“Saints and Liars” by Deborah Dwork tells the true stories of several Americans who saved refugees from the Nazis.
Before America joined World War II, American aid workers left the comforts and freedoms of their homes and moved directly in the path of the Nazis in order to provide relief and care, and ultimately rescue, of the Jews. Most aid workers were funded with very little money by their religious group, being sent into enemy land with literally a hope and a prayer, and no support or recognition by our government.
Martha and Waitstill Sharp were two of these aid workers. They helped both Jews and dissidents as Germany invaded all around them. They divided their work between relief and emigration assistance through official paperwork, some forged, relief money and goods, and even helping some refugees find jobs in America. Never once did they use their means of networks to escape back to safety. They stayed in Hitler’s way.
I have several favorite stories of the Sharps’ daring, but I can’t share them all here. You will have to read the book. I will share one. Martha, on her own, escorted 35 refugees to England to safety. Her group included orphaned children, political activists, and journalists who were quite literally in the hands of the Nazis. Her ability to fool the enemy included a green pen, quickly adding the journalists’ names to her forged manifest, and then convincing the Nazis that the journalists’ names were there all along — they just overlooked them. And what did she do once she got them to England? She turned right back around and returned to the chaos.
Both Martha and Waitstill Sharp received the “Righteous Among the Nations” award posthumously, an honor given to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.
I held my breath several times reading the accounts, and sometimes cheered out loud when everything worked out. Other incredibly heroic aid workers also have their stories told, including those in the Pacific.
“Saints and Liars” by Deborah Dwork is a thorough account of Americans who both rendered aid and concealed identities in order to transport hundreds of individuals to shelter during the Nazi reign. Your very soul will be stirred.
