Righteous Among the Nations

This article is about the title in relation to the Holocaust. For the theological concept, see Virtuous pagan. For the concept in historical Judaism, see Ger toshav.

Righteous Among the Nations (Hebrew: חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם ḥasidei ummot ha'olam) is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe all of the non-Jews who, out of altruism, risked their lives in order to save Jews from being exterminated by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. The term originates from the concept of ger toshav, a legal term used to refer to non-Jewish observers of the Seven Laws of Noah.

Recent research has complicated dominant historical narratives about rescue of Jews during the Holocaust. The vast majority of rescue was enabled by the exchange of money, goods, or services, while many survivors concealed complicating facts in applications of Yad Vashem.

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