The Garden of Righteous Among the Nations
Several thousand trees have been planted on the mountain honouring the Righteous Among the Nations, namely gentiles who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Each tree has a plaque bearing the name of the Righteous and their country of origin. Many plaques feature Polish name, with Poles comprising more than a quarter of the 26,000 Righteous.
Trees with plaques commemorating the Righteous
Since 1963, several thousand olive trees have been planted on the hill where the Yad Vashem Institute is located, in honour of the Righteous Among the Nations. Many of them were planted by the Righteous themselves. Each tree bears a plaque with the name of the Righteous and their country of origin. Among the trees there are commemorative plaques on which the names of all the honoured people are engraved – more than 28,000 people from over 50 countries.
Since 1996, due to the lack of space in the Garden, planting of new trees in the Garden has been suspended.
In the Garden, there is also a railway viaduct with a cattle car commemorating the Holocaust victims in which Jews were transported to extermination centres during World War II, as well as a replica of Natan Rapaport’s sculpture from the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in Warsaw.
Trees in memory of the Polish Righteous
Right at the entrance to the Garden, a tree was planted in memory of Irena Sendler. Nearby is the tree planted in 1963 by Władysław Bartoszewski and Maria Kann on behalf of the activists of the “Żegota” Council to Aid Jews. In the photo gallery, we present selected ceremonies during which the Righteous planted their trees.
