List of Lithuanian Righteous Among the Nations

Righteous Among the Nations
The Holocaust Rescuers of Jews Righteousness Seven Laws of Noah Yad Vashem
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Righteous Among the Nations (Hebrew: חסיד אומות העולם) is an honorary title given by the State of Israel to citizens of other countries who risked their lives during the Holocaust rescuing Jewish people. As of 11 August 2019^[update], 915 people from Lithuania have been honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem for saving Jews during World War II.^[1][2] The Lithuanian list includes not only Lithuanians, but also Poles and Russians. The search for the righteous is ongoing but it has become increasingly difficult to find survivors who can confirm the fact of rescue and tell their story. Most of the Jews were saved by peasants as it was easier to hide them in remote farms and most rescued Jews were children as they attracted less attention. More Jews were saved in Samogitia (western Lithuania) than in other areas of Lithuania.^[3] Many of the rescued Jews were helped by multiple people. For example, Glikas family (parents and five children) was helped by about twenty Lithuanian families; ten individuals were recognized as the Righteous Among the Nations in 2005.^[4]

The Righteous Among the Nations award was established in 1963. Julija Vitkauskienė and Ona Šimaitė were the first Lithuanians to be awarded this title in 1966.^[3] The majority of the Lithuanian rescuers, recognized as Righteous, have also received the Lithuanian State Award, the Life Saving Cross [lt]. The cross was first awarded in September 1992 and it was initiated by Vytautas Landsbergis, chairman of the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas, and Emanuelis Zingeris, director of the Jewish Museum.^[3]