Thread by @amylutz4

In honor of #HMD2019, here's a (hopefully) brief thread on Carl Lutz.

For more information, start with the websites for the US Holocaust Museum and Yad Vashem.

Carl Lutz was born in 1895 in Switzerland. At the age of 18, and without knowing a word of English, he emigrated to the United States.

Soon, he enrolled at Central Wesleyan College in Warrenton, Missouri, hoping to go into ministry or missionary work. (Photo via USHMM)

In 1920, Lutz found a job with the Swiss Legation in DC and transferred to GW, where he finished his studies. From 1924-1935, Lutz worked several diplomatic posts in the US, one of which was in St. Louis. I took this photo about a year ago of the block where he used to work.

Lutz begged Swiss authorities to recall him to Switzerland, or at least Europe for years, but as we'll see, the Lord had different plans for Lutz. Finally, in 1936, he was appointed to a post in Palestine (then under British control).

While Lutz was stationed in Palestine, he and his wife saw four Jewish men lynched from the roof of their apartment. Soon, Lutz wrote a letter to his brother stating: "As I swore to the victims, as they suffered hits and stabs, that one day I would speak up for them..."

That opportunity would come soon enough. In 1939, Germany asked Switzerland to represent their interests in Palestine (Remember, Palestine is under British control at this point). Lutz receives the order.

Lutz worked hard in his role in Palestine, even garnering praise from the Fuhrer's office. He is also introduced to British emigration certificates issued that would allow their holders exile in Palestine (There were German Jews in Palestine at the time who needed these docs)

In 1942, Lutz is transferred to Budapest. Hungary was still allied with Germany at the time and Nazi forces had not yet occupied. That changed in March 1944 when Germany occupied Hungary and in May started deporting Jews to death camps, primarily Auschwitz.

Along with other neutral diplomats, Lutz was able to convince Hungarian authorities to halt the deportations in July. By then, 438,000 Jews had been sent to Auschwitz. (Deportations resumed again later).

Remember those certificates? Lutz had an idea. He negotiated directly with Adolf Eichmann to procure 8,000 protection papers that would prevent their holders from being deported. The request was approved by the Fuhrer's office partially because of Lutz's hard work in Palestine.

Anyway, long and complicated story short, Lutz never intended to save only 8,000 people. He was intentionally vague in his request and altered the papers so that each one would protect a family, not an individual.

Historians and witnesses estimate there were over 100,000 Swiss protective papers in circulation in Hungary during the last year of the war, both semi-legal and forged. Lutz often looked the other way on forged documents, hoping to save as many people as possible.

Lutz also put dozens of buildings (approx 76) under Swiss control to house Hungarian Jews. He moved his operation to an old glass factory where he worked with Zionist youth groups to produce the protective papers. These buildings were frequently raided by Arrow Cross soldiers.

Lutz & his wife Trudi often intervened to save individual Jews. They would follow death marches of Hungarian Jews and pull people out of the line, offering them Swiss protection. Once, Lutz jumped into the Danube and saved a Jewish woman who had been shot by the Arrow Cross.

At one point, Eichmann discovered Lutz's "deception." The Nazis & their Hungarian collaborators summoned the Lutz's to a brick factory where they held Jews before deportation. There was a group of Jews there claiming to be "under Swiss protection."

They forced the Lutz's to denounce the obvious forgeries (people with forged documents were not protected from deportation), or else ALL of the documents would be invalid, and all Jews deported. The experience haunted both Carl and Trudi Lutz for the rest of their lives.

Lutz was able to save 50,000-70,000 Jews. After returning to Switzerland, he was CONDEMNED for his actions. While Lutz did gain acclaim from Israel, the US, etc., during his lifetime his efforts were never fully recognized by his home country. He died in 1975.

In a report written after the war, Lutz wrote that he believed it was a "matter of conscience" to save the Jews of Budapest "condemned to die." His efforts constituted the largest civilian rescue mission during the Holocaust. And few know who he is. /Fin

Since this thread is getting some traction, thought I'd share a bit more.

Lutz was an incredibly skilled diplