Just among the nations - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

Concept of “Juste among the Nations” in the judaïque tradition

In the tradition of the Judaism, the majority of the precepts and obligations contained in the Torah or its comments are essential only on the Juif S, supposed to have inherited them their ancestors who were voluntary for this load. These obligations are detailed in the 613 commands ( mitzvot ) of the orthodoxe Judaïsme.

The not-Jews have to follow less detailed ethical principles. In the broad sense, any not-Jew which observes the “Seven commands” is recognized as a Gentil and is ensured of a divine reward. For example, in the Jewish writings, Job represents this type of anybody perfectly just like Melchisédech, both of the Nice ones.

According to the Halakha , the seven categories of divine obligations falling to the not-Jews sont :

Recognizes only one God;
blasphemy not against Him;
Supports the creation of courts of justice in the company which guarantee the public morality;
Proscribes the murder;
Proscribes the flight;
Repudiates the perverse immorality and sexual conduits which destroy the family tie;
Proscribes the consumption of live animals.

Other standards are regarded by the Rabbin S as important but only these Seven Laws, supposed to be enacted at the time of Noah by God for all the Humanité, are imperative.

According to the rabbinical teaching, the companies which deviate deliberately from these regulations will not survive as the biblical episode of Sodome and Gomorrhe shows it. Each company is thus maintained by God only for Many “Right” living in its center. The term strictly designates in the beginning the not-Jews fearing God as in the Midrash where it is refers to rare the “Right ones” which requests the Eternal. The use of the term becomes of a more frequent employment in the medieval Littérature where all those are indicated thus which show benevolence with regard to the Jews. The Zohar thus qualifies any not-Jew which behaves with justice.

Discusses

According to rabbinical teaching, the Christians of all categories do not have the right to be called Justes among the nations because they belong to the category Minim.

However, Talmud is well clearly on top: the minim are guilty of idolatry and so they cannot respect the Lois noahides which are required with the other goys.

The idols which the rabbinical authorities reproach to the Christians are the cross and the doctrines of the Trinity.

The creation of the title of Juste among the Nations

The creative process in the Israeli legal order

After the end of the Second world war, in the Years 1950, shapes in Israel the will to commemorate the Martyr S of the Shoah. In March 1953, the Israeli government files in with the Knesset a “bill on the commemoration of the martyrs and the heroes - Yad Vashem”. It is at the time of debates by an amendment with the project that a reference to “Right among the Nations is added”, not-Jews which risked their life to come to assistance of Jews. the concept of Juste enters the legal and political field by the law of August 19th, 1953, with the last subparagraph of article I fixing the topics of action of the memorial.

But it is only starting from 1963, as one of the consequences of the lawsuit of Adolf Eichmann with Jerusalem which intends to make the light on the behaviors during the war and distinguishes between the attitudes from the various countries, institutions and communities those which acted to save Jews, that Yad Vashem engages an active policy of identification of these “Right”.

Political significance of this homage

Yad Vashem estimates that homage paid to Right among the Nations revêt an educational significance and morale :

Israel with the ethical obligation to recognize, honor and greet, in the name of the Jewish people, the not-Jews which, in spite of the great risks incurred for themselves and their close relations, helped of the Jews at one time when they needed it most.
the acts of Right prove that it was possible to bring a help. The argument according to which the terrorist apparatus Nazi paralyzed the contrary initiatives with the official policy is contradicted by the action of thousands of people of all the mediums which helped the Jews to escape the Final solution.

Granting of the distinction

Selection criteria

Since 1963, a commission chaired by a Judge of the Supreme court of Israel was created to decree the title of “Juste among the Nations”.

The commission respects precise criteria and is based on a methodical documentation resting mainly on direct testimonys. The files making it possible to establish the recognition of a Juste must establish, with several consistent testimonies, of the convincing facts such as:

the fact of having brought a help in situations where the Jews were impotent and death threats or of Déportation towards the concentration camps.
the fact of having been conscious that while bringing this help, the rescuer risked his life, his safety or his personal freedom, Nazis regarding the assistance with the Juif S as a crime.
the fact of not having sought any reward or material compensation n the other hand of the assistance brought.

Consequences of this choice

A recognized person as a “Juste” sees himself granting a medal his name, an official certificate and her name are engraved on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of Right with Yad Vashem. This inscription replaces the plantation of a tree for lack of place in the memorial. These symbols are given to the “Juste” or his representatives at the time of public ceremonies. A Juste receives a monthly payment on the level of the average wages of Israel. Various medical and social helps are granted to him like to her husband (). The “Juste” who is in difficulty - where which it resides - will be helped by the “Jewish Foundation for the Right ones”, established with New York (the United States) created for this purpose. The Fond Anne Frank , established with Basle (Swiss) deals with the medical expenses. “The Right” benches in Israel (57 people and their families) receive a pension of State.

