The Righteous are the recipients of recognition “The Righteous Among Nations” given by the Special Commission of the World Documentation, Research, Education and Commemorative Center of the Holocaust Yad Vashem. It’s about the stories of the people who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. So, anyone other than a Jew who helped them could be proclaimed as righteous. Pure altruism, compassion and empathy were led by these people - in those complicated and dangerous times, they were not only concerned about their own destiny, but also for their fellows. These are people who were aware of what is written on a memorial medal, which they receive as righteous - “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire". Up to now, the Righteous Among Nations medal received 26,513 people. Among the most well known recipients are Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg and Irene Sandler.
In the world of forgetfulness, the memory must stay alive.
“When I think of the Righteous and their actions I’ve got a deep sense of respect - for me they are one of the most courageous people I’ve heard about. They risked their own lives to protect and save lives of their friends, colleagues and in many cases complete strangers. At the moment we are living in an era of lies, manipulation and propaganda which exhales fear, hatred and violence against the different ones in a very bad way. In form of blockbuster films about superheroes the industry and the media serve us “bread and circuses”, but in the end of the day the real heroes are the righteous. People who at the worst time of humanity risked everything for someone else and fight for the better world. They should be our idols!"
Dejan Babosek
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The Righteous is a feature film documentary about the Slovenians who received this honor and recognition. There is eighteen Slovenians on the list of the righteous among the nations who have saved fifty-six Jews during the Holocaust in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Poland.
In 1944 in Zagreb, Vera and Ludvik Valentičič saved a ten year old Suzane Knoll and welcomed her in their home. They made up the story that she is a daughter of some relatives from the countryside. In December 1944 Croatian fascist Ustashe accused Ludvik of weapon supply to the Partisans and right after it, he was hanged. Vera continued hiding Suzane and taking care of her till the end of the war.
In September 1944 Elizabeta Savica Rožanc rescued 5 years old Jewish boy Tomaž Zajc. When in the middle of the night the gestapo bursted into the apartment she grabbed the child and brought him across the balcony to the neighbours. That night the Nazis took Tomaž’s parents, uncle, aunt and grandparents. Grandparents were killed in Auschwitz right away. Father was taken to Dachau and mother to Ravensbruck. Savica Rožanc did take care of Tomaž with the help of her parents and she somehow became the other mother, till the end of the war when his parents came back.
France Punčuh was employed on the Embassy of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Poland and he was one of those Warsaw residents who helped the Jews. He was married to Polish Jew Janina Glocer and they had a son Andrew. After the Nazi occupation of Poland he took care of their safety first and then helped many other Jewish families. Most often he took over their property and enabled them to acquire false identity for living in the “Aryan” part of the city. He also supplied them with food and things they needed. In September 1944 in the time of the Warsaw resistance he was hit in the crossfire.
In 1943 in Skopje Zora Pičulin as a governess rescued two year old Saul, the son of the Jewish family Gatenjo. The parents were taken to the concentration camp Treblinka as almost all of the Macedonian Jews. Pičulin’s smuggled Saul from the hospital and they stayed the night in a chapel. Next day they left Skopje and found their shelter in the Catholic monastery at the countryside.
In Beograd the priest Andrej Tumpej rescued Antonija Kalef and her daughters. He hid them in the parish and arranged all the fake documents they needed to secretly stay in Beograd. He also helped two Jewish sisters who after enduring a cruel gestapo torture revealed his name. Tumpej was then arrested and tortured to speak out to whom else he provided the false documents but he never revealed it.
Martina Levec Marković was hiding three Jewish illegals. Brothers Joseph and Benjamin Beherano and Danilo Fogel in her family house in Zemun. One day when “ustaši” and gestapo were knocking at her door she persuaded them by the Major’s help that in her house “only German staff live”. After the war she was persecuted as a bourgeois and alleged collaborator.
