Shalom and good afternoon.
Today on Yom HaShoah, we gather to commemorate the six million Jews who died during the Holocaust and to honor the survivors, whose stories affirm the strength of the human spirit. But we are also here to commemorate the human spirit that lived in the righteous people who came to the aid of the Jews during this horrible period.
According to an old Hasidic tradition, in every generation there are 36 people, who through their righteous deeds, justify the existence of mankind in the eyes of G-d and, therefore, keep the world from destruction – even if the rest of humanity has degenerated to the level of total barbarism.
The period of Nazi Germany was indeed a barbaric time. However, the amazing stories of those we call “Righteous Among the Nations” gives us reason to believe that there may be more than those 36 righteous people.
It has been said that human character is not measured by how tall one stands – but how low one will bend to help others. What makes a person righteous, however, is even greater: it is measured by the risk taken by the righteous one by protecting other people – even strangers. This afternoon I would like to tell you about one of these righteous people – Dr. Elena Mamantova.
In 2012 our consulate was honored to bestow the “Righteous Among Nations” award to Dr. Elena Mamantova. The award was presented to Dr. Mamantova’s daughter, Helen, in a small town in East Texas. As a result, Dr. Mamantova formally joined the list of over twenty-four thousand righteous Christians who put their lives in constant danger by protecting Jews against the Nazis during the Holocaust.
• Dr. Mamantova was born in St. Petersburg in 1889 to a prominent Russian family with Czarist loyalties. Her grandfather was a member of the State Council of the Russian Empire and Head of Petitions to Czar Nicholas II. As such, she was expected to pursue a life of comfort.
• But even then, Elena demonstrated that she was a non-conventional person, who stood up for her principals regardless of the risk. Unlike most women of her era, she took a different course, pursuing medicine when few women became doctors. She studied at the medical faculty of St. Petersburg University and married another doctor against her father's wishes.
• Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the family was forced to flee St. Petersburg due to its aristocratic background and anti-communist sentiments. Elena and her husband ended up settling in the newly independent country of Latvia.
In 1941, Latvia was overrun by the Nazis.
• The Nazi camp in the area had about two thousand prisoners who were starving and scared. Once more Dr. Mamantova stood up for her principals – and this time, at the risk of her own life and that of her family. She helped to petition the camp commander for permission to help the prisoners with food – and on Christmas Eve 1942, a loaded cart full of food arrived at the camp. And when the typhus epidemic broke out in the camp only 4 people died thanks to her efforts.
• During that time, she also tended to the medical needs of the Jewish women, who were forced into hiding, and delivered their children without the knowledge of her husband and at the risk of his life and the lives of her own children.
There are not many stories like Dr. Mamantova’s – but apparently enough to keep humanity alive. Therefore, it is appropriate for us today to remember not only those who died and those who survived but also those who risked their lives to help.
Sadly, today we still experience the evils of bigotry and blind hate, as witnessed by the recent horrific shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Kansas and the flyers in the Ukraine requiring Jews to register with the government.
Therefore, as we leave today I want to encourage all of us to reflect on the words of Edmund Burke, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Let us not be one of those bystanders who do nothing.
Thank you and G-d bless.