Laws of Yad Vashem autorisent :

“to confer the honorary citizenship on Right among the Nations and if they disappeared, the citizenship commemorative of the State of Israel in recognition of their actions”.

To date, more: 21700 people, including the family members who shared the risks of the rescue of the Jews, were recognized Justes, representing more: 8000 actions of help authenticated.

The policy of Yad Vashem is to continue this program as long as requests for recognition supported by evidence will be transmitted to him.

An exemplary homage which does not distinguish all those which acted

The granting of this distinction must honor with the undeniable, proven, largely individual actions with some exceptions like the French village of the Chambon-on-Lignon, the network Polish Żegota or the Danish Résistance . The difficulty in finding testimonys direct or the diffuse character of certain actions reduce the number of “Right” identifiable.

Like specifies it the site of the French section of Yad Vashem, the book of Right will never be closed because many are those which will remain anonymous for lack of testimonys. Moreover, many actions were carried out by very varied networks, successive actions of weak range carried out by many people, assisted by a very broad “passive complicity”.

The Right ones in France

As in other European countries, the France knew actions aiming at helping the Juif S, unquestionable active, others translating a diffuse and rather widespread capacity of “civil disobedience” among French.

The diversity of the actions of rescue, in free Zone as in occupied Zone, the propensity of laic and the monks not to carry out the laws of the Mode of Vichy and the requirements of the German authorities, the relativity of the application of the government decisions is revealing of this attitude which began as of 1940, that is to say before the raids of the summer 1942. To disobey, it was, at certain moments, to take risks not to collaborate and to try to save others.

It is clear that in France, for example, much more: 2700 people formally identified by Yad Vashem had to act since more of the three quarter of the Jews which resided at it were saved Déportation. In September 1939, there was in France approximately: 300000 Jews being distributed ainsi : : 110000 French since several generations: 70000 naturalized French and: 120000 foreigners and Apatride S. With those were added in May 1940 close to: 40000 Jewish refugees of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg which had fled under the shock of the German invasion. : 75721 was off-set and: 2560 will return from the camps.

The “right ones of France”

The concept of “Right of France” appears in a private bill of Jean Le Garrec (socialist group), deposited on November 23rd, 1992 and which will not succeed. Was envisaged the creation of a title of “Juste de France” testifying to actions achieved during the period of the Régime of Vichy to collect, protect or defend of the people threatened of the one of the crimes defined by articles 211-1 to 213-5 of the penal code French (Génocide, Crime against humanity).

The title of “Juste de France” would have been decreed by a National Commission created for this purpose and which would have checked that the people concerned answered the conditions fixed by the text (to have gotten, with the risk conscious of its life or its body integrity, spontaneously and without hope of counterpart, a true help with a person being in situation of danger or immediate danger).

In 2000, a new private bill, adopted unanimously by the deputies, founds one day national with the memory of the victims of the racist crimes and anti-semites of the French State and homage to “Right of France” but gives up the creation of a title of “Juste de France” decreed by the French Republic. The people are thus designated thus having received the title of “Juste among the Nations”, delivered by the Israeli commission of Yad Vashem with the guards of only the Juif S (and not with those of the other victims of racial persecutions, like the Tziganes) and who acted as France.

Homage to “Right among the nations” of France

A monument of Right among the Nations of France was inaugurated by the President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac on November 2nd, 1997 in the domanial clearing of the drill of the Château of Feast, on the Commune of Thonon-the-Baths in Haute-Savoie.

January 18th, 2007, Jacques Chirac and Simone Veil, president of the Foundation for the memory of Shoah and old off-set, inaugurated an inscription in the crypt of the the Pantheon of Paris in the presence of many personalities of which the Nobel Prize of peace Elie Wiesel. It is a question of paying homage to “Right of France” and the anonymous heroes which saved thousands of Juif S during the Second world war. This title was decreed on this date with: 2725 French of which 240 are still in life. Several files are in the course of instruction. On this occasion, the President of the Republic makes a speech recalling the refusal of the indifference and the blindness vis-a-vis the heinous attitude and revanchist of the Régime of Vichy.

This date of the January 18th was not randomly selected. It corresponds to the birthday of the entry of the Soviet troops in the camp of Auschwitz.

