The Yad Vashem museum in Israel, founded in 1953, honors both Holocaust martyrs and "the Righteous Among the Nations," Gentile (non-Jewish) rescuers who have been recognized for their "compassion, courage and morality" because they "risked their lives to save the lives of Jews." Poland ranks first among 40 nations with 6,266 men and women, almost one-third of the total, despite the fact that only in Poland were citizens (and their loved ones) immediately executed if caught trying to save Jews.
Many prominent Jews and their families owe their lives to these brave but rarely acknowledged people. For example, Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith/USA, was saved by a Polish Catholic nanny who had him baptized as a Catholic and began raising him as her son in order to save him. - Edward Lucaire
Righteous Among the Nations - per Country & Ethnic Origin January 1, 2011
These figures are not necessarily an indication of the actual number of rescuers in each country, but reflect the cases that were made available to Yad Vashem.
Albania | 69 |
Armenia | 19 |
Austria | 88 |
Belarus | 555 |
Belgium | 1,584 |
Bosnia | 40 |
Brazil | 2 |
Bulgaria | 19 |
Chile | 1 |
China | 2 |
Croatia | 102 |
Czech Republic | 108 |
Denmark* | 22 |
El Salvador | 1 |
Estonia | 3 |
France | 3,331 |
Georgia | 1 |
Germany | 495 |
Grt Britain - Inc. Scotland | 14 |
Greece | 307 |
Hungary | 764 |
Italy | 498 |
Japan | 1 |
Latvia | 129 |
Lithuania | 800 |
Luxembourg | 1 |
Macedonia | 10 |
Moldova | 79 |
Montenegro | 1 |
Netherlands** | 5,108 |
Norway | 47 |
Poland | 6,266 |
Portugal | 2 |
Romania | 60 |
Russia | 173 |
Serbia | 131 |
Slovakia | 522 |
Slovenia | 6 |
Spain | 4 |
Sweden | 10 |
Switzerland | 45 |
Turkey | 1 |
Ukraine | 2,363 |
USA | 3 |
Vietnam | 1 |
Total: 23,788 |
* The Danish Underground requested that all its members who participated in the rescue of the Jewish community not be listed individually, but commemorated as one group.
** Includes two persons originally from Indonesia, but residing in the Netherlands.
Source: http://www.yadvashem.org.il/righteous/index_righteous.htm