Holocaust Stories Forgotten

Bet El synagogue, Casablanca

Last night I participated in an interfaith panel discussion at the National Cathedral, following a screening of the PBS documentary, Among the Righteous.  The film traces the efforts of Robert Satloff, a Near East expert who heads a think tank here in Washington, to find the story of any Arab Muslim who saved a Jew during the Holocaust.

After 9/11, Satloff came to believe that one of the major divides between Arab Muslims and the West is the attitude of Muslims toward the Holocaust, which ranges, he observes, from denial to "glorification."  He further notes that out of the more than 22,000 people recognized for saving Jews as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem, Israel's institution dedicated to Holocaust scholarship and commemoration, there are fewer than 100 Muslims and not a single Arab Muslim.  In order to present the Holocaust to the Arab world in a different light, Satloff began his search for righteous Arab Muslims who saved Jews.

His journey reveals a little-known part of Jewish and Holocaust history.  At the outset of World War II, there were more than 400,000 Jews living in Arab countries in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya).  Though the experiences of these Jews were perhaps less extreme than those of the Jews of Europe, they nonetheless faced terrible persecution.  As a French colony, Algeria instituted many of the antisemitic policies of the collaborationist Vichy France.  Tunisia was actually occupied by the Germans, who brought their campaign of destruction with them.  There were over 100 concentration camps in North Africa, with ghastly, inhumane conditions similar to the camps of Europe.  Thousands of North African Jews were killed.

Why is this story forgotten?  Following the establishment of the State of Israel and the rise of Arab nationalism in the 1950s, the relationship of North African Jews to their longtime homes grew very strained.  Many left voluntarily for Israel, and many were forced out by antisemitism.  Arabs opposed to Israel did not wish to acknowledge their prewar and wartime friendship with their Jewish neighbors.  And Jewish memory of the Holocaust was dominated by the Jews of Europe, who had suffered by far the greatest magnitude of persecution and destruction.

So, did Satloff find any Arab Muslims to add to the Righteous Among the Nations?  He did.  He found living survivors, family members, and witnesses and was able to record their stories.  They are a heartening and important part of our history.

THE ENTIRE MOVIE CAN BE WATCHED HERE.  Satloff has also written a book, with a richer account of this history and his research.

During the panel discussion, Dr. Satloff spoke excitedly of his efforts to bring these stories to leaders, historians, and the public in the Arab world - particularly through his partnership with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.  It is not easy work, but he has made wonderful progress.  As a Jewish community and as people who care about peace in our world, we should be grateful.

Photo by David Lisbona