Having been to the terrible Auschwitz camp to bear witness to the sufferings of the Jewish people, I salute the unbelievably courageos stories of people like Dr. Mohamed Helmy who protected jewish friends not in some far away country but at Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany.
Many thanks to Robert Satloff for his stubborn efforts to bring the Holocaust to the Arab public and to celebrate the memories of Arab Righteous among the Nations.
I would like to add this personal recognition of a certain “anonymous” Suzanne: a working-class lady whom I met during my first years in Paris. She told me that, a kid at the time, she used to take food to a jewish lady whom her mother, a simple ‘concierge’, had hidden from the Nazis. I asked if she had told her story to some Jewish organization after the war. I never forgot her answer: “No, why would I? It was normal that we helped her, she was our neighbour”! (“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” “Matthew 5:3).
Pierre Akel
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A date to remember: Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of the recognition of the Egyptian physician #MohammedHelmy as a righteous-among-the-nations for his selfless courage in protecting #Jewish life in #Nazi-controlled Berlin.
Rescued by an Egyptian in Berlin Dr. Mohamed Helmy was born in Khartoum in 1901 to Egyptian parents. In 1922 he went to Germany to study medicine and settled in Berlin. After completing his studies,…
It would be terrific if #Arab governments added this date to their national calendars. And it would be terrific if
@yadvashem
finally honored all the other #Arabs — like #Tunisia‘s #KhaledAbdulWahhab — whose recognition is well-deserved and long overdue. 2/2
Suggested Readings:
لماذا يجب أن يتعرّف العرب على المحرقة اليهودية (“الهولوكوست”)
Why Arabs Should Learn About the Holocaust