True Stories

After the Holocaust, some Jews decided to tell the world their stories. Others sadly passed away, but their sheltering families told the stories for them. Here are a couple of stories of survival and heroics.

Anne Frank (above)

Anne Frank was born on June 29, 1929, in Frankfurt Germany. She lost her citizenship in 1941. Anne went into hiding for two years, with the help of the Gies family. She was found and sent to a concentration camp on August 4, 1944. But she left behind a diary, which the Gies shared with the world.

Chiune Sugihara (above) - Chiune was sent to Lithuania for a consulate service. Soon after he settled down, Poland was invaded and he was flooded with Jews trying to escape. To get out of the country, they needed certain travel documents, which Chiune could provide. Chiune wrote to his government for permission to write visas (which were needed) to the Jewish escapees. He was denied. However, Chiune decided to write thousands of visas by hand, and gave them all to the Jews. Because of this, the Jewish people were able to escape. Chiune was stripped of his job and was not allowed to be any more than just a translator in the future.