Righteous among the Nations

Righteous among the Nations is a designation awarded by the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Israel, to recognize non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. It is awarded in the name of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel, and carries honorary Israeli citizenship. There is an Avenue of the Righteous along which memorial trees or plaques commemorate them.

Awardees have come, so far, from 44 countries and a wide range of religions. Criteria include:

1. Active involvement of the rescuer in saving one or several Jews from the threat of death or deportation to death camps
2. Risk to the rescuer’s life, liberty or position
3. The initial motivation being the intention to help persecuted Jews: i.e. not for payment or any other reward such as religious conversion of the saved person, adoption of a child, etc.
4. The existence of testimony of those who were helped or at least unequivocal documentation establishing the nature of the rescue and its circumstance