In Varaždin Ivan Breskvar, a textile engineer from Ljubljana rescued children from Zdenka Hary and Renate Rosner. The mothers were taken to the “ustaško” camp Jasenovac and children stayed with their relative Milan Blass. He wasn’t able to travel with them to Slovenia where they wanted to hide them, so he asked for help his friend Ivan Breskvar. At night Ivan took each child separately over the border by bike and settled all of them in Cerje Nebojse.
Uroš Žun worked as a commissioner at the border spot between Austria and Yugoslavia and saved sixteen Jewish girls. Despite the ban he stamped their passports and he took them to Maribor. The Nazis issued a warrant for him, so he escaped with his family to Zagreb and then to Bosnia, where they remained till the end of the war.
Rudimir Rudolf Roter has saved the Jewish family Koen. Roter was a writer at Yugoslav Leaf and Politics, where he advocated cultural diversity and coexistence. He met his journalist colleague Abraham Abo Koen in Sarajevo. When in 1941 the anti-Jewish movement started, he decided to invite the Koen family to Dalmatia, which was under the Italian occupation at the time.
Ljubica, Ivan Župančič and Olga Rajšek Neumann rescued Dan, the nine year old child of Štefa Stockhamer. Štefa and his grandmother Draga were sent to Jasenovac and they were murdered there. Dan was sent to his grandfather, but he was also taken away to Jasenovac soon and they sent Dan to another grandfather dr. Josip Stockhamer. They met Slovenian railwayman Ivan Župančič and his wife and asked them for shelter. Stockhamer died in 1942 at their home. The couple took care of Dan who was in pretty poor mental state after the loss of his mother and grandparents. At some point his father contacted Župančič family and asked them to bring the young Dan back to Zagreb. They did and he stayed with his relative Olga Rajšek till the end of the war.
Emerik Hirschl contacted colleague Andre Žilavec who despite the danger, hid him on his farm. Emerik came out only by night and one night they found him in a nearby vineyard. At the hearing Emerik didn’t want to admit that he had been hiding all the time at Žilavec property, but claimed that he was hiding every day somewhere else. Following months Hirschl spent in various camps in Hungary. In 1944 he was sent to one of the death marchs to Austria, but somehow along the Danube he managed to escape. With an exceptional will he traveled more than 200 km in ten days and returned to Prekmurje in November 1944. And family Fartelj hid him in their house.
BEHIND THE RIGHTEOUS
stands Narayan Production! Film production company created by director Dejan Babobsek and director of photography Simon Gosnik. Ana Milaković joined the company as a producer.
We produced feature films as "Exit" and "Ksana", short films "Fear" and "Hidden Truth" and documentary feature "In the Name of Truth".
In the name of socially responsible role of art the production wants to create stories and emotions - to spread awareness and build a better world than the one we live in.
Create the story with us!
We decided to go on Indie Go Go, because the platform provides the collection of financial assets, which are essential for the end of production of the film, as well as for the unique opportunity to transfer a message of memory and tolerance to a wider audience.We are an independent film company, which currently finances the entire project with it's own funds. We will apply this project for government funds, but only with those funds it won't be enough to close the film's budget. We therefore count on you to join and help us, through donations as well as by spreading the campaign and memory of the Righteous among your friends, family and social network.
The funds raised will be used for both production and post-production, as well as for the promotion and distribution of the film in Slovenia and abroad. Distribution of the film will start with the premiere in Ljubljana (the capital of Slovenia) in 2019 and it will be supported with the media event. Additionally, more media promotions and screenings of the film will follow with cinema distribution all over the Slovenia. Screenings will also go worldwide through international film festivals and after all, film will be available on video on demand and dvd for high school educational purposes.
OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP US
Donating is an extremely helpful way for you to show your support but we totally understand if you aren't able to donate. You can still help us in some other ways:
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Follow and share our campaign on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any other social networks you are using.
Tell your friends and family about us!
Spread the memory of the righteous and tell the people you know about this project by sending
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* Small disclaimer: we will appreciate any possible donations, not only the ones with perks.