Courage to Care Award

Since April 23, 1987, the Anti-Defamation League has given award to honor rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust era.^[1] The award, called Courage to Care, was renamed in 2011 as the ADL Jan Karski Courage to Care Award in honor of one of its 1988 recipients, Jan Karski, a Polish Righteous who provided one of the first eyewitness accounts of the Final Solution to the West. The ADL plaque features miniature bas-reliefs depicting the backdrop for the rescuers’ exceptional deeds during the Nazi persecution, deportation and murder of millions of Jews. It is a replica of the plaques which constitute the Holocaust Memorial Wall created by noted sculptor Arbit Blatas, who also created the Holocaust Memorial in Paris and the display in the old ghetto of Venice, Italy. The award is given during specific programs and ceremonies sponsored by the ADL, often occurring several times a year, when possible.^[1]

Background

Since 1962, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority conferred the title “Righteous Among the Nations” on non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews. Yad Vashem was established in 1953 to perpetuate the memory of the Jewish world destroyed in the Holocaust. A special committee is impaneled to study the evidence gathered from survivors and documents in order to establish the authenticity of each rescue story. To date, over 9,000 men and women have been so honored by Yad Vashem.

In addition to examining its own records, ADL consults with Yad Vashem before conferring the Courage to Care award. The Courage to Care program is sponsored by Eileen Ludwig Greenland.

Recipients

Courage to Care honorees.^[1]

References