Michelle Trop was born on June 2, 1938 in Orleanais, France. Her parents, Sonia and Jacob Trop, moved to southern France from Poland in 1936. Their families lived in Poland for many generations. Jacob's father, his grandfather, and all his uncles had been bakers there. Although Jacob made a living in Orleanais as a plumber, Michelle fondly remembered the wonderful jelly roll made for Rosh Hashanah each year after the war. Restrictions were placed on the lives of Jews in Poland. Riots reflected growing anti-semitism, and when Hitler took over Germany, they heard about horrible things happening...

Irena Krzyzanowska was born in Poland on February 15, 1910. She was raised by her Catholic parents to respect and love people regardless of their ethnic background or social status. Her father, a physician, died from typhus in 1917. He was the only doctor in who would treat the poor Jewish victims of this tragic disease. He told seven-year-old Irena, "If you see someone drowning you must try to rescue them, even if you cannot swim." In 1939 the Nazis swept through Poland and imprisoned the Jews in ghettos, where they were first starved and finally murdering them in killing camps. Irena was a...

This is the true story of the zookeepers at the Warsaw Zoo during World War II. Jan Zabinski and his wife Antonina, along with their little son Ryzsard, did their best to keep the zoo open during this difficult time. The courage and actions of this Polish Catholic family are an inspiration to us today. They were shocked by Nazi racism during a terrible time in history (now called the Holocaust). Fear did not paralyze this family - they took action Their zoo had been nearly destroyed by the Nazis when they invaded in 1939. Sadly, most of the animals were killed or sent away. The Zabinski...

Johan Arthur Hilmo was born April 18, 1924, in a small mountain valley near Trondheim, Norway. Art was the oldest of four children. He had two younger brothers, Per and Bjorn, and one sister, Inger. They loved to play in the lush, green valley or on the nearby mountain. The children helped with the work of the farm, and Art began milking cows when he was eight years old. In the summer, the children took their five cows up the mountain to graze. A small cabin stood nearby, where the family would rest or play. Art's father harvested grass to provide hay for the cattle to eat during the hard...

Born and raised in Berlin, Robert Behr lived with his mother, Lily, and his stepfather, Dr. Alfred Hamburger. His parents divorced when he was young. Like many German Jews, they were loyal patriots. Both Robert's father and his stepfather fought for Germany in World War I. Bob was only ten years old when the Nazis gained power in January 1933. Surviving the Nazis became his focus for the next twelve years. He and his family lived through growing threats to their very lives until the end of World War II. The Nazis instituted the Nuremberg Laws which stripped Jews of their German citizenship....

As a successful businessman, Ernst Leitz helped hundreds of Jews escape death by creating an escape path out of Nazi Germany. His business manufactured cameras and photography equipment under the Leica brand. He sent Jewish employees abroad to safer places. Besides the employees themselves, Leitz helped their families and some of his Jewish neighbors and business associates flee by moving overseas. Jewish employees received training and permits that allowed them to travel abroad as sales agents for Leica products. Leitz organized and paid for their transit England, USA, Brazil, and Hong Kong....

Emir Abd el-Kader was born on September 6, 1808 near Mascara, Algeria. His family would have been considered as being in the highest social class of that society. Algeria was part of the Turkish Empire. Abd el-Kader grew into a refined man who lived a simple life. He was considered religious and had a brilliant mind. In 1825 he set out with his father on a religious pilgrimage to Mecca, which is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. There, he met with leaders in the Muslim faith and discussed various topics. These experiences molded this young Muslim leader and prepared him for his future....

Dean Urick was born on April 3, 1922, in rural Henry County, Illinois. His father farmed and mother was a housewife. Their family raised crops and livestock, including a purebred Angus herd, feeder cattle, hogs, chickens, and a flock of sheep. Dean attended a one-room schoolhouse and sometimes rode a Shetland pony to school. The Great Depression hit in October 1929 when Dean was just a young boy. Dean graduated from Geneseo High School in 1939 and enrolled in the College of Agriculture at the University of Illinois. In the frat house living room with all his fraternity brothers Dean listened...

Dean Ruth was born on December 22, 1970 in Sterling, Illinois. His parents are Steve Ruth and Alice Ruth. He grew up with his half-brother, Mark. When he was eleven, his mother and father got divorced. His father later remarried a woman named Anne, who had a son from a previous marriage named Josh. Dean's father and stepmother had a child together named Courtney. At this point, Dean was living with his father, and his half-brother Josh, and his half-sister Courtney. He went to Sterling High School in Sterling, Illinois. His brother, Mark, was killed on a train track while he was in high...