"Jews saving Jews" Forum

During the summer of 2019 the Arnold and Leona Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research decided to broaden its international activities by creating a number of international geographical or topical forums.

The "Jews Saving Jews Forum" is a topical forum that was created in June 2019. The Forum is an initiative of the B’nai B’rith World Center and the Committee for Recognizing the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust, which for over twenty years has promoted the recognition of Jewish self-rescue activities as a unique phenomenon in Jewish and Holocaust history.

Although it was chosen by Yad Vashem as the official theme for Yom Hashoa 2020, Jewish self-rescue has not been the subject of consistent, systematic, and in-depth study, as have other aspects of the Holocaust. Recognizing that fact, the Finkler Institute established the Forum to further the investigation of this important topic.

As a first stage the Forum's participants will write articles about cases of Jews Rescuing Jews during the Holocaust that will be the basis of a book on that subject to be published together with the B'nai B'rith World Center.

The forum will continue to exist after the book is published and together with its internet list, it will serve as a framework for sharing information about studies worldwide focusing on Jews saving Jews during the Holocaust and fostering cooperative ventures on that topic.

In 2020 the B'nai B'rith World Center, Jerusalem and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust published a booklet with articles about "Jews Saving Jews" during the Holocaust.