1. Ilse Stanley, was a German Jewish woman who, with the collusion of a handful of people ranging from Nazi members of the Gestapo to other Jewish civilians, secured the release of 412 Jewish prisoners from Nazi concentration camps between 1936 and 1938.
Ilse Stanley was born in 1906 in the small mining town of Gleiwitz, Germany.
The first time she entered the still-unfinished building, Ilse Stanley fell deeply in love with this synagogue and her life became thoroughly entwined with this synagogue.
Ilse Stanley's acting career ended abruptly in 1933 as increasing pressure was put on the Jews by Hitler and his Third Reich and she was no longer able to rent theatres and concert halls.
Unable to work at what she loved, and having no hope for matters to improve in the foreseeable future, Ilse Stanley became quite discouraged.
Ilse Stanley worked in the Passports Office, on "the most hopeless" cases.
Trips to the camps were out of the question, but Ilse Stanley continued helping Jews leave the country legally.
Ilse Stanley kept in contact with "Fritz", and when the Gestapo began interviewing people planning to leave Germany in order to try to prevent them from leaving, he found a way to warn her.
Finally, very reluctantly, Ilse Stanley realized that she, along with her family, needed to leave Germany.
Five days before Ilse Stanley's planned departure, her mother was summoned to the Gestapo on Alexanderplatz.
Ilse Stanley spoke of living in fear since Kristallnacht, and of the need to live without such fear.
Ilse Stanley was allowed to leave the office, and three days later, she and Manfred left for England.
Ilse Stanley died in Boston in 1970 and is buried in Gilford, New Hampshire in the Smith Meeting House cemetery.
Ilse Stanley's grandson is Yale University Professor of Philosophy Jason Stanley.
Ilse Stanley's work extracting prisoners from the concentration camps has not received much public recognition.