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The Institute for the Study of Rescue and Altruism in the Holocaust, a nonprofit corporation (ISRAH), is an educational organization formed for the purpose of conducting research, disseminating information, promoting awareness of, and honoring groups and individuals for the rescue of Jews and other victims of the Nazis and their collaborators, 1933-1945. ISRAH is an umbrella organization for the Visas for Life: The Righteous and Honorable Diplomats Project and the Jewish Rescuers Project. The story of rescue in the Holocaust has been largely ignored and even marginalized. The
principal aim and objectives of the Institute for the Study of Rescue and Altruism in the Holocaust is to show that both groups
and individuals could effectively defy the genocidal policies of the Nazis. ISRAH’s goal is to recognize heroic men and women in order to encourage others to emulate the acts of these courageous people. ISRAH documents the stories of diplomats, political leaders, state institutions, religious groups, rescue and relief organizations, and other organizations and individuals who were actively involved in rescuing or assisting people persecuted by the Nazis. Primary activities of the Organization include:
producing books and writing scholarly articles; curating traveling exhibits; preparing educational curricula, websites and
film documentaries; and organizing public programs. It will also research, document and nominate individuals
for the title of Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority.
ISRAH will also establish its own system to recognize and honor individuals for their altruistic behavior during the
period of the Holocaust. ISRAH will create and maintain a searchable database on rescue and altruism on its website. This will include lists of individuals and groups who were involved in rescue and relief activities during the War. ISRAH will work with scholars and share information and databases. ISRAH will honor individuals and organizations by issuing commemorative
medals, certificates, plaques, etc.
The Organization will promote awareness of rescue and altruism in the Holocaust to European governments whose citizens participated in rescue. It will encourage other organizations to establish their own systems to recognize altruistic individuals. In cases where individuals
were punished for their altruistic activities during the Holocaust, the Organization will encourage these institutions and
governments to rehabilitate the reputations of these rescuers. The Organization works with the families of the rescuers honored in the exhibit and educational material. The Organization also works with individuals who were rescued during the period of the Holocaust, and their families and descendants. The Organization coordinates with the governments of the rescuers, particularly in the case of diplomatic and other state-sponsored rescuers. ISRAH will collect photographs, documents, oral histories and other materials relating to rescue and altruism in the Holocaust, and will share these materials with other institutions and researchers.
Visas for Life: The Righteous and Honorable Diplomats is an exhibit and program that tells for the first time an important and untold story of the Holocaust. If features the dramatic story of diplomats from diverse countries, cultures and backgrounds who saved tens of thousands of lives. Diplomatic rescue took place between 1933 and 1945 by diplomats representing 27 countries. They rescued Jews in more than 35 geographic areas. Few are aware that there were diplomats willing to risk their careers and their lives. Many are unaware that diplomatic rescue was even possible. Thousands were rescued by individuals whose heroic deeds have remained largely unrecognized. Rescue by diplomats took many forms. Diplomats issued visas, including exit visas and transit visas, citizenship papers, protective papers and other forms of documentation that allowed Jews to escape the Nazis. Some diplomats smuggled refugees across international borders. Many diplomats established safe houses and some hid Jews in their embassies and in their personal residences. Some diplomats were able to stop Nazi deportations to the death camps. Some diplomats warned the Jews of impending actions and deportations. Diplomats rescued Jews at the peril of their careers and, sometimes, their lives. Some of the diplomats who aided Jews did so illegally, and in violation of the regulations and immigration policies of their countries. Diplomats were censured or punished for their acts of courage. Some diplomats were fired or were stripped of their ranks and pensions. Others were ostracized in their home countries. This Visas for Life: The Righteous and Honorable Diplomats exhibit is based on original photographs and other archival materials collected from the families of the diplomats and other original sources. The exhibit also draws on historical accounts by survivors and witnesses. The exhibit has been widely acclaimed and has drawn enthusiastic praise. The exhibit premiered at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in January 1995. The exhibit showed at the United Nations headquarters in April 2000 and at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in July 2000. The exhibit was displayed at the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust in January 2000 and at the national conference of the American Jewish Committee in Washington, DC. Several heads of state have attended and participated in opening ceremonies of the Visas for Life exhibit, including the King and Queen of Sweden, the Prime Minister of Sweden, the President of Hungary, the President of Switzerland, the Prime Minister of Germany, and U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell.
Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the opening of the exhibition "Visas for Life: The Righteous Diplomats" at Headquarters on 3 April 2000. Kofi Annan is married to Nana Annan, niece of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. Dear friends, This remarkable event, this heart-rending exhibition, and you yourselves all have a natural home at the United Nations. The yearning for a United Nations had its origins in the scourge of fascism and Nazism, and its Charter was written as the world was first learning the full horror of the Holocaust. Today, your struggle -- against hatred and intolerance, and for justice and remembrance -- is our struggle, as well. The popular image of diplomats is not a flattering one. One familiar description says that "diplomacy is to do and say the nastiest thing, in the nicest way". It is sometimes said that diplomats lack a moral compass, passively following the orders of bosses and regimes regardless of their political or ethical character -- or lack thereof. The popular image of diplomats is not a flattering one. One familiar description says that "diplomacy is to do and say the nastiest thing, in the nicest way". It is sometimes said that diplomats lack a moral compass, passively following the orders of bosses and regimes regardless of their political or ethical character -- or lack thereof. Maybe that is true of some. It was emphatically not true of the extraordinary people whose stories are told by "Visas for Life". Some famous, others known to just a few, they make up a gallery of courageous individuals who, in the face of an inhuman force that was destroying lives and societies alike, took enormous personal risks to rescue Jews and others facing persecution and peril. They were true heroes; indeed, they were among the foremost human rights defenders of their day. With genocide still stalking our world, they are models for our time, too. The United Nations seeks to carry on in that tradition -- first and foremost, to save lives, but also to show that the popular image of diplomacy is an unfair caricature. That is why the United Nations tries to shine a spotlight on injustice, wherever it lurks. It is why we build institutions such as the International Criminal Court, so that no one -- from rulers to front-line soldiers -- can enjoy impunity from the rule of law. It is why, next year in South Africa, we will hold a world conference on racism at which, I should stress, anti-Semitism will be one of the forms of intolerance targeted for action. And it is why United Nations personnel continue to work in war zones and other risky places -- many of whom, like Dag Hammarskjöld, have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of peace. I would like to express my congratulations to the many groups and individuals who have made this project possible. You are doing more than documenting stories worth passing on from generation to generation. You are teaching the world that each and every one of us has a responsibility to care and be aware, and to speak up in the face of suffering, prejudice and violence. Had there been more righteous diplomats and more righteous people in general over the years, our world might be a better place. With more such individuals in the future, it still can be. In that hopeful spirit, please accept my best wishes for a memorable evening." |
