by Annie Wu, Steven Rosenbaum, and Sandhya Subbarao
One of many stories out of the Holocaust is that of the Jewish prisoners who managed to escape, and of the brave people who helped them reach freedom. Roman Kent, 82, is a Holocaust survivor from Poland who founded the Jewish Federation of the Righteous, an organization that assists non-Jews who rescued Jews during that terrible time.
Kent spent his early childhood in Auschwitz and other concentration camps. In 1946, when the war ended, he came to America as part of the children’s quota of orphan refugees that the U.S. had agreed to take in. Although he himself was not rescued, Kent believes that many Holocaust survivors owe a great debt of gratitude to their rescuers, one that must be repaid.
The Jewish Federation of the Righteous raises funds to send a monthly stipend to Holocaust rescuers from Poland, Hungary, Austria and other European countries, many of whom are elderly and don’t have the funds to care for themselves.
Stanlee Stahl is the executive vice president of the organization. Speaking of the rescuers who were honored by her organization, she says, “they were men and women who had the courage to care and the courage to act.”
