Each of us holds the power of choice.

 

For example, when faced with the moral choice to intervene in the case of a student being bullied at school, one might look away and think, “Well, it’s not my problem, he’s so different than I am, I don’t even know that kid, someone else can deal with it.” This neutrality is dangerous and would label you a bystander.  Inaction such as this only emboldens the bully to continue their cruel acts and sends a hurtful message to the victim that they lack an ally. Being a bystander is never okay.

 

OR

 

Conversely, in the same situation, you see another fellow human being picked on and you safely intervene to stop it—your action to stop this unacceptable act would label you an Upstander. By defending the victim, you put an obstacle in front of the bully and future would-be bullies and emphasized that their treatment is unwelcome. In turn, the victim feels that they have an ally.

  

Who are you?  Are you an Upstander? A Bystander? A Bully? Perhaps you’ve been all three at some point in your life…

 

While there were too few instances of rescue relative to the enormous loss during the Holocaust, there were numerous cases where ordinary non-Jewish people made extraordinary sacrifices in their choice to rescue Jewish people. The potential cost to these rescuers and their family, should they be turned in or caught offering even the slightest assistance to a Jew, was often death. Nonetheless, countless lives were saved because of these altruistic individuals.

 

Did these courageous and selfless people have certain types of upbringings, personality traits, levels of religiosity, socioeconomic backgrounds, or exposure to familial modeling that made them more likely to extend themselves to people other than themselves? Click the link below to learn more about some of these altruistic individuals’ personalities. What is Altruism?

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Just as we see students today who act with empathy and character as Upstanders, we will hear testimony from non-Jews who saved the lives of Jews, and notice that they are also motivated by empathy in their rescue. Many testimonies of rescuers during the Holocaust can be found on our home page under Historical Context and Resources. These altruistic people see themselves as bound to all humanity. They find value in all human life. We will use them as model behavior while asking, “How might we become more like them?”