Yad Vashem is a Holocaust Memorial, a state institution, which was opened in 1957. At this memorial, there is a building dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust victims (Ohel Yizkor), a museum with a permanent exhibition, and also the central archives for Holocaust research. Gentiles (non-Jews) who rescued Jews are honored in the tree-lined Avenue of Righteousness of the Nations. Yad Vashem has been dedicated to documenting the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust period, preserving the story of the six million Jews, and making available through archives, libraries, schools, museums, and memorials, the legacy of the Holocaust.
The most significant aspect of the memorial is the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations walkway. This project was started in1963. It is a one of a kind, using set criteria, for non-Jews who rescued Jews during the war.
These people portray a sole ray of light in one of the darkest of eras. In most cases, these rescuers were involved in providing a hiding place in their own home or premises. Often times, this required the construction of shelters in which the Jews were held for weeks, months, and even years without seeing the light of day.
Not only did these people risk their lives to provide them shelter, they also provided food, medical assistance, clothing and daily necessities. They were constantly in danger of informers, ready to blow their cover. There were times when the Jews had to be transported to other hiding places to protect their security.
Others found ways to aid the Jews by providing forged documents that enabled them to live under false identities as non-Jews. in addition, some would smuggle Jews across the border to safety. Among the people who were rescuers were men, women, laborers, simple farmers, intellectuals, diplomats, members of left wing parties, and active members in national organizations. There were even anti-Semitic people who helped. The country of Denmark was especially remarkable as its citizens collectively saved all of the Danish Jewry. As a result of this, Yad Vashem declared the entire country "Righteous Among the Nations". There are 20,757 people, according to a poll taken in 2005. Although this is the number recorded, there were many more people who offered assistance, but were not given the title.
Since 1963, a commission headed by an Israeli Supreme Court justice has been charged with the duty of awarding the honorary title "Righteous Among the Nations." The commission is guided in its work by certain criteria and meticulously studies all pertinent documentation, including evidence by survivors and other eyewitnesses.
A person who is recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations is awarded a specially minted medal bearing his or her name, a certificate of honor, and the privilege of his or her name being added to those on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial. (The last is in lieu of a tree planting, which was discontinued for lack of space.) The awards are distributed to the rescuers or their next of kin in moving ceremonies in Israel or in their countries of residence through the good offices of Israel's diplomatic representatives. These ceremonies are attended by local government representatives and are given wide media coverage. The Yad Vashem Law authorizes Yad Vashem
- "to confer honorary citizenship upon the Righteous Among the Nations, and if they have passed away, the commemorative citizenship of the State of Israel, in recognition of their actions."
Anyone who has been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations is entitled to apply to Yad Vashem for the certificate. If the Righteous Among the Nations is no longer alive, his or her next of kin are entitled to request that commemorative citizenship be conferred on the Righteous Among the Nations who has passed away. To date, 20,205 men and women, including family members who shared in the rescue of Jews, have been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, representing over 8,000 authenticated rescue stories. Yad Vashem's policy is to pursue the program for as long as petitions for this title are received and are supported by solid evidence that meets the criteria. [1] (http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/righteous/righteous_program.html)
- "A righteous gentile will receive a monthly cash benefit at the rate of the average wage. In
addition, a convalescent grant of up to 8 days at the rate paid to civil servants, will be paid to a righteous gentile and his/her spouse. Health services, free of charge, under the National Health Insurance Law will also be provided to the righteous gentile." [2] (http://www.btl.gov.il/English/benefit/right/right.htm)
- "The Righteous Among the Nations who experience economic difficulties - wherever they reside - are aided financially by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, a New York-based philanthropic organization which was created for this purpose. The Anne Frank Fonds, based in Basle, Switzerland, looks after those in need of medication. The Righteous residing in Israel (some 35 people) automatically receive a generous state pension." [3] (http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00n90)
- "Israel is home for 57 surviving Righteous Gentiles who saved Jews and came to live here alone, or with their families, at the end of World War II. ATZUM is working to provide basic needs not met by the Israel social welfare (NII) package, including visits by Israeli "adoptive grandchildren", professional caretakers, and geriatric, dental, ophthalmic and auditory treatments and aids. We are working intensively with eleven Righteous Gentiles and have distributed $13,000 to them."
[4] (http://www.atzum.org/righteousgentiles.htm)
Ethnic Cleansing in Serbia
In August 1991, the siege started on the border city of Vukovar. The Serbian troops eventually completely surrounded the city but the defenders, the 204th Vukovar Brigade, entrenched within Vukovar and held their ground fearing what would happen to the many civilians who took shelter in the city.
The civilian population fled the areas of armed conflict en masse: generally speaking, Croats moved away from the Bosnian and Serbian border, while the Serbs moved towards it. Some estimates include 220,000 Croats and 300,000 Serbs internally displaced during the war in
Croatia, although at the peak of fighting in late 1991, around 550,000 people temporarily became refugees on the Croatian side. The 1991 census data and the 1993 RSK data for the areas of Krajina differ by some 102,000 Serbs and 135,000 Croats. In many places, masses of civilians were forced out by the military, in what became known as ethnic cleansing. The term ethnic cleansing refers to various policies of forcibly removing people of another ethnic group. At one end of the spectrum, it is virtually indistinguishable from forced emigration and population transfer, while at the other it merges with deportation and genocide.
