The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has launched a worldwide appeal for testimonies of Jews saved by Catholics during the Holocaust.
The group is making the appeal ahead of Pope Benedict’s visit to Israel next month, JTA News reports.
”During World War II, a great number of Catholic men and women in the European continent risked their own lives to save the Jews persecuted by the Nazis. Only a fraction of these saviours were duly recognised,” the foundation said in a statement quoted by Zenit.
The mission of the foundation is to ”develop educational programs and public awareness campaigns based on the values of solidarity and civic courage, ethical cornerstones of the saviours of the Holocaust.”
One of the organisation’s objectives is to unearth these stories of heroism and establish educational programs for the legacy of courage to be conveyed to younger generations. Thus they launched the campaign to call for information or evidence related to rescues led by Catholics during the Holocaust.
Named for Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews in the Budapest ghetto, the foundation has as its mission the development of ”educational programs and public awareness campaigns based on the values of solidarity and civic courage, ethical cornerstones of the saviours of the Holocaust.”
This includes seeking information on rescuers and promoting knowledge of their actions.
