On this episode of Our American Stories, in late 1939, thousands of Jewish refugees poured into Vilna, Lithuania, hoping to escape Nazi Germany and Soviet-occupied Poland. Moses Beckelman, a young American social worker with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, organized food, housing, and relief while searching for a way to get as many people out as possible before the borders closed.

Working alongside Dutch Consul Jan Zwartendijk and Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, Beckelman helped turn a narrow escape route into a lifeline for thousands of families. Deborah Dwork, author of Saints and Liars, shares the story of another member of the "6 Percent" who refused to stand by as Europe descended into war.

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