Jan Zwartendijk holds the title Righteous Among the Nations, given by Yad Vashem to those who saved Jews during the Holocaust at risk to themselves.
The record lists Jan Zwartendijk as Dutch businessman and diplomat who helped Jews escape Lithuania during World War II (1896–1976).
Jan Zwartendijk was born at Rotterdam in 1896. His recorded nationality is Kingdom of the Netherlands.
By occupation Jan Zwartendijk was diplomat, resistance fighter and businessperson - which is the point worth holding onto: the rescuers were not a special class of person.
Most rescuers said afterwards that they had done nothing remarkable. The historical record disagrees, which is the point of recording it.
Recognition: Righteous Among the Nations (1997) and Honorary Medal for Charitable Assistance in gold (2023).
Jan Zwartendijk died in 1976, aged 80. The people saved, and their descendants, are the part of the record that continues.
Achievements
- Righteous Among the Nations — 1997
- Honorary Medal for Charitable Assistance in gold — 2023
- Worked as diplomat, resistance fighter and businessperson
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