His name was Karl Plagge, a major in the German army, an incidental figure in the great conflict who made the personal choice to go against the policies of Jewish destruction dictated by his superiors. His small command was a repair facility in Vilna, Lithuania where vehicles were reconditioned for German army use by slave labor. This labor pool happened to be Jews who had been rounded up for execution by Nazi authorities, but he was able to keep a small remnant away from the death chambers and firing squads that destroyed so many.
It is estimated that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust of World War II, but, to the 250 or 300 of them that made it through to the end and survived, Major Plagge was a savior. He could have been just another cog in the army machinery, but chose to think and act differently, and that made all the difference in the lives of those men and women, and to their descendants. He was a man who dwelt in obscurity, in the backwater of a huge war and just lived out his conscience.
I am reminded of other stories from that period, stories of men and women and families who took it upon themselves to hide Jews from the Nazis, at high personal cost. Individuals whom I may never hear their names or the places they lived and worked, but who cared. Indeed there have been many people down through all time who have worked in obscurity, but have made a difference. Only God knows.
God knows what is done in secret, deeds that help others that do not make the headlines or even the back pages of newspapers, and He is the rewarder, the ultimate rewarder of those who care.
I want to be one of those.
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