s strict policies. He was serving as the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France, when the German army invaded in 1940. Under orders from Portugal’s dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar, consulates were forbidden from granting visas to “undesirable” refugees, especially Jews. However, driven by deep compassion and a sense of moral duty, Sousa Mendes chose to disobey these orders; he issued an estimated 10,000 visas to refugees in desperate need, thus allowing them to escape through neutral Portugal to freedom. This act of conscience came at a heavy cost: the Portuguese government dismissed him from his post, barred him from further diplomatic service, and left him in financial ruin. Despite these hardships, Sousa Mendes is remembered today as a symbol of bravery and humanitarianism, honored as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for his defiance against injustice.
Streicher, Julius (1885-1946) was an early member of the Nazi Party and served as the publisher of Der Stürmer, a virulent antisemitic newspaper that played a significant role in fostering hatred and demonizing Jews throughout Nazi Germany. Streicher’s propaganda was crucial in the Nazi regime’s efforts to promote anti-Jewish sentiments, encouraging public hostility, and supporting policies that ultimately led to the Holocaust. He was a close ally of Adolf Hitler but was not involved in the day-to-day governance of the Nazi state. After the war, Streicher was arrested and tried by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg for crimes against humanity due to his role in inciting violence and hatred against Jews. He was found guilty and executed by hanging in 1946. Streicher’s legacy is one of extreme hate and propaganda, and he remains one of the most notorious figures responsible for inciting antisemitic violence during the Nazi era.
Sugihara, Chinua (1900-1986) was a Japanese diplomat who, in defiance of his government’s orders, saved thousands of Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by issuing transit visas. Posted as vice-consul in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1940, Sugihara was confronted with large numbers of Jewish refugees who had escaped Nazi-occupied Poland and desperately needed visas to travel through Japan to reach safer countries. Although Japan's Foreign Ministry had instructed its diplomats to deny visas to those without proper documentation or funds, Sugihara chose to act on his conscience. For nearly a month, he worked tirelessly to handwrite thousands of transit visas, even continuing to write as he prepared to leave Kaunas, throwing signed visas from the train as he departed. His selfless actions saved an estimated 6,000 lives. Though dismissed from diplomatic service after the war, Sugihara's legacy is celebrated globally, and he is honored as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for his extraordinary courage and humanity.
