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No project, large or small, is ever completed without the assistance and encouragement of many people. We want to express our thanks to all those who contributed to the team effort that made possible the publication of The Courage to Care: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust. A few among the many must be singled out for special mention.

The project, “Faith in Humankind: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust,” which began as the dream of one person, would not have been possible but for the enthusiastic response of Elie Wiesel, Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, Washington, D.C. From the moment Mr. Wiesel learned of the idea for a conference, film, and book, he endorsed it wholeheartedly. It is a particular pleasure to thank him as well as the Council for sponsoring the project.

We also want to give special acknowledgment and thanks to Jane Dickler-Lebow. Working with a rough transcript of the conference proceedings, she expeditiously, and with skill and sensitivity, rendered a coherent and readable draft which became the working document for this book.

Professor Leo Goldberger, whose personal account of rescue during the Holocaust is included in this volume, has been a friend and advisor throughout the editing and publication process. His guidance was invaluable.

Kitty Moore, Senior Editor, New York University Press, provided us with just the right amount of all we needed: discipline, editorial comments, wisdom, friendship and humor. She helped us to transform the vast amount of material we had into a readable, coherent book. We are grateful for her enthusiasm and expertise.

During the conference, Robert Gardner interviewed on film several of the people whose stories are included in the book. We thank him for the superb film he eventually produced and directed, The Courage to Care (United Way Productions, Alexandria, VA), and also for the thoughtful and caring way he conducted the interviews.

We want to acknowledge the gracious cooperation of Holocaust research centers and archives in Israel, Poland, France, Holland and the United States and their staffs who assisted Robert Gardner, Richard Kaplan, Lynn McDevitt, and Dr. Carol Rittner, R.S.M. as they searched for photographs for both the film and book.

We also want to thank Fran Arre, Marilyn Stern and Lisa Uchno for their assistance in typing, re-typing, transcribing, and assisting in so many ways.

Our families, friends, and colleagues provided the understanding, encouragement and love which gave us the freedom to work full time and more on the project. We thank them.

Finally, we want to thank all those whose stories and reflections comprise the substance of this book: Holocaust survivors, scholars, and most of all, those “quiet heroes” who helped Jews during the Holocaust and whom the Jewish people honor as Hasidei Umot HaOlam, the “Righteous Among the Nations of the World.”