The Dutch Woman Who Helped to Rescue Thousands of Jews during the Holocaust

Nov. 16 2023

Although recognized for her efforts by Yad Vashem in 1966, Geertruida Wijsmuller (who died in 1978 at the age of eighty-two) has received little attention elsewhere for her extraordinary efforts to save German and Dutch Jewish children from the Nazis. Cari Shane writes:

Geertruida Wijsmuller-Meijer, also known as Truus Wijsmuller (pronounced WEISS-muller) . . . saved as many as 10,000 children, mainly through the Kindertransport from Nazi-occupied Europe to Great Britain and the lesser-known Dutch Kindertransport. The first known Kindertransport arrived in England from Berlin on December 2, [1938]. Wijsmuller was instrumental in organizing a second transport from Vienna, negotiating directly with Adolf Eichmann . . . to ensure the safe passage of 600 children.

Though she was arrested and interrogated by the Gestapo, Wijsmuller continued helping members of the Jewish community throughout the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. She brought food, much-needed medicine, and forged documents to individuals held in camps and prisons across German-controlled territories, and she helped East European Jews flee to Palestine via Marseilles, France.

Read more at Smithsonian

More about: Dutch Jewry, Holocaust rescue, Kindertransport, Righteous Among the Nations

A Jewish Obligation to Vote

On October 3, 1984, Rabbi Moses Feinstein—a leading figure among American Orthodox Jews, whose halakhic opinions are obeyed and studied today—wrote a letter encouraging Jews to vote in the upcoming elections. Feinstein, a talmudist of the old school, was born in a shtetl in the vicinity of Minsk, then in the Russian empire, before elections were known in that country. He came to the U.S. in 1937, at the age of forty-one, to escape the ever-worsening persecution of devout Jews in the Soviet Union. That experience no doubt shaped his view of democracy. Herewith, the letter in full:

On reaching the shores of the United States, Jews found a safe haven. The rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights have allowed us the freedom to practice our religion without interference and to live in this republic in safety.

A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakaras hatov—recognizing benefits afforded us and giving expression to our appreciation. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which safeguards the freedoms we enjoy. The most fundamental responsibility incumbent on each individual is to register and to vote.

Therefore, I urge all members of the Jewish community to fulfill their obligations by registering as soon as possible and by voting. By this, we can express our appreciation and contribute to the continued security of our community.

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More about: 2024 Election, American Jewry, Democracy, Halakhah