Righteous Among the Nations in Haifa • Dr. David Bar On

Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations in Ramat Alon Holocaust Remembrance Day and Heroism

On the day of the holocaust and heroism where we remember every year the victims of the unimaginable evil of the Nazi extermination machine, it is our duty to also remember the thousands of people who with extraordinary courage, at unavoidable personal risk, saved thousands of Jews - these are the followers of the nations of the world.

Haifa resident Roni Grossman, whose father was saved thanks to Veronika Prozai, a Ulam Hassidic from Hungary, while his mother hid in the sheltered house of the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, wanted to find a special way to commemorate them in Haifa. His appeal to the mayor at the time, Yona Yahav, was brought before the city council, which unanimously approved, in 2005, the establishment of a public garden dedicated to the memory of the Righteous Among the Nations who lived in Haifa. The kindergarten was established in the Ramat Alon neighborhood in 2008.

Thanks to their noble deeds

Sitting areas are scattered throughout the beautiful garden and along the paths of the garden, in a circular path, there are rocks, each of which is engraved with the name and the essence of the rescue story of those who were recognized as followers of the nations of the world and who lived in Haifa.

The garden also commemorates the Righteous Among the Nations Raoul Wallnerg, thanks to whom tens of thousands of Jews in Hungary were saved. Few people know that in 1936, Wallenberg lived for about six months in Haifa, when he worked at Bank Holland, on Bankim Street in the lower city.

Dear readers, if there are any of you or your family members who survived the inferno thanks to one of the followers of the nations of the world, you are welcome to share your stories here. This is the least we can do today, to thank them for their noble deeds.