"Hundreds, even thousands" of stories of Jews who courageously helped save their fellow Jews during the Holocaust - often at the cost of their own lives - still remain to be told, according to organizers of a unique Remembrance Day ceremony Thursday morning.
The ceremony took place in Jerusalem's Martyrs' Forest, where six million trees were planted in memory of the Jewish victims of the holocaust, and where for 13 years now the Bnei Brith World Center in Jerusalem and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) have been honoring the unsung Jewish heroes of the Nazi genocide.
Following this morning's moving Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony - which this year honored Greek Rabbi Moshe Shimon Pessach - Arutz Sheva spoke to event organizers to find out why they believe such commemorations should be placed at the center of Remembrance Day.
"There were hundreds, even thousands of Jews who were involved in the rescue of Jews throughout Europe" during the Holocaust, said Bnei Brith World Center Director Alan Schneider.
The stories range from mass, organized rescues, to the spontaneous acts by individuals to help their brethren escape the Nazis' clutches.
"Sometimes it was Zionist organizations that were organized before the Holocaust... in some cases it was individuals who found ways to rescue fellow Jews," he said.
Until recently, such stories of heroism had gone largely ignored or forgotten, paving the way for a narrative of "sheep to the slaughter" that isn't entirely accurate, lamented Dr. Haim V. Katz, the Center's Chairman.
"Many people don't realize because at the beginning of the establishment of the State of Israel we didn't emphasize the fact that many, many Jewish fought for their survival, and many, many Jews gave up their lives to save other Jews.
"There were incredible acts of altruism... every year I learn something new."
"We did not just go 'as sheep to the slaughter' - we actually fought, we tried to survive against all odds," he continued. "It's something that should be told."