Righteous Among the Nations

Righteous Among the Nations (Hebrew: חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם ḥasidei ummot ha'olam) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, including Jews, who were being exterminated by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.

When Yad Vashem, the Shoah Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, was established in 1953 by the Knesset, one of its tasks was to commemorate the "Righteous Among the Nations".

Since 1963, a commission headed by a justice of the Supreme Court of Israel has been charged with the duty of awarding the honorary title "Righteous Among the Nations".

[2][3] A person who is recognized as Righteous for having taken risks to help Jews during the Holocaust is awarded a medal in their name, a certificate of honor, and the privilege of having the name added to those on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem (the last is in lieu of a tree planting, which was discontinued for lack of space).

Yad Vashem's policy is to pursue the program for as long as petitions for this title are received and are supported by evidence that meets the criteria.

[9] Seven others have been beatified: Giuseppe Girotti and Odoardo Focherini of Italy,[10][11] Klymentiy Sheptytsky of Ukraine,[12] Bernhard Lichtenberg of Germany,[13] Sára Salkaházi of Hungary, and Józef and Wiktoria Ulma of Poland (together with their children).

Giuseppina De Muro, an Italian Catholic nun who saved over 500 people from deportation to concentration camps, was announced in 2024.