Heroism of non-Jews during Shoah the focus of new social media campaign

The Claims Conference and Yad Vashem have launched a new social media campaign to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, to honour those who helped Jews during the Holocaust.

#Don’tBeABystander consists of a series of short videos to highlight heroic actions by non-Jews. The videos have been posted on a  number of social media platforms.

Gideon Taylor, the Irish-born president of the Claims Conference, said: “The Jewish people owe a debt of gratitude to their Righteous rescuers. For some Jewish families at their most desperate hour, their saviours were guided by conscience and moral imperative, even above their own safety. It is our duty not only to honour the rescuers for their refusal to be bystanders, but also to share their heroic endeavours, as a counterbalance to humanity’s darkness and indifference during the Holocaust”.

Dani Dayan, Yad Vashem chairman, said: “Yad Vashem’s mission has always been, and continues to be, to perpetuate the memory of the six million Jewish men, women and children murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. Yet from its inception, Yad Vashem has also been dedicated to recognising the bravery and selflessness of non-Jewish individuals who stood up in the face of the absolute evil that swept across much of Europe and areas of North Africa, and protected Jews at a time when hostility and indifference prevailed. This project highlights a few of the 28,000 Righteous Among the Nations recognised so far by Yad Vashem, who are still alive today”.

One of the Righteous whose story will be highlighted in the campaign is Andrzej Sitkowski, who was recognised by Yad Vashem in 1995, together with his mother, for saving the Kosak sisters, Marion and Hadassah. Andrzej and the sisters maintained contact long after the war.
Hadassah Kosak added: “It was the bravery and heroism of Andrzej Sitkowski and his family to offer two girls and their mother a shelter in their home where we survived the Nazi horrors. We were treated as family, and, to this day, our extended families keep in touch.”

Andrzej Sitkowski

Anna Bando 

Aharon Barak https://www.facebook.com/ClaimsConference/videos/279108374206851/