Vaad Hatzalah
Encyclopedia
Vaad Hatzalah was an organization to rescue Jews
in Europe
from the Holocaust.
It was founded in November 1939 by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis
of the United States and Canada (Agudath Harabbanim)http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=395035. It was originally named Emergency Committee for War-Torn Yeshivas and it is often referred to as "the Rescue Committee" also formally named: Vaad ha-Hatzala in Hebrew.
For example, the Polish government in exile in Bern sent coded cables to New York
on behalf of the Vaad and related Jewish organizations. This avoided the strict American censors and allowed messages from Nazi-controlled Europe to reach Jewish rescuers. The American State Department had issued orders to block messages coming from Europe regarding news of the Nazis extermination of the Jews.
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
from the Holocaust.
It was founded in November 1939 by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis
Union of Orthodox Rabbis
The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada also known as the Agudath Harabonim , and sometimes as the UOR, was established in 1901 in the United States and is among the oldest organizations of Orthodox rabbis which could be described as having a Haredi worldview...
of the United States and Canada (Agudath Harabbanim)http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=395035. It was originally named Emergency Committee for War-Torn Yeshivas and it is often referred to as "the Rescue Committee" also formally named: Vaad ha-Hatzala in Hebrew.
Activities
Recognizing that following the law would lead to greater numbers of Jews being murdered, the Vaad sometimes used means that were illegal.For example, the Polish government in exile in Bern sent coded cables to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on behalf of the Vaad and related Jewish organizations. This avoided the strict American censors and allowed messages from Nazi-controlled Europe to reach Jewish rescuers. The American State Department had issued orders to block messages coming from Europe regarding news of the Nazis extermination of the Jews.