Four Jewish rescuers who saved other Jews during the Holocaust were recognized Tuesday in a ceremony organized by B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund.

The 24th annual event is the only major commemoration of the heroism of Jews who endangered their own lives to rescue fellow Jews during the Holocaust, B’nai B’rith said. The ceremony was held in Jerusalem at the Van Leer Institute.

“On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we salute the heroism of Jews who saved their people in the darkest hours,” said KKL–JNF Chairman Eyal Ostrinsky. “Their legacy reminds us that Zionism is the rebirth of the Jewish people in its land, and that it is our duty to continue strengthening the State of Israel for generations to come.”

The Jewish Rescuers Citation was created in 2011 as a joint program of the B’nai B’rith World Center and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust in an effort to help correct the generally held misconception that Jews failed or were unable to come to the aid of fellow Jews. It has honored 667 recipients.

“The phenomena of Jewish rescue and the inspiring stories of many hundreds of Jews who labored to save their endangered brethren throughout Europe from deportation and murder have yet to be fully researched and receive appropriate public attention,” B’nai B’rith said in a statement.

“With great heroism, Jews in Germany and every country across Axis and occupied Europe employed subterfuge, forgery, smuggling, concealment, and other methods to ensure that Jews survived the Holocaust or assisted them in escaping to a safe haven. In doing so, they foiled the Nazi goal of total annihilation of the Jews.”

This year’s honorees are:

Shoshana Jansje Litten Serlui, who directed a Youth Aliyah training farm in the Netherlands. After the Nazi occupation in 1940, she worked with underground networks to forge documents, secure hiding places and orchestrate escapes. She helped ensure the survival of her students even as deportations intensified. Ultimately captured by the SS in 1944, she perished on a death march in 1945. Her husband was murdered in Auschwitz.

Ellen-Ellie Waterman, also of the Netherlands, played a key role in forging identity papers and establishing hiding places. Even after going underground herself, she continued to assist hundreds of Jews in hiding, maintaining operations despite the arrest of fellow resistance members.

Simha Kazik Rotem, a fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, used his ability to pass as non-Jewish to move between the ghetto and the outside world. He smuggled weapons and later guided dozens of fighters to safety through the sewers as the uprising was crushed. He immigrated to Israel after the war.

Paul Giniewski, active in the French Zionist underground, risked his life delivering forged documents and recruiting local officials to aid Jews in hiding. Arrested multiple times, he survived the war and later became a prominent journalist in France.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 These are the 20 people killed in Israel by Iranian ballistic missile attacks

2 French company Lafarge found guilty of paying $6.54 million to jihadists in Syria

3 Hungary’s PM-elect vows return to ICC, but stresses ‘special relationship’ with Israel

4 Netanyahu rebukes Europe as Israel commemorates Holocaust in shadow of Iran war

5 Turkish FM: Israel trying to ‘declare Turkey the new enemy’ after Iran

6 Holocaust Remembrance DayOver 80 years after fleeing the Nazis, a survivor moves to Israel, finally home

7 Hezbollah chief demands Lebanon back out of ‘futile’ planned talks with Israel

8 Trump claims Iran again expressed interest in deal after US naval blockade begins

Holocaust Remembrance Day

© The Times of Israel