Righteous among the Nations awards (source: TASR)
Extremely courageous people who in the darkest of times did what only few fared to do to save people from certain death.
That is how Israeli Ambassador Zvi A. Vapni described the dozen Slovaks who joined the ranks of the Righteous Among the Nations. The awards were handed out at the ceremony on January 31, 2018.
Each year around the International Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27, the State of Israel and Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem award the Righteous Among the Nations title to those who risked their lives, freedom and safety in order to rescue Jews from the threat of death or deportation without expecting monetary compensation or other reward. This year, 12 more Slovaks were added to the list and their names will be engraved on the Wall of Honour in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem.
“Even more than 70 years after the end of WWII, these stories are still amazing and should make us think again about human nature, one that could be so cruel yet also so courageous and benevolent,” Ambasador Vapni said during the ceremony.
These are the stories of the newly-awarded Righteous Among the Nations:
