Photo 01
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| A gallows. The first commandant of Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss, was hanged here after a trial in Warsaw. |
Two Anecdotes after the War
After World War II, many concentration camps were remodeled as memorial museums for the Holocaust, but the Jews opposed to any things related to Christianity set up inside. After all, the source of antisemitism was from Christianity. It's easy to understand.
Actually, Hitler is not a German. He was born in Austria. Before 1925, he was an Austrian, and became a German after 1932. After the War, some groups were so ridiculous to deny the existence of the Holocaust. But in Austria, the denial for the Holocaust is illegal. David Irving (1938- ), an English writer who supported Nazi, was arrested and prisoned in Austria this century and the reason is that he "praised and agreed to the Nazi" in his speech in 1989. Facing the disgrace, the attitude Germanic people chose is to confront their faults committed. Austria assigned youths as attendants in the Yad Vashem every year. I think this is why they can revive very quickly after the War.
Photo 02
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| The visitors visited the gas chamber. Very different from 70 years ago, those Jews who entered this room never walked out anymore. |
The Righteous Among the Nations
The Israel (Yad Vashem) honoured those non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust as the "Righteous Among the Nations". This might be the only consolatory thing that could be found in the Holocaust. On the other hand, it still shocked me that if it were not these righteous people, much more victims would have suffered under the Holocaust. 'Cause many concentration (extermination) camps were set in Poland, the Nazi government proclaimed that anyone who tried to rescue Jews or gave them foods or water would be executed with the whole family. Although, many Polish people still helped Jews illegally. And, many these helpers were killed by the Nazi. Among those righteous people, the most are Polish people (over 6,000), and the second most are Netherlanders (about 5,000), many of them are Christian families.
Photo 03
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| Gas chamber. |
Albert Schweitzer (Germany / France)
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) is not a "Righteous Among the Nations" during the Holocaust. During entire World War II, Schweitzer was doctoring in Africa and had nothing to do with European political affairs. I know putting Schweitzer on this page is a little bit weird, but I still want to mention him here. The first, during World War II, while Hitler was busy for killing people in quantities, Schweitzer was saving another group of people in Africa. He practiced medicine for over 50 years and his righteousness was not less than those righteous who saved Jews. The second, when we talk about Germany during World War II, the first thing comes to us is always the ashamed Hitler, and people rarely think of the great guy Schweitzer who doctored in such a far corner of the world that he was almost forgotten. Both are Germans. Hitler brought the Europe everlasting darkness, and reversely Schweitzer's chivalrous behaviours should make Germans proud forever.
I think nobody will figure out this kind of comparison, but it is really interesting when put them together:
First, both Hitler and Schweitzer were in the same period, they experienced two World Wars, and are usually thought as Germans intuitively. Actually, Hitler was born in Austria (1889) and then joined the army in Bavaria, Germany. In 1932, Hitler became a German and turned himself into the premier step by step. Then he changed the official name of Germany into "Nazi Germany" and merged Austria furthermore. So Hitler was born as an Austrian and died as a German. Schweitzer was born in Alsace-Lorraine (1875), which is in the borderland of Germany and France and both countries continuously fought for its ownership in a long period. This area gradually belonged to France after middle 17th century, but it became a part of Germany after Germany's victory in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. So, when Schweitzer was born, he was a German. But after Germany's failure in World War I in 1918, this region was returned to France again, then Schweitzer became a French. So, Schweitzer was born as a German, but died as a French in Africa.
Second, both's faith has relations with Protestant Christianity, but they were largely different in actions afterwards. Hitler was born in a Catholic family and was originally a Roman Catholic, but he slowly agreed to Lutheranism. Hitler ever made up his mind to be a Lutheran pastor. Of course it didn't come true, but Hitler absorbed Martin Luther's plan to exterminate Jews to approve to his own hatred for the Jews, and then carried it out step by step. Schweitzer was born in a pastor's family. His faith was also passed down from Lutheranism, and he himself also became a pastor in a very young age of 24 and later responded to the call of God to be a doctor. He dedicated his whole second half of life in saving human lives.
Third, both are rigorous vegetarians for the reason of faith. Hitler thought alcohol and meat make people lazy and negative, and that would make him unable to accomplish the task of the Holocaust. For the sake of his given mission, Hitler ate only enough and light foods everyday, and lived a Spartan life to keep his body constantly in a state of being able to work. Schweitzer's personal philosophy was the idea of "Reverence for Life (Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben)", and he thought every creature has the same will to exist. For the sake of his faith, he did nothing that can harm any life, and didn't want to see any meat as food that came from pains of animals.
