“We very much regret that we did not take steps until now to pay tribute to this good, simple and noble woman. Knowing that acting humanely in those times is being rewarded by the State of Israel will be a satisfaction and a lesson to us, as citizens of this country.”
Zvi Yanai and Yehudit Eldar to Yad Vashem when they requested to honor Ida Brunelli as Righteous Among the Nations
Since 1962, thousands of requests from all over the world, in all European languages as well as Hebrew and Yiddish, have arrived at Yad Vashem. Hundreds of requests are received every year. As the Second World War sinks deeper into the past, recalling detailed information becomes more difficult, representing a complex challenge for staff at the Department of the Righteous Among the Nations. Piecing the fragments together and completing the picture entails considerable research and, at times, no small amount of detective work. Using Yad Vashem’s extensive databases and collections, searching the Internet, and with the assistance of archives and organizations all over the world, the Department’s researchers strive to trace survivors and find evidence in an effort to reconstruct the stories so that the cases can be submitted to the Commission for the Designation of the Righteous. Once all the evidence is gathered, the case is submitted to the Commission. A Commission member who knows the relevant languages and is familiar with the circumstances of the Holocaust in that particular region examines the file and presents his or her recommendations to the Commission. Following a discussion the Commission takes a vote. All decisions are reviewed by the Commission Chairman, who is a retired Justice of the Supreme Court.
"I am turning to you with what may seem like a strange request – to honor a person who has passed away long ago, but to whom I owe a debt which I was unable to repay after the war… As I am nearing the end of my life, this bears on my conscience… All that matters to me now is to have him commemorated as a Righteous Among the Nations – as he should be."
From a letter to the Department of the Righteous
Yad Vashem's Righteous Among the Nations Department receives around 600 new requests per year from people from around the world. As rescue during the Holocaust was done in secret, the stories mostly linger in the memories of the rescuers and rescued. Some survivors found it difficult for many years to grapple with the painful past and only decided to share their stories with Yad Vashem before they die so as to ensure that their rescuers will be remembered. Others passed away before an application was made or did not know of the Righteous program, and it is their children or grandchildren who turn to Yad Vashem.
Yad Vashem is committed to leaving no stone unturned in the efforts to pay tribute to the rescuers and to commemorate their courage. Several hundred rescuers are posthumously recognized as Righteous every year.
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