During the Holocaust, in addition to other genocides, crimes against humanity and/or mass atrocities, there are people who challenge the brutality meted out to victims. Apart from instances of direct confrontation, a good many resist by providing protection and a safe place to hide to those targeted. During the mid-nineteenth century, Americans in the north offered support for slaves escaping southern slaveowners. During the Holocaust, people provided refuge from the Nazis or their collaborator regimes. Swiss citizens from 1938 to 1945 smuggled would-be victims of the Holocaust into Swiss territory. However, because Switzerland during the Second World War remained neutral, the act of smuggling in refugees was deemed a violation of Swiss neutrality laws. This was despite the consequences if entry was refused to these refugees. Furthermore, those who smuggled Jewish refugees were prosecuted, jailed or fined. Many lost employment.
In order to address such injustices, a Swiss Commission was created in 2004 with the object of clearing the names of people who assisted Jews fleeing persecution. 137 people have been cleared. Although this arguably was done far too late, it is still a legitimation that smuggling people for the purposes of saving them from persecution and likely death deserves recognition. This is so even where such conduct entails a violation of legal norms.
This belated recognition legitimizes and stresses the importance of individuals (and states) offering people refuge from persecution. Challenging oppressive regimes directly can be daunting. However defying such regimes may transpire through other means and methods.
Source:
Associated Press, "Switzerland Clears 137 Criminalized For Helping Jews During World War II" The Haaretz (12 December 2011), online: Haaretz
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