The Unsung Heroes in Nazi Occupied Europe: The Antidote for Evil

Abstract

As we pick up a newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch the news, the information we get stands out in our minds and brings the sensitive soul a step closer to despair. Although on rare occasions we learn that someone has been kind, unselfish, and even heroic, much reporting vividly projects violence, war, hate, greed, avarice, etc. In this current age of spiritual bankruptcy, loss of community, instant gratification, individual entitlements, “I want-it-all-now,” “me generations,” the possibility of nuclear catastrophy, the rise of neo-nazism, and dozens of hate groups, racial and ethnic polarization, there is an urgent need for efforts to stop this road to social, cultural, spiritual, moral and physical suicide. One possible approach might be to focus on the decent people: those who loved, those who cared, those who gave so much selflessly, those who risked much, including their lives, to save their fellow human beings. With this in mind my purpose here is to describe briefly a few heroic acts in Europe during the Nazi occupation, to suggest some reasons that motivated the rescuers (altruists) who risked so much to help victims, and to draw a profile of the altruist. Altruism, for our purposes is defined as aid given to others who are in great need and which entails very high risk for which the altruist rescuer does not expect any external reward.