A German Catholic social worker who, during the war, saved the lives of many Jews, will be honored by having a grove of olive trees planted in Israel in her name, it was announced here today in the official Bulletin of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The woman is Dr. Gertrud Luckner, of Freiburg, where she is the senior social worker of the Catholic Charities, in charge of aiding former victims of Nazi persecution.
Dr. Luckner was recognized by Israel for her wartime work by being officially named in 1951 as “Envoy of Humanity.” Israel has invited her five times as a guest of the government.
According to the Bulletin, Dr. Luckner managed during the Nazi regime to smuggle many Jews across the German borders to safety. In 1953, however, she was arrested by the Nazis for aiding Jews, and spent the following two years in a concentration camp. at Ravenbruck. The grove in Israel will be dedicated in honor of her 60th birthday.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
