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Once thrown into an environment of uncertainty the brain reverts back to its survival instincts. The Holocaust was one of the more dangerous environments. Most people feared for their lives too much and saved only themselves. On the other hand, there were people like Miep Gies, who generously risked their life to save others. Even to save one Jewish person, rescuers of the Holocaust would put their lives on the line. They gave up food, shelter, and safety to save others. Some even lost something more important than material objects. They lost their will to forgive others, their emotions, and their ability to feel safe. Holocaust rescuers, some members of the Resistance and others working independently, were able to save numerous Jewish people from certain death, but could not save themselves from the emotional trauma that would ensue caused by years of constant danger.
Pyromaniacs like playing with fire so do rescuers. They are not afraid to back talk a Nazi officer with a gun. They know any form of disrespect is dangerous and could cost them their lives, but cannot seem to stop themselves. Most young adult and teenage rescuers were too naïve to realize that they were not indestructible. This allowed them to take on harder missions than adults. It also allowed them a unique way of dealing with the Holocaust. All of their fear and pain transformed into anger and a sense of purpose. Youth is not something to waste and the young rescuers took full advantage of their ‘immortality’. Louisa Steenstra, a young woman from Groningen, was not afraid to throw a sarcastic remark in a Nazi officer’s face, even though she was fully aware of the consequences. Louisa hated the Nazis with a passion that she was not afraid to show: “‘ I am not going to work for the Germans. I will kill myself first.’” (Fogelman, p.119)
Louisa Steenstra has had the experience of helping Jews by being around rescuers all her life. Albert, her husband, was already involved with the Underground when they wed. Louisa’s town was highly populated by Jews, many of her friends and neighbors were Jewish. Therefore, her siblings and parents had to hide Jews in their houses. On May 10, 1940, the Nazis dropped a bomb killing 30,000 people in the nearby town of Rotterdam. Louisa could not understand why the Nazis would do such a horrendous act. She could feel the hatred swelling inside of herself: “‘When you hear that, how can you feel? I hated them. I couldn’t stand the Germans. I couldn’t stand it,’” (Fogelman, p.11 cool . A year later, Louisa had a little girl which she named Beatrice Irene, after the Dutch queen who had been recently exiled. When Beatrice was shown to a Nazi father whose baby was just born, the father stiffened. Louisa felt a sense of pride when she rubbed the Nazis the wrong way. At the end of the war, Louisa had saved five Jews and fed numerous runaways. She knew she could get caught so if she died, she would die on her own terms and not the Nazis. The older rescuers were hit with the realization of how the young adult and teenage rescuers were ‘indestructible’. Networks were born recruiting this boldness to smuggle Jews out of their respective countries to safety. The most successful rescuer network was the Danish Underground, saving ninety nine percent of the Jewish population in Denmark.
April 9, 1940 was when the Germans occupied Denmark, with the hope of exterminating more Jews. After word got out that the Germans were taking the Jews to concentration camps, the good people of Denmark took action. In only one night, an underground network was created with the sole purpose of saving Jews. 700 non-Jewish people and 7,200 Jewish people in Denmark were saved. The main location for the transported Jews was Sweden. Rescuers collected boats and fishing ships to transport the Jews through the Kattegat Sea, which connects Denmark to Sweden. The Danish Underground did an amazing job at saving so many Jews: “An estimated 120 Jewish Danes were murdered in the Holocaust; however, less than two percent of the Jewish population of Denmark perished,” (www.jewishvirtuallibrary.com). Due to the fact that there were so many people working for a common goal the Danish Underground worked so well A number of rescuers decided that sharing their feelings with others would jeopardize their lives and the lives of the Jews they were hiding. Eventually some of the rescuers found it easier to deal with the day to day issues devoid of emotions.
In almost every horror movie you see, when the monster rears its ugly head, someone screams. During the Holocaust, if a Nazi came near you and you screamed, you would be shot on sight. Even the slightest sound could mean death for a rescuer. If they breathed too heavily, shook too much, or their whispers were a bit too loud, they would die. Therefore, some rescuers detached themselves from their emotions. They knew that if they showed any signs of abnormality, there was a risk that they would be caught. After so many months of death and carnage, death became their everyday thing. With no emotions at all it was easier to cope in some situations. Rescuers who have blocked off their emotions tend to talk bluntly when retelling their story to others. Alexander Roslan, a rescuer and businessman, decided to trade his emotions for his sanity during the Holocaust.
