History of Diplomatic Rescue |
The Nazis depended on the support of millions in order to murder millions.
Of the few Jews who survived the Holocaust, some did so largely on their own, while others were helped by good people--friends,
neighbors and total strangers.
Many people turned a blind eye and did nothing, or worse they made it harder for the innocent
to survive. Diplomats, consuls and foreign officials were in a unique position to extend significant help
to Jewish refugees. For persecuted Jews desperately seeking visas to escape the Nazis, the actions of these
diplomats could mean the difference between life and death. Many diplomats used every nuance in their regulations
in order to keep Jews from entering their countries. Yet a few defied their countries to save Jews.
Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese Consul who saved Jews in Kovno, Lithuania, said:
“Those people told me the kind of horror they would have to face if they didn’t get away from the Nazis
and I believe 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.”
Taken all together, these few diplomats rescued many tens of thousands of Jewish
lives and were responsible for saving the largest numbers of Jews during the Holocaust. Yet they remained
modest. When asked why he did it, Italian-born Giorgio Perlasca who became the Spanish chargé d’affaires
in Budapest 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 obligated to uphold the immigration laws and policies of their countries.
By issuing visas to Jewish refugees, some were acting contrary to the explicit orders of their governments and superiors.
Doing this put them at direct risk to their careers and, in some cases, even their lives. After
issuing thousands of visas to Jewish and other refugees in Bordeaux, France, in June 1940, Portuguese Consul General Aristides
de Sousa Mendes explained: “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.”
Soon after issuing visas, de Sousa Mendes was dismissed
from the Portuguese Foreign Ministry and was stripped of his rank and his pension. He was forced to sell
his home, was ostracized by his friends, and suffered two strokes that left him partially paralyzed. De
Sousa Mendes had no regrets: “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 diplomats honored in the exhibit have yet to be recognized or rehabilitated
in their own countries. In the years after the war, many diplomats and their families suffered retribution
and economic hardship for their courageous actions. The families of these diplomats have sought to have
the respective governments restore the name and the honor of their fathers.
We can now publicly recognize these altruistic
people and tell the story of their great deeds.