08 May 2011

Heroes of the Holocaust

While reading about Czech author Tom Stoppard, I learned that the owner of the shoe company his parents worked for, Tomáš Baťa, helped get his Jewish employees (mostly doctors) out of Czechoslovakia and to places where they could continue to work for branches of his company. What a commendable act.

When I visited Sofia, Bulgaria, I briefly wrote about their commendable actions in regard to the Jews of their city. Can you believe that they were able to get 49,000 people to safety? Can you believe that people got together to help instead of fearing what could happen to them personally? I wish there was somewhere to read more about it (there probably is, I just don't know about it).

Here's to 66 years since the end of World War II.

1 comment:

  1. You know, I was just listening to an NPR story on the Eichmann trial the other day, and it struck me that Eichmann never denied his participation in the Holocaust; he defended himself by claiming that he was just following orders and had no choice. However, prosecuters showed that Eichmann DID disobey orders to help a couple of family members escape, so the Court determined that he did, in fact, have a choice and was therefore responsible for his actions. Just think how many lives could have been spared if Adolf Eichmann had chosen to act with courage and conscience.

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