Alexander Roslan knew how to make money and lock away his feelings; he used those abilities to their full potential during his time as a rescuer. At the age of twenty-five, Alex had two children, Jurek and Mary, and a wife Mela. Alex was asked to take in a friend’s nephews, Jacob, who had extremely distinct Jewish features. He was a thirteen- year old who couldn’t be hidden easily. Alex’s house was inspected twice by the Gestapo on suspicions of hiding a Jew. After the second search, Alex began to worry for his and his family’s lives; “‘ Now what do I do? Millions of things went through my mind. I had to survive…’” (Fogelman, p. 10 cool . To obtain extra food for Jacob and provide for his family, Alex had to use the black market as a way to get goods. His superior ability to make business deals helped him greatly. Three months later, Alex took in Sholom, Jacob’s younger brother. Sadly Sholom was soon infected with scarlet fever. Unfortunately, Alex’s own son, Jurek, was infected with scarlet fever as well. Sholom couldn’t see a doctor. Therefore, Jurek went to a local doctor and took half of the medication given to him while saving the rest for Sholom. Jurek’s efforts were for nothing because Sholom continued to grow weaker and weaker. One day, Alex talked to Sholom and asked how he was doing. Sholom answered and then died. When recalling that moment, Alex only says, “‘ He talked with me,’ Alex remembers. ‘Then he died,’” (Fogelman, p. 110). At the age of fifteen, Jurek went out to fetch water for the family. A stray bullet was shot and Jurek was killed. When reliving the memory of his son’s death, Alex simply stated, “‘ I lost my son,’” (Fogelman, p. 115). When the war was over, he and his family were overjoyed that the nightmare was over. Alex can no longer enjoy life like he did when he was a child. He has not cried since the war. Alex was able to keep himself together by concealing his emotions and always pressing forward. Unlike Alex, some rescuers could not handle the pressure of rescuing alone. They did not turn to groups of people of their families for help. Those people turned to God to help them survive such a difficult time.
God is seen as a divine being that will bring about miracles. For many rescuers, that was believed to be true. When thrown into a deadly situation, praying to God was seen as a last resort. The rescuer who was praying would completely commit their soul to God and would be granted what would appear to be a miracle. Rescuers who turned to God did not necessarily have to give anything up but would usually be faced with the most life threatening situations. Religious and nonreligious rescuers reported miracles that had saved their lives. Believing in a God helped some rescuers deal with everyday things: “Spiritual transcendence of the terrifying present made it possible to withstand regular brushes with death,” (Fogelman, p.87). Stefania Podgorska would not have called herself a religious person until she became a rescuer. She had claimed to have heard an angel speak to her when death was only a few minutes away.
Stefania was only sixteen-years-old when she became a rescuer. A year before the war started Stefania’s father died. Stefania’s now widowed mother would visit other relatives in the near by town of Przemysl. Thirteen-year-old Stefania fell in love with the town and asked permission to stay. Once allowed to live in Przemysl, Stefania found a job with a Jewish grocer named Lea Adler Diamant. Over the years, Stefania became part of the Diamant family. The Germans occupied the town and set up a ghetto behind the Diamant’s grocery shop. The now sixteen-year-old Stefania took over the Diamant’s shop since Jews were no longer allowed to own stores. The Diamant family was split as every person went to a different concentration camp. The only two surviving Diamant’s after two months was Joseph and Henek. The brothers decided to make a suicide pact and jump off of a speeding train. Joseph’s attempted suicide failed due to a loaf of bread in his clothing cushioning a spike’s impact. Joseph turned to his old house which was then owned by Stefania. Stefania happily took in Joseph as her seven-year-old sister, Helena helped cleaned his wounds. Henek would was place back inside of the ghetto and Stefania knew it was only a matter of time until they were caught. Joseph suggested moving to a larger house in the Jewish neighborhoods. Stefania was frantic when she heard an angel’s voice: “‘ Don’t be afraid. Go a little farther. After this corner, two women are standing, women who clean the street. They are supporting themselves on their brooms. Ask them for an apartment. They will tell you,’” (Fogelman, p. 93). Sure enough, the angel was right and Stefania obtained a bigger house, perfect for hiding Jews in. With the new found houses’ size seventeen-year-old Stefania took in seven Jews along with her sister Helena. During the last months of the war, two SS officers commanded that Stefania left the house in two hours. If she and her sister, along with the hidden thirteen Jews, could not leave in that time they would be shot. The thirteen hidden Jews pleaded for Stefania and her sister to leave. Stefania could not bring herself to leave them and asked for everyone to pray to God. Once again the angel talked to Stefania. The angel said to leave the Jews in the attic and to stay in her house. The Germans would not need to take control of the whole house, but only one room. When the group’s time ran out a German solider alerted Stefania that only one room needed to be occupied. At the end of the war all fifteen Jews in Stefania’s care survived. Stefania had witnessed two miracles, and credits God for both of them. God was her savior and that was why she survived, that is what Stefania believes.
To be a rescuer you must forfeit all sense of security. Rescuers lost their emotions, will to forgive others, and were presented with the most deadly situations. Once you decide to become a rescuer there is no turning back. The rescuers would have to deal with the grief and guilt of having one of their Jews die. During the Holocaust most people turned their backs to the Jews, the rescuers did not. When asked years later if they would save the Jews again, all of them said that they would do it all over again. Rescuers of the Holocaust saved hundreds of lives, but that did not come without a cost. They sacrificed everything to save a life. Rescuers are truly courageous people who put other’s lives before their own.