Because of his birth place, Schweitzer grew up in a bilingual environment, and he could speak French as well as German. Schweitzer acquired degrees of philosophy and theology and was a deacon in his 24. When he was 29, Schweitzer read about the condition in Africa from an article by a French missionary institute, and he knew that they lack various kinds of materials and staffs, especially medical ones. Schweitzer strongly felt that his faith should be converted into the practical actions instead of enjoying respectable social position and preaching in churches. Finally it proved that the thought was not just an impulse, and this determination made him give up his comfortable life. On one hand, he was the president of seminary, and on the other hand, he was a medical college student at the same time. He took about seven years to finish medical training and left for Africa in the next year.
Schweitzer was a famous musician at his 30. Originally, he thought he had to give up his favourite music for studying medicine. Nevertheless, his music talent became a helpful gift in his medicine career. His friends donated him a special piano which can survive the humid and hot weather in Africa. Not only he could go on his piano practice, but he went to Europe back and forth many times to give speech and recitals to raise money for his hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon, Africa. After making a decision at near to 30, he spent years to equip himself step by step until all necessary abilities and technologies were ready. When in Africa, he merged himself into local culture and completely dedicated himself for Africans for life. Finally, he passed away in his "home" in Africa.
Schweitzer's personal philosophy is "reverence for life": To esteem every life's will to exist. He thought that Western civilization was decaying because it had abandoned affirmation of life as its ethical foundation. In his life, he was very successful in four unrelated fields: philosophy, theology, music and medicine. The former two are more theoretical while the latter two are more technological. It is obvious that Schweitzer had a high quality of understanding and equally emphasized in both theory and practice. Although, I think his highest achievement was in his faith. Eventually, his four professional specialties served for his practice in faith. Schweitzer won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952, but he was busy for his hospital affairs and then was awarded in the next year. In 1965, he passed away in Lambaréné City, Gabon and had lived for 90 years.
Photo 04
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| The inside of gas chamber. It said to keep silent and be in a state of esteem. |
Oskar Schindler (Germany / Czech)
Oskar Schindler (1908-1974) is the main role of the movie "Schindler's List" in real life. Schindler was born in a Catholic German family in Moravia which belongs to Czech Republic today. Czech of that period was under the government of the Habsburg Dynasty of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War I, Czechoslovakia was established, and Schindler became a Czech citizen. When Hitler's government grew in strength, Schindler joined the Nazi Party and became a spy who collected information for Nazi.
When World War II broke out, Schindler had enamelware and ammunition factories in today's Poland and Czech, and he hired many low-pay Jewish labourers. Obviously he is an opportunist who wanted to make a lot of profits during the war. Nevertheless, he showed extraordinary initiative and tenacity, and afterwards all he did was just for saving as many as possible Jewish lives. Eventually, he successfully saved 1,200 Jews from Nazi. All money he earned in the beginning of the war was used to bribe Nazi and to support Jewish lives. When the War finished, he had exhausted everything he had. Schindler's factory was very near to Nazi's concentration camp and Jews were under danger of being caught, so Schindler convinced the SS-captain Amon Göth to allow him moving his factory to Moravia, his homeland. Amon agreed finally, and he asked Schindler to list the names. Any Jew whose name was on the list would not be sent to the concentration camp to be executed, but Schindler had to pay a high price for every Jew he wanted to save. This is the story about "Schindler's List", and all Jews saved by Schindler also called "Schindler Jews".
I remember that a plot in the movie is about a train which carried on-list Jewish women and children drove to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp unexpected. Schindler was very anxiously and rushed to the Camp in person. Again, he bribed the commander of the camp so that he could bring "his" Jewish women and children back to his factory. Initially, the Nazi would like Schindler to move his factory inside the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, and later Schindler convinced Nazi that he would construct a smaller concentration camp to control his Jews. Actually in Schindler's factory, women and children were not allowed to get close to the operation area, and Schindler allowed Jews had the Sabbath to keep their own religion.
When the news of German failure came, Schindler packaged himself and said goodbye to his Jewish labourers. The labourers wrote a letter to him together for appreciation and testified that how Schindler saved themselves during the Holocaust. The labourers gave Schindler a golden ring forged by their golden teeth, and a Hebrew proverb was carved on it: "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire".
