A Tale from a Dark Chapter in History

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We all know the story of Schindler during the second world war and there are probably many others. Tales of honorable people who chose to stick their necks out and help fellow human beings during a very dark time. This story is about still another heroic act. Ida and Louise Cook were two unmarried sisters living in a London suburb. One wrote romance novels and the other worked as a secretary for the civil service. They lead unremarkable lives but share one passion. They loved opera and would travel to Germany just to spend the occasional weekend experiencing the magic of opera. But they also held under their unassuming appearance a remarkable secret mission. As Europe was on the brink of war in the 1930s these two women quietly crossed borders in their homemade clothes and sheepish demeanors gaining no suspicion. What they were actually doing was collecting valuables from would-be refugees to help them start new lives. They rented an apartment as a temporary shelter for the newly arrived refugees. They sought out people who would vouch for the refugees and assembled the necessary paperwork all using their own money. They allowed refugees to sell their own valuables to fund their settlement. Ida and Louise would enter and exit through different checkpoints, ensuring that guards wouldn't notice their sudden acquisition of jewelry and other precious items. What they did was claim that the valuables in their purses were too valuable to leave unattended in their apartment. Acting rather simple and naively foolish they got away with it and evaded suspicion. They were never caught. Over time they rescued 29 people, mostly families, from persecution. Even after they quit their border crossings they continued their humanitarian work raising funds and awareness to aid refugees in England. In 1964 the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Yad Vashem, honored Ida and Louise Cook as Righteous Among the Nations. Ida's memoir, published as "Safe Passage" in 2008 downplayed their roles, emphasizing that what they offered - some trouble, eloquence, and money - wasn't much. But their contribution spoke louder than words, saving lives during a dark chapter in history. The image is from Twitter.com