The Courage to Care: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust

Anyone wondering whether he or she would have the courage to do the right thing, namely, to defy a tyranical regime, risking his or her life, needs to read this book, written in brief chapters, providing his/her heart doesn't beat too fast and tears don't blur his/her vision.Brave, or 'Righteous' people, whether in Holland, Bulgaria, France, Germany and anywhere else in Europe, helped Jews survive. Servants, concierges, ministers, social workers, guards, all unobtrusively went to work to save Jews. Nothing fully explains that kind of courage.The minister of Le Chambon Sur Lignon who organized his unarmed village to hide and save hundreds of Jews was my father's cousin. His younger brother was the teacher who chose to go with the arrested children into deportation and death, when the Nazis offered him his freedom. It is easy for me still to bring to mind these dread-filled years. But for those afraid to forget, and for those who wonder what life was like for Jews in Europe then, there is no better book, bringing to life those who helped beat the odds, so that survival, instead of being a crazy hope, could become a reality.Reading about them is to honor them.

An excellent opportunity to learn about real heros who lived in Nazi occupied countries during the Holocaust. Can we learn from their examples to take a stand against evil in our everyday, ordinary lives?