The last scene of the movie is to express respect to Schindler in his grave by the Jews ever saved by Schindler. When the movie was played in the theater, all Jews in Poland were less than 4,000, but all Schindler Jews and their descendants were over 6,000. Schindler was name Righteous Among the Nations in 1963 by Israel government, and he is the only one Nazi Party member who could be buried in Israel (Jerusalem).
Photo 05
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| An illustration at the portal of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. |
Irena Sendler (Poland)
Irena Sendler (1910-2008) was a Roman Catholic, and she was born in a Polish doctoral family. It was a period full of racism and antisemitism. She saw many Jews were discriminated and humiliated, and she felt it very unacceptable in her mind. In 1939, the Nazi invaded and occupied Poland, then they forced Jews to move to ghetto. Irena gradually knew the final destiny of the Jews.
Irena worked in the social bureau and was in charge of sanitation. She made an excuse of inspection and prevented Jewish children brought into the ghetto, or tried hard to convince Jewish parents that Irena could stow their kids away the ghetto to let none-Jewish family raise them. "You shouldn't believe me, but you have no choice." This was what Irena could only say.
Doing it once or twice, maybe things would be easily hidden, but Irena did these continuously. Afterwards in 1943, Irena's work failed and was exposed, and she was arrested by the Gestapo. Irena was brutally beaten and her legs were both broken that she had to sit on a wheelchair for her rest life. But in that moment, Irena didn't let out any name of those Jewish kids. Fortunately, before Irena was put to death, the Żegota saved her by bribing German guards on her way to execution. For the remainder of the war, she lived in hiding, but continued her work for saving more Jewish children.
During the War, Irena saved 2,500 Jewish children. She recorded every kid's parents' names in a bottle and hid the bottle under an apple tree. After the war, Irena dug out the information and contacted those Jewish children to let them know their parents' name. Irena didn't tell anybody about what she did during the war, even her friends around her knew nothing about this. After many years, four American senior high school students found it when they were doing assignment. They were touched very much and arranged it into a play which performed in America and Poland. This story was ever remodeled to a movie.
In 1965, Sendler was recognized by Yad Vashem as a "Righteous Among the Nations", and Polish Senate also honoured her in 2007. In 2008, Irena Sendler passed away in Warsaw and had lived for 98 years.
Photo 06
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| Inside the Birkenau Concentration Camp. Through the railway, the train could directly run into the camp. |
Wilm Hosenfeld (Germany)
Remember the German officer who saved the main role Władysław Szpilman in the movie "The Pianist"? The officer's name in real life is Wilm Hosenfeld (1895-1952). Like Schindler, Hosenfeld also grew up in a Roman Catholic family. He was influenced church-inspired work, but also by German patriotism. He served in World War I and ever received a medal of honour.
In 1935, Hosenfeld joined Nazi Party, and was sent to Poland to participating in constructing and managing the concentration camp. Nobody knows he couldn't back home anymore. As time went on, he observed how Nazi treated Jews and Polishes, and he couldn't agree to Nazi more and more, and also felt ashamed to what his compatriots had done. For many times, he confessed in the local church. When possible, he would give prisons conveniences or provide possible protection. According to his own diary and letters, all Jews he ever saved were about 50. The main role of "The Pianist" Władysław Szpilman is only one of them.
He was not as lucky as other righteous man / woman. In July of 1945, Hosenfeld and his team members were captured by the Soviet army. From then on, he suffered many revenge, forced labours and maltreats. He got paralysis for twice, and died in Soviet jail in 1952. Meanwhile, Szpilman tried to save Hosenfeld out through Polish government but he failed. In 2009, under Szpilman's effort, the Yad Vashem honoured Hosenfeld the "Righteous Among the Nations". His story made us feel helpless and regretful, however he was in the centre of race extermination that the result is not so difficult to forecast.
Photo 07
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| Inside the Birkenau Camp. Other than wire netting is the cold dorms. |
Georgio Perlasca (Italy)
Georgio Perlasca (1910-1992) was born in Italy. Early, he supported Italian Fascism government. He ever served the Spanish Civil War and received a gratitude safe conduct for Spanish embassies from Francisco Franco. He grew disillusioned with Fascism, especially after it allied with Nazism and the anti-Semitic laws in 1938.
