Mohammed ″Mod″ Helmy (Arabic: محمد حلمي; 25 July 1901 in Khartoum – 10 January 1982 in West Berlin) was an Egyptian-German physician who was recognized by Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations in 2013, with his name being listed at Yad Vashem in the city of Jerusalem.

[1][2] Born in Sudan, he moved to Berlin to study medicine and was later involved in saving many Jews from being exterminated by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.

In 2013 Helmy was the first Arab to be recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations; his nephews were summoned by Yad Vashem to receive the honour on his behalf, but were reluctant to do so because of the Arab–Israeli conflict, though they eventually attended the ceremony at the German foreign ministry.

Mod Helmy was born in 1901 in Khartoum, in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, into an influential family as the child of an Egyptian Army major, and a Sudanese mother.

The 'Arabic Berlin' of the Weimar period centred around the grand mosque in the Wilmersdorf district with its neo-morish dome a landmark of the capital.

Its community was open, progressive, and welcomed Jewish luminaries, including Albert Einstein and philosopher Martin Buber, to cultural events.

Mod Helmy completed his state examinations in 1929, and began his doctorate at the Robert Koch Hospital (later called Krankenhaus Moabit [de]) in 1931.

Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933 upended life in Germany, by that time most Arabs had left the country, fearing their racist ideology.

On September 5, 1939, immediately following the start of World War II, the Ordinance on the Treatment of Foreigners required citizens of "enemy states" to register with authorities.

Shortly after, Arabs in Germany and territories annexed or occupied by the Nazis were arrested, jailed, and deported to the Wülzburg internment camp near Nüremberg.

In January 1940, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler ordered the internment of all adult male Egyptian nationals, which led to an ill Helmy being arrested for a second time.

The Egyptian embassy managed to secure Helmy's early release in 1940 due to his deteriorating condition, sparing him another year in the internment camp.

[1][5] For over a year, Helmy was obliged to report to the police twice every day and provide proof every month that he was too ill to be present to the internment camp.

[6] Some members of the Muslim community began to assist the Nazis, helping promote the regime’s antisemitic propaganda and translating Mein Kampf into Arabic.