Comments on: Righteous among the Peoples

Righteous among the Peoples

Skeptic — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:59:58 -0800

In March 1944, Nazi Germany occupied its ally Hungary and immediately began preparing the extermination of Hungary's Jews. A small band of diplomats from neutral countries and the Red Cross put their lives at risk to try to smuggle as many Jews as possible out of Hungary from under Adolf Eichmann's nose. While Raoul Wallenberg remains the best known of these "Righteous among the Nations", there's no doubt that the most intriguing character was Giorgio "Jorge" Perlasca.

A fugitive himself, as an Italian national who had refused his allegiance to Mussolini's puppet Salò Republic, Perlasca had found refuge at the Spanish embassy, where he immediately received a Spanish passport as a veteran from the Italian Francoist volunteers of the CTV in the Spanish Civil War, and joined the Spanish chargé d'affaires, Ángel Sanz Briz, in protecting as many Sephardic (and not-so-Sephardic) Jews as possible under a 1924 Spanish decree granting citizenship to these descendants of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. When the Spanish diplomats were withdrawn to Switzerland, Perlasca appointed himself Spanish ambassador and continued Sanz Briz' efforts at enormous personal risk. After the war, he proceeded to retreat into obscurity until rediscovered forty years later.

By: semmi

semmi — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:10:35 -0800

Thank you for posting this.

By: sebastienbailard

sebastienbailard — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:10:40 -0800

A fascinating story. The last link is very readable.

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:55:07 -0800

for each individual it is possible to assume personal responsibility for the defence of life and mankind Important for everyone to remember this. It is true.

By: vac2003

vac2003 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:23:01 -0800

Yes, thank you for posting this. We must never forget what happened in Hungary in 1944. There are many there today who see it quite differently (e.g. the Magyar Garda). We must never, ever forget these events and every reminder of the horror of these times and the all too few heroes of those same times, must be warmly welcomed.