In the beginning of World War II, Perlasca was sent by the Italian Army to Balkans. In 1943, because Perlasca didn't vote to Mussolini, he was prisoned in a castle in Budapest. But for his past experience in Spanish Civil War, he successfully acquired Spanish politician asylum and became an agent in Spanish Embassy in Hungary. Due to Spain remained neutral in the War, Perlasca was able to come in and go out free. Perlasca used a Spanish name, and he cooperated with his superior Ángel Sanz Briz to help Jews escape out of Hungary. In 1944, Briz was sent to Swiss by government, but Perlasca chose to stay in the Embassy to help more Jews. In the end of 1944, the Spanish refuge for Jews in Hungary was attacked by Nazi. Perlasca quarreled with German officers for rescuing two Jewish children. Other diplomats were also there as witnesses. Fortunately, things went well.
During World War II, Perlasca saved over 5,000 Jews. After the War, he didn't tell anybody including his families about what he did. Until 1987, a group of Jews found him and Perlasca's chivalrous act was exposed.
Perlasca passed away in 1992, having received decorations from the Italian, Hungarian and Spanish governments, and is considered by Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. His deeds were the subject of an Italian film "Perlasca, un Eroe Italiano". Another film "El ángel de Budapest" is about his superior Ángel Sanz Briz.
Photo 08
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| A path inside the Birkenau Camp. It's a way leading to death. |
Ho Feng-Shan (China / Republic of China)
Ho Feng-Shan (1901-1997) studied in Munich University, Germany and received his Ph.D. in political economics. Meanwhile, he accepted aids from churches and became a Christian later.
Since 1935, Ho served as a diplomat and was assigned to Vienna. The situation there was more difficult, and Nazi persecuted Jews more and more severe. But as soon as a Jew possessed a visa from a foreign nation, he could escape out of Europe the danger zone. The visa is a "rescue visa". At the 1938 Evian Conference, 32 countries, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, refused to accept Jewish immigrants. Against orders of his superior, Ho continuously issued Jews visas to Shanghai for humanitarian reasons. Between 1938 and 1940 he was ordered to return to China, he issued near to 2,000 rescue visas to Jews to allow them to escape to Shanghai (or other places). When Nazi confiscated the consulate, Ho privately rent a small room to issue visas continuously. Ho was recorded a demerit for this.
A Jew recalled that during months, he visited consulates of over 50 nations but was disappointed. When he asked help to China, Ho issued over 20 visas to him so that he could take his whole family out of Austria. There was also a Jew who had been jailed in the concentration camp. But later on his wife got visas from Ho, then the Jewish guy could be saved out and went to Shanghai. Actually at that time, it was not necessary to have a visa to enter Shanghai, but the visas allowed the Jews to leave Austria. Many Jewish families left for Shanghai, whence most of them would later leave for other places, like America or Russia etc.
Ho immigrated to San Francisco after retirement and wrote his memory at the same time. He was enthusiastic in church services. In 1997, Ho passed away in San Francisco, USA and had lived for 96 year.
Photo 09
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| The dormitory in the Birkenau Camp. |
Chiune Sugihara (Japan)
Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986) was like Ho Feng-Shan. During World War II, he was a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania. Meanwhile, Japan and Germany were on the same side, Japan was impossible to help Jews in policy. Sugihara violated the orders required by Japanese Foreign Ministry and issued the Jews with ten-day visas to transit through Japan. Sugihara's visas helped over 6,000 Jewish refugees leave their countries. Most of the refugees were from German-occupied Poland and residents of Lithuania. When Japan lost the War in 1945, Sugihara became a war prisoner and he was imprisoned with his family by Soviet troops for one more year. They were released in 1946 and then returned to Japan.
In 1968, a Sugihara beneficiary Jew, Jehoshua Nishri, came to the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo and contacted Sugihara. Nishri had been a Polish teen in the 1940s. In 1985, Chiune Sugihara was granted the honour of the Righteous Among the Nations. Sugihara passed away in Japan the next year and had lived for 86 years. There are "Sugihara Streets" in Kaunas and Vilnius, Lithuania and Tel aviv, Israel. A park in Jerusalem in also named for him. The Japanese government honoured him on the centennial of his birth in 2000. Sugihara's story had been made to films for many times.
Photo 10
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| A sentry box. |
A Brief Summary
Many other great tasks about the Righteous Among the Nations are not included in the article. Maybe much more won't be aware by us anymore. Perhaps these things inspire us, but more heroes or heroines wouldn't be able to help the tragedy that had happened. This is why the Polish government chose to keep it completely instead of eliminating it. If possible, I strongly recommended to visit here. I know heaviness is inevitable, but the depth of experiencing would be much different. Wish that people will learn lessons from history and may the tragedy of race extermination will never happen anymore.
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