Righteous Among the Nations

Catholic News Agency reports that Israel’s official Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem has named the World War II-era Archbishop of Florence, Cardinal Elia Dalla Costa, as "Righteous Among the Nations" for his help in rescuing hundreds of Jews from Nazi persecution.

Yad Vashem said on Nov. 26 that the cardinal "played a central role in the organization and operation of a widespread rescue network."

The Nazis began to deport Jews after the German occupation of Italy in September 1943. A major rescue effort in Florence was begun by the city’s Jewish leader Rabbi Nathan Cassuto and Jewish resistance fighter Raffaele Cantoni. The operation soon became a joint Jewish-Christian effort, with the cardinal offering guidance.

Cardinal Dalla Costa recruited rescuers among the clergy and supplied letters asking monasteries and convents to shelter Jews. He sheltered Jewish refugees in his own palace for short periods before they could be taken to safety.

Yad Vashem said the cardinal was part of a network that helped save hundreds of local Jews and Jewish refugees from areas previously under Italian control.

The story also notes:

Until earlier this year, the Yad Vashem memorial’s exhibit on Pope Pius XII mainly echoed his critics, saying the Pope "did not protest" the murder of Jews.

The memorial has since changed the exhibit panel, citing recent research. It acknowledges the Pope’s condemnation of ethnic persecution and the efforts of the Holy See to save Jews.

The entire story is here.

Kristallnacht Interfaith Commemoration

Kristallnacht Interfaith Commemoration
A Film Premiere
Free and open to the public

Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 7:00 pm
Page Hall, University at Albany downtown campus
135 Western Avenue, Albany

René and I is the story of young twins, Rene and Irene, who spent years in Auschwitz under the notorious Dr. Mengele. Of the 3,000 twins experimented on by Mengele and other Nazi doctors, only 160 survived.

A true tale of miraculous chance encounters, high-risk rescue, a dramatic reunion as the Iron Curtain is shutting closed, and incredible lives forged from Auschwitz to America, René and I is the story of two resilient souls who triumphed over inhumane circumstances with their emotional selves intact.
At the heart, René and I is about second chances and the amazingly arbitrary events and coincidences in life that can change a child’s fate forever. More than any detailed account of the Holocaust, René and I is a story of two children who overcame adversity against all odds. It is a tribute to tolerance, to the endurance of the human spirit, and to the triumph of good over evil.

The Garden of Remembrance

In today’s Times Union, Harry Rosenfeld writes about a trip he took to Europe last month:

In Budapest, we visited the Great Synagogue, which is the second largest in the world (exceeded by New York City's Temple Emanuel) and reflects the rich traditions of a once-thriving Hungarian Jewish Community. The Germans used it as a stable.

As the tour was concluding, our guide took us to the Garden of Remembrance behind the temple. There was a Tree of Life sculpture on whose leaves were engraved names of the some of hundreds of thousands of murdered Jews.

Adjacent to the sculpture were two steles with names emblazoned in gold and a stone placed into the ground honoring righteous gentiles who at the risk of their lives acted to save Jews.

Our guide walked over to one of the steles and pointed to the fourth name on it and said, "that is the name of my father, my Catholic father."

This is an interesting column, which you can read here.