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By Diane Singer|Published Date: July 12, 2010
“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40
Nothing Special
In 1982, Thomas Keneally published Schindler’s List, the story of Oskar Schindler, a German war profiteer who first exploited Polish-Jewish workers to make millions, then spent his fortune saving more than 1200 people from the Nazi death machine. Schindler’s story became widely known with the release of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film – which won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, despite the objections of some Holocaust survivors that the movie did not adequately portray the horrors they had endured. [i]
Whatever their shortcomings, both the book and the film raised the public’s awareness regarding the thousands of rescuers – more than 20,000 to date – who have been honored as “Righteous Gentiles” by the nation of Israel for risking their lives to save Jewish people during the Holocaust. These include well-known figures like Miep Gies, who hid Anne Franks’ family; the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved more than 30,000 Jews by providing false Swedish passports; and Corrie Ten Boom, the Dutch Christian whose sister and father died as the result of their hiding Jews, resistance fighters, and students who refused to cooperate with the Nazis. It also includes the citizens of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in France – descendents of once-persecuted Huguenots – who sheltered thousands and who helped many more escape to Switzerland.
What is most remarkable about their stories is the common claim that they did “nothing special.” Yet their actions prevented the death toll – six million Jews and up to seven million Gentiles – from going even higher.[ii] The enduring question is why they chose to help – at the risk of their own lives and the lives of their loved ones – when so many others did not.
Ordinary People
In her book Conscience and Courage, psychologist Eva Fogelman, founding director of the Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers, answers both the who and the why. The book profiles many of these men and women, telling their stories and explaining what motivated them to act. She writes, “At a time of worldwide upheaval, when civilized norms were held in suspension, a few individuals held fast to their own standards. They were not saints. Nor were they particularly heroic or often all that outstanding. They were simply ordinary people doing what they felt had to be done at that time.” [iii]
Their reasons for getting involved varied widely. Many rescuers came from the helping professions (doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers, diplomats, etc.) who viewed their actions as an extension of their vocation. Others were motivated by a strong moral or religious core which enabled them to recognize injustice while making it impossible for them to do nothing. Still others were Judeophiles, non-Jews who loved the Jewish people – either from religious conviction (such as Christians who viewed them as God’s chosen people) or because they had Jewish friends or neighbors who needed their protection. Groups who had endured persecution in the past – such as the people of Le Chambon – identified with their suffering and so offered the aid they wished others had given their ancestors. And, then, there were individuals who helped simply because they hated everything the Nazis stood for.
The level of aid they rendered also varied. On the one hand, it could be as simple as distracting a German soldier while a Jewish neighbor slipped around a corner and escaped, or putting up a family for a night while they were in transit to safer regions. On the other hand, it could be as difficult as hiding a dozen or more fugitives in their homes for a period of years. Such actions took courage, resourcefulness, an ability to live a double life, a Rahab-like talent for lying in order to save lives, and a tireless commitment to the well-being of their charges. Thousands carried out their mission successfully; but not every case had a happy ending, as Anne Frank’s story reminds us. Yet even when the rescuers paid the ultimate price – death alongside their charges – they died knowing they had done the right thing.
Taking Responsibility
Fogelman not only explores the who and why, she also explains the how – the mechanism of becoming a rescuer – by outlining a five-stage process that moves a person from being a mere observer to an active participant:
- we must notice that something is wrong
- we must realize that people need help
- we must take responsibility to help them
- we must choose a form of helping
- we must implement that help
Of course, anyone familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan can see this same pattern at work (Luke 10:29-37):
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
The priest and the Levite refused to notice that anything was wrong – indicative of the way people put on blinders when they are more concerned about themselves than others. The Samaritan, however, not only noticed something was wrong and realized the man needed help, he took the crucial step of accepting personal responsibility for rendering aid. From that point forward, it was simply a matter of taking practical steps to make that aid a reality.
Application & Challenge
Rescuers and Good Samaritans are always needed – whether we are living in a period of historical crisis or one of relative peace. People who need help – people who need our help – are all around us. It’s simply a matter of willing ourselves to see them, accepting God’s call to get involved, and then rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.
Chuck Colson once said, “The need is not the call.” In other words, there will always be more needy people than any one individual can help. However, while no one person can do it all, everyone can do something. In fact, Jesus has called each one of us to rescue the “least of these” in our communities; and He has told us that as we help them, we are actually helping Him (Matthew 25:40).
In what specific arena is God calling you? Do you need to work with prisoners and their families, as Chuck Colson has dedicated his life to doing? Do you need to tutor children in an after-school program at a low-performing school in your city? Do you need to teach a Bible class at a local rescue mission? Do you need to open your home to a pregnant teenager or an ex-con? Do you need to travel to Haiti to help build an orphanage? Do you need to volunteer your talents in a free medical clinic? Do you need to provide transportation for an elderly widow or widower who can no longer drive? The possibilities are endless.
Conclusion
After the roundup and deportation of Jews in Paris in 1942, Pastor Andre Trocme in Le Chambon preached a sermon to his parishioners, saying “The Christian Church should drop to its knees and beg pardon of God for its present incapacity and cowardice.” [emphasis mine] [iv]
In the West, our lack of involvement is more likely to stem from apathy and self-centeredness. Regardless of the reason, when we one day stand before Jesus, we will be without excuse if we fail to rescue the “least of these” in our world.
So, look around. See who needs help, consider what you can do, and then do it. Only then will Jesus’ words about giving up your life to find your life become a reality (Matthew 10:39).
For more information on this topic, get the book, The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom, from our online store. Or read the article, “Be Strong and Courageous,” by Charles Colson.
[i] They were right, but Spielberg had a difficult task: he had to capture the terror and violence of real events, such as the liquidation of the ghetto or the summary execution of prisoners, in a way that didn’t send audience members running from the theater in horror. Another objection to Schindler’s List is that it focuses on a rescuer rather than the victims; and its relatively happy ending had one critic caustically remarking that only Steven Spielberg could made a “feel good” movie about the Holocaust.
[ii] Romani (gypsies), the mentally and physically disabled, ethnic Poles, Soviet citizens, homosexuals, and political and religious opponents were also deemed unworthy of life by the Third Reich.
[iii] Eva Fogelman. Conscience and Courage. New York: Doubleday, 1994. xvii.
[iv] (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Chambon.html)
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