The
Jews are in a despair. One way or another we must
give them hope"
Raoul Wallenberg
It
is generally known that the Nazis were determined
to kill every last Jew upon whom they could lay
their hands, and this we know is primarily the
story of the Holocaust. Yet we also know that
before the war some Jews escaped to safety and that
during the war some, even in Germanoccupied
territory, survived the Holocaust. Yet few people
are aware that many thousands of Jews were saved
and shielded by diplomats of neutral nations which
maintained diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany.
Indeed, few are aware that Jews could be saved from
the Holocaust by diplomats during wartime, yet
instances of neutral diplomats rescuing Jews from
the Nazis was actually a more common occurrence
than is generally known, and by the end of the war,
thousands of Jews were rescued by men and women
whose heroic deeds have remained largely
unrecognized.
The
Visas for Life: The Righteous Diplomats Project has
curated an exhibit entitled Visas for Life: The
Righteous Diplomats. This exhibit tells, for the
first time in this way, this important and mostly
unknown story of the Holocaust. It is based on
original photographs collected from the families of
the diplomats, eyewitness accounts of survivors and
original government records.
Many
people have heard of the widely known deeds of the
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and his
courageous colleagues at the Swedish mission in
Budapest 1944-45. More recently, the story
of Consul Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul who
in 1940 rescued Jews in Kovno, Lithuania,
has also become known. The exhibit features the
dramatic stones of these diplomats and many others
from various countries, cultures and backgrounds
who, by the end of the war, had saved or shielded
tens of thousands of Jewish lives. Collectively,
these are stones about what may be the most
extensive rescue of Jews and other refugees during
the Nazi Holocaust.
Diplomatic
rescue took place between 1938 and 1945 in more
than 18 countries in Nazi occupied Europe. It was
possible because during the entire Nazi period and
even during the Second World War, the German
government maintained normal diplomatic relations
with a number of nations. Some were nations
neighboring Germany before they were occupied,
some, like Japan, were German allies and some, such
as Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey and Portugal,
were able to maintain their neutrality throughout
the war.
As
representatives of governments recognized by Nazi
Germany, the diplomats described in the exhibition
were able, if they chose, to extend their nation's
diplomatic protection to Jews endangered by the
Nazis. Assistance and rescue activities conducted
by these diplomats took many forms. They could
issue entry visas to their own countries, or
transit visas requesting safe passage, which could
then be used to obtain exit visas from Nazi
controlled territory. Sometimes they issued
citizenship papers, protective papers and other
forms of documentation that allowed Jews to escape
the Nazis. Some diplomats personally smuggled
refugees across international borders and
frontiers. Some even hid Jews in their embassies
and in their personal residences and in some cases
established safe houses to shield Jews from arrest.
Some even went out on missions to try halt Nazi
deportations to the death camps.
Some
of the diplomats who aided Jews did so in direct
violation of the regulations and immigration
policies of their countries, risking damage to
their careers. Some were censured or punished,
fired or stripped of their ranks and pensions, even
ostracized in their home countries for their acts
of courage. Some went so far as to risk their own
lives trying to save Jews. Two diplomats lost their
lives.
Many
Jewish survivors of the Holocaust who were saved by
diplomats have not had the opportunity to publicly
acknowledge their rescuers. Poignantly, some
survivors are not even aware of the name of the
diplomat who helped them escape Nazi
terror.
Diplomatic
Rescue 1938-1945
In
order to conduct their murderous campaign against
Europe's Jews, the Nazis depended on the active
support of tens of thousands and the indifference
of millions. Most of the Jews who survived the
Holocaust did so largely on their own, while some
were helped by good people--friends, neighbors and
even total strangers. Among those who helped Jews
both before the war and during it were the
diplomats described in this exhibition. Because of
their official status, diplomats, consuls and other
officials representing sovereign nations were in a
unique position to extend significant
help.
Before
the war many persecuted Jews desperately sought
visas in order to flee Germany and Austria. Yet
most of the countries they sought refuge in did
everything possible to block the entry of Jewish
refugees. Some diplomats stationed in the Third
Reich disagreed with their government's policy and,
sometimes directly against orders, issued entry
visas for their country. Such a document could mean
the difference between life and death for thousands
of people.
