Tragic Decisions: Removing Jewish Children from their Christian Guardians in Post-War Europe

When Jewish parents faced the Nazi occupation in Europe, they first did all they could to protect their children by trying to retain some measure of normalcy; they continued to feed and educate them in the hope that somehow the hard times would pass. The exact number of Jewish children saved by non-Jewish families and institutions is unknown. This chapter deals with arguments concerning the removal of the children from the point of view of the best interests of the children. It presents and defends arguments for the removal of the children based on considerations other than the best interests of the children. These two kinds of arguments reinforce each other and, if successful, establish the conclusion that the project of relocating the Jewish children after the Holocaust was justified. The chapter reemphasizes the extraordinary character of many of the Gentile parents.