Conscience and Courage

Starred review from January 31, 1994
Some sheltered one Jew for a night; others hid several Jews for years. Some performed a single spontaneous act of heroism, like the baker who saved the author's father in Poland in 1942; others were part of an anonymous network. These brave people, along with the well-known rescuers Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg, had this in common: they were gentiles who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazi regime. In her deeply affecting book, Fogelman recounts the stories of these Europeans --housewives, businessmen, telephone operators, farmers, diplomats, nurses--and tells how the state of Israel has honored them with the title ``Righteous Among the Nations.'' The author, a New York City social psychologist who directs the Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers, ponders deep questions: Why did these particular individuals become rescuers? Can moral integrity be taught and then applied? Is there such a thing as altruism? She explains that one of her reasons for writing the book was ``to give altruism back its good name.'' Her study of extraordinary instances of moral courage will appeal to a broad audience. Fogelman wrote and co-produced the PBS series Breaking the Silence: The Generations After the Holocaust.