Our Work Today

Allied aviators escape across the Pyrenees Mountains with the help of Dutch-Paris (photo from Weidner Collection)

The Weidner Foundation is dedicated to preserving and honoring John Weidner’s legacy, and to cultivating selfless and courageous action in the spirit of Weidner and the Dutch-Paris Escape Line of World War II. We are doing this through these initiatives:

• The Weidner Rescuers Prize shines a spotlight on persons who have risked their lives to save others faced with genocide, ethnic cleansing, human trafficking, or religious persecution.
• The Butler University Weidner Chapter provides scholarships to students who have displayed selfless service to their communities.
• The Weidner Collection of historical documents preserves Weidner’s life story and the records of the Dutch-Paris Escape Line that he so courageously led.
• Weidner Foundation Books brings the story of Dutch-Paris to a wide audience through publications about John Weidner and the Dutch-Paris Escape Line.
• The Weidner Film Project. The Weidner Foundation is the legal holder of the life story rights of John Weidner. We are actively working to realize a longstanding dream of both John and the Foundation and see John’s story told on film in a way that is artistically excellent and morally inspiring.

Explore our website or contact us to learn more about these and other Foundation projects, and to start a conversation about ways we can work together to achieve shared goals.