During
the war, neutral diplomats working in German
occupied Europe sometimes granted their own
nation's diplomatic protection to Jews who in fact
had little or no connection to their home nation.
And because the German government sought to
maintain proper diplomatic relationships with these
neutral nations, this ploy sometimes worked to
shield and save Jews.
Chiune
Sugihara, the Japanese Consul in Kovno, Lithuania,
said afterwards that, "Those people told me the
kind of horror they would have to face if they
didn't get away from the Nazis and I believed them.
There was no place else for them to go... If I had
waited any longer, even if permission came, it
might have been too late."
Although
exact numbers remain uncertain, we can be sure that
these few diplomats aided and rescued thousands of
Jewish fives, perhaps even the largest numbers of
Jews remaining in Nazi occupied Europe during the
Holocaust. Yet afterwards they remained modest
about their accomplishments. When the Italian
Giorgio Perlasca, who became the Spanish charge'
d'affaires in Budapest, asked why he did it, he
said simply: "Because I could not bear the sight of
people branded as animals. Because I couldn't bear
to see' children killed. I think it was this. I
don't think I was a hero."
As
official representatives of their governments, the
diplomats were obliged to follow the immigration
laws and policies of their countries. By issuing
visas to Jewish refugees, some acted contrary to
their governments, and superiors, explicit orders.
Doing this put them at direct risk to their
careers and thus their livelihood. In June 1940,
Portuguese Consul General Aristides de Sousa
Mendes, after issuing more than 30,000 visas to
Jews and other refugees in Bordeaux, France,
explained that, "My government has denied all
applications for visas to any refugee. But I cannot
allow these people to die... I am going to issue (a
visa) to anyone who asks for it
Even if I am
discharged I can only act as a Christian, as my
conscience tells me."
Shortly
thereafter, de Sousa Mendes was dismissed from the
Portuguese Foreign Ministry. He was stripped of his
rank lost his pension. Forced to sell his home and
ostracized by his friends, de Sousa Mendes suffered
two strokes which left him partially paralyzed. Yet
he had no regrets, and later said that "If so many
Jews can suffer because of one person (Hitler),
then one Christian can suffer for Jews." In 1954,
de Sousa Mendes died in poverty.
After
more than 60 years, some of the diplomats presented
in this exhibit have yet to be recognized, honored
or even in some cases "rehabilitated" in their own
countries. Shockingly in some cases after the war,
some of the diplomats and their families were
punished for their courageous actions, even
enduring economic hardship. The families of these
diplomats have appealed to their respective
governments to restore the name and honor of their
fathers.
The
diplomats whose stories are told featured in this
exhibit are:
Per
Anger, Secretary of the Swedish Legation in
Budapest, 1944-45
Lars
Berg, Attache' in Budapest, 1944-45
Hiram
Bingham, US Vice Consul in Marseilles,
1940
Friedrich
Born, delegate of the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Budapest,
1944-45
Carl
Ivan Danielsson, Swedish Envoye' of the Swedish
Legation in Budapest
Georg
Ferdinand Duckwitz, German Consul in
Copenhagen, 1943
Frank
Foley, British Vice Consul in Charge of Visas
in Berlin, 1938-39
Dr.
Feng Shan Ho, Consul General of China in
Vienna, 1938-39
Valdemar
Langlet, delegate of the Swedish Red Cross
(SRC) in Budapest 1944-45 and cultural
attache' at the Swedish Legation
Carl
Lutz, Consul for Switzerland in Budapest,
1944-45
Giorgio
Perlasca, Chargé d'Affaires of the
Spanish Legation, Budapest 1944-45
Monsignor
Angelo Rona, Italy, Papal Nuncio (Ambassador)
in Budapest, 1944-45
Don
Angel Sanz-Briz, Spain, Ambassador in Budapest,
1944
Dr.
Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese Consul,
Bordeaux, June 1940
Chiune
Sugihara, Consul for Japan in Kovno, Lithuania,
1940
Selahattin
ülkümen, Turkish Consul General in
Rhodes, July 1944
Raoul
Wallenberg, Secretary of the Swedish Legation
in Budapest, 1944-45
Jan
Zwartendijk, Acting Dutch Consul in Kovno,
Lithuania, 1940
In
addition The Swedish Red Cross and Folke Bernadotte
and Operation White Busses are honored in the
exhibit.
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