It is estimated that out of nine million Jews under Nazi domination, tens of thousands were rescued during the Holocaust by non-Jewish people. Many rescuers acted out of a sense of altruism; some performed acts of heroism based upon deeply held religious beliefs or moral codes; others acted in the spur of the moment, offering help to complete strangers.
What is the role of good people in perilous times? This is a question Carol Rittner, Ph.D., has contemplated throughout her many years as a Catholic nun with the Religious Sisters of Mercy. A distinguished professor of Holocaust and genocide studies emerita, and a Dr. Marsha Raticoff Grossman professor of Holocaust studies emerita at Stockton University, Rittner has dedicated her life to her Christian faith – and to understanding the circumstances that allowed the Holocaust and other genocides to occur.
Recently, Sofia Thornblad, director of collections and Holocaust education at the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art in Tulsa, spoke with Rittner in preparation for her upcoming visit to Tulsa to be the featured speaker for the 27th Annual Yom HaShoah: An Interfaith Holocaust Commemoration, co-sponsored by the Tulsa Council for Holocaust Education of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art and the Tulsa City-County Library.
ST: Your talk for the Jewish Federation of Tulsa’s Yom HaShoah commemoration focuses on protecting each other in perilous times. Can you tell us a brief story of protection during the Holocaust?
CR: Sister Anna Borkowska was the Mother Superior of a small convent of Catholic nuns located in Kolonia Wilénska, a town near Vilna (Vilnius), Lithuania. During the war, she aided Jews in her area who were being persecuted by the Nazis. During the summer of 1941, thousands of Jews were massacred in Ponary (Paneriai), a site about six miles from Vilna. Sister Anna agreed to hide 17 members of Jewish Zionist youth groups for short periods of time in her convent. Later, she helped the Vilna Ghetto underground by sneaking weapons into the ghetto. Sister Anna even showed resistance leader Abba Kovner how to use some of those weapons. The Nazis found out about Sister Anna Borkowska’s activities in 1943. In September, she was arrested, the convent was closed down, and the other nuns moved elsewhere. Sister Anna survived her arrest, incarceration and the war, and in 1984 was designated as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.
ST: People tend to wonder how those of us who engage with the Holocaust as a subject matter take care of ourselves mentally. What helps you process and decompress?
CR: Taking the time each morning and evening to try to pray and reflect on the goodness of people. Reading literature that inspires and challenges. Enjoying time with family and friends. Reading Holocaust survivors’ memoirs, particularly those that show resilience and a positive outlook on life, despite what they went through. Watching movies and TV programs that make me laugh, like M*A*S*H., Schitt’s Creek and Grace and Frankie.
ST: Finally, you and John K. Roth have a book coming out soon. Can you tell us a bit about that?
CR: Our new book is Stress Test: The Israel-Hamas War and Christian-Jewish Relations. Stress Test is an urgent and timely exploration of how the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict has reshaped Christian-Jewish relations, featuring insights from leading voices in Christian scholarship. This volume brings together a distinguished group of American Christian scholars who examine the unprecedented strain the ongoing war has placed on Christian-Jewish relations and offer a thoughtful and balanced analysis of the profound ethical, theological and humanitarian challenges at the heart of this crisis.
To hear more about protecting each other in perilous times, join Rittner at the Yom HaShoah Commemoration on Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m. at Temple Israel in Tulsa.