One can read on the plate the text suivant : Under the cover of hatred and night fallen on France in the years of occupation, of the lights, per thousands, refused to die out. Named " Right among the nations" or remained anonymous, of the women and the men, any origines and all conditions, saved Jews of persecutions anti-semites and death camps. Facing the incurred risks, they incarnated the honor of France, its values of justice, tolerance and humanité.

This ceremony makes following the declaration of July 16th, 1995 to the Vélodrome of Winter in which President Chirac said: “The criminal madness of the occupant was assisted by French, by the French State”, thus recognizing the role of the French administration in the deportation of the Jews in France. The ceremony followed also the introduction in 2000 of the national Day to the memory of the victims of the racist crimes and anti-semites of the French State and homage to Right of France on July 16th of each year.

The Memorial of Shoah in Paris

The Mémorial of Shoah opened its doors on January 27th, 2005, in full heart of the district of the Marsh to Paris, on the site of the Mémorial of unknown the Juif martyr. This institution takes the continuation of the CDJC ( Information center Jewish contemporary , created in clandestinity with Grenoble by Isaac Schneersohn in April 1943) and of the Memorial of the unknown Jewish martyr (inaugurated on October 30th, 1956), following the fusion of these two institutions decided in 1997. The Memorial is located at 17 rue Geoffroy l'Asnier, in Paris in the IVe district.

The Memorial of Shoah, to which the Fondation for the memory of Shoah brings a permanent financial support, carried out a “Alley of Right” with the names of: 2693 Right of France, near the Wall of the Names where the names are engraved of: 76000 off-set Jews of France. This “Wall of Right”, as well as the exposure carried out to this occasion, were inaugurated on June 14th, 2006.

Some known names

Among: 2700 Right honoured in France, various groups are put forward. A dictionary of Right of France, comprising more: 2000 names, was published in 2003. The analysis of these names shows a very great diversity of the social conditions and trades but with a notable prevalence women (60% of the occurrences) ;

Giorgio Perlasca, Italian businessman blocked to Budapest, which saved: 5000 people while being made pass for the consul of Spain ;
Irena Sendlerowa which contributed to save: 2500 children of the Ghetto of Warsaw ;
the Countess Erszébet Maria Luiza Antoinetta Szapari, born on June 2nd, 1902 in Budapest (Hungary) and deceased on May 26th, 1980 with Lausanne (Swiss). The certificate of honor of Yad Vashem was decreed to him on a purely posthumous basis on November 12th, 1998 to have saved Jews with the hungaro-Polish Commission of the refugees founded in 1940. It was the intimate friend of Katalin Andrássy woman of the former president of the Republic of Hungary Mihály Károlyi; ;
Tadeusz Pankiewicz Polish pharmacist actively helped the Jews of the ghetto of Cracow. Its pharmacy had been found right in the middle of the ghetto, he was the only not Jew to remain in the ghetto and to hold open his pharmacy until the day of liquidation. Tadeusz Pankiewicz reported its terrible experiment in a book ( the pharmacy of the ghetto of Cracow ). Pharmacy shelters today the museum of the ghetto in the district of Podgórze in Cracow; ;
Hermann Friedrich Graebe German engineer posts some in Ukraine is the witness of a massacre of mass perpetrated against of the Jews with Dubno. He becomes a savage defender and safe of very many Jews. He emigrates in the United States after the war and will support the cause of the Jews until his death.

The Right ones by country

At January 1st, 2007, the Right ones among the Nations are: 21758.

Countries counting less than 100 Right sont : the Austria (85), the Moldavie (73), the Albania (63), the Romania (53), the Swiss (38), the Bosnia-Herzégovine (35), the Norway (41), the Denmark (21), the Bulgaria (17), the the United Kingdom (13), the Republic of Macedonia (10), the Arménie (10), the Sweden (9), the Slovenia (6), the Spain (3), the Estonia (3), the the United States (3), the Brazil (2), the China (2), the Chile (1), the Japan (1), the Luxembourg (1), the Portugal (1), the Turkey (1), the Tunisia (1) and the Georgia (1).

See too

The Right ones in arts

Goodbye the children , film of Louis Malle, left in 1987.
the List of Schindler , film of Steven Spielberg, (1993).
the Hill with the thousand children , French telefilm carried out by Jean-Louis Lorenzi diffused in 1994.
Mr Batignole , film of Gerard Jugnot, (2002).
Perlasca, Italian telefilm (Alberto Negrin), diffused in January 2002 on the SPOKE

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