Israeli Holocaust Memorial Museum Designates Unitarians as "Righteous Among the Nations" for Rescue Work During Holocaust
December 6, 2005
The Unitarian Universalist (UU) Service Committee announced today that the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Israel has designated the late Rev. Waitstill Sharp and Martha Sharp Cogan as "Righteous Among the Nations," an honor conferred to individuals who extended aid to rescue Jews during the Holocaust. To date, over 20,000 individuals have been named as "Righteous Among the Nations," but until the Sharps were so designated, the honor had only been bestowed on one American, Varian Fry.
Unitarians and Universalists watched along with the rest of the world as Hitler and fascism took hold in Europe. As the UU Service Committee notes in a piece on its history and founding, "Between 1934 and 1938, the Reverends Charles Joy and Robert Dexter (both members of the American Unitarian Association (AUA) staff) traveled abroad and reported back regularly on conditions among the refugees." Although delegates to the 1933 and 1936 General Assembly of the AUA had passed resolutions decrying the persecution of Jews in Europe by the Nazis, the outcry went unheeded by the U.S. government." In October, 1938, Czechoslovakia fell. American Unitarians, who held close ties to Czech Unitarian congregations and to Rev. Norbert Capek, were stunned and in December of that year, the Board of Directors of the AUA agreed to a plan for a "service mission to Czechoslovakia."
In February of 1939, Martha Sharp and Rev. Waitstill Sharp (minister of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Wellesley Hills, MA) sailed for Europe as representatives of the American Unitarian Association on what was described as an 'exploratory visit.' They arrived in Prague as Nazi troops were marching into the city, which held 250,000 refugees. Working independently, Martha interacted primarily with refugees; her persistent efforts enabled many to cross borders safely. Meanwhile Waitstill set up an underground escape route from the city about which little is known to this day.
Largely as a result of the Sharp's courageous efforts, the Unitarian Service Committee was established in May 1940 as a standing committee of the AUA. The nascient organization decided on a mission that would orient it firmly on the side of promoting democracy outside of the United States—a controversial decision during a time of U.S. isolationism.
The Sharp's rescue list focused on intellectuals and anti-Nazi political leaders as well as children. In August 1940, the Sharps returned to the U.S. from Europe, barely escaping arrest and detention. Later, after the fall of almost all of Europe, they sailed again for Marseilles and then, Lisbon. There, Martha Sharp arranged for twenty-nine children and ten adults, refugees from Nazi-occupied countries, to set sail for the U.S. They thus escaped internment under the Vichy French government, which later deported hundreds of thousands to Nazi death camps.
The numbers of people rescued by the Unitarian Service Committee during and after the war years (often in collaboration with other agencies) has been estimated to be between 1,000 and 3,000.
Yad Vashem (so named from a passage in the book of Isaiah), the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, was established in 1953 by an act of the Israeli Knesset. Since its inception, Yad Vashem has been entrusted with documenting the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust period, preserving the memory and story of each of the six million victims, and imparting the legacy of the Holocaust for generations to come through its archives, library, school, museums, and recognition of the Righteous Among the Nations.
Located on Har Hazikaron (the Mount of Remembrance) in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem is a complex of tree-studded walkways leading to museums, exhibits, archives, monuments, sculptures, and memorials. Since 1963, a commission has been charged with awarding the title "Righteous Among the Nations" to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The awarding of this honor to the Sharps is largely due to the relentless work of their grandchildren, Artemis and Misha Joukowsky.
A person recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" is awarded a specially minted medal inscribed with the individual's name. Awards are distributed to the rescuers or their next of kin in ceremonies in Israel or in their countries of residence. The Sharps' courage was honored in November at a ceremony held at Brown University Hillel (Brown was Martha Sharp's alma mater as well as that of her daughter and grandson, Misha). Waitstill and Martha Sharp's names will be inscribed among those similarly honored by Israel in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in June, 2006.
Further Reading
- Celebrating the Work of Martha and Waitstill Sharp (PDF, 12 pages)
- Martha Sharp Cogan and Waitstill Hastings Sharp, Harvard Square Library on Unitarians and Universalists
- Founding of the Unitarian Service Committee Timeline, UU World
- History of the Unitarian Service Committee
- Sermon: Chalice of our Faith, by Rev. Sharon Dittmar
Media Coverage
- Two Americans Recognized as Righteous Gentiles, Israel National News
- Boston Couple Honored for Saving Jews, Washington Post
- Church celebrates members' World War II heroism, UU World
- The righteous couple, Wicked Local
- Wellesley couple honored for saving Jews during WWII, Boston Globe
- Unitarian couple honored for World War II heroism, UU World
- Deeds earn place among the righteous, Boston Globe
- Story of Wellesley couple who rescued Jewish refugees is subject of Nov. 10 presentation, Wicked Local
- Yad Vashem Recognizes First American Woman, Jewish Voice & Herald
- Guardian Angel, Brown Alumni Magazine
For more information contact info@uua.org.
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Last updated on Wednesday, April 11, 2012.
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