Title: Saving one's own : Jewish rescuers during the Holocaust /
Authors: Paldiel, Mordecai; Jewish Publication Society
Year: 2017
Subjects: World War, 1939-1945 Jews Rescue; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Biography; World War, 1939-1945 Jewish resistance; Righteous Gentiles in the Holocaust Biography
Abstract: In this remarkable, historically significant book, Mordecai Paldiel recounts in vivid detail the many ways in which, at great risk to their own lives, Jews rescued other Jews during the Holocaust. In so doing he puts to rest the widely held belief that all Jews in Nazi-dominated Europe wore blinders and allowed themselves to be led like "lambs to the slaughter." Paldiel documents how brave Jewish men and women saved thousands of their fellow Jews through efforts unprecedented in Jewish history. Encyclopedic in scope and organized by country, "Saving One's Own" tells the stories of hundreds of Jewish activists who created rescue networks, escape routes, safe havens, and partisan fighting groups to save beleaguered Jewish men, women, and children from the Nazis. The rescuers' dramatic stories are often shared in their own words, and Paldiel provides extensive historical background and documentation. The untold story of these Jewish heroes, who displayed inventiveness and courage in outwitting the enemy-and in saving literally thousands of Jews-is finally revealed.--
Contents: 1. Germany and Austria: Outwitting the Nazis in Their Home Base -- 2. Poland: Rescue in the Deadliest Place in Europe -- 3. Lithuania and Belarus: Getting Out in Time, Refuge in Forest Lairs -- 4. Slovakia: Negotiating to Stop Deportations -- 5. Hungary: Zionist Diaspora Youth at Its Best, Some Debatable Rescue Undertakings -- 6. Croatia and Italy: Children on the Run -- 7. France: The Many Who Helped Save Most of the Country's Jews -- 8. Belgium: Organized Self-Help, Stopping a Deportation Train -- 9. The Netherlands: Pulling the Wool over the ss's Eyes, Hiding and a Run across Borders -- 10. Toward Palestine, the Land of Israel: Boat People on the Danube with the Connivance of the Nazis -- 11. Switzerland: Outstretched Hands from Nearby -- 12. Concentration Camps: Flight and Rescue from Hell on Earth and Challenging Himmler -- 13. England: A Rabbi and the Religious Obligation to Save -- 14. United States: Organizational Assistance amid Conflicting Agendas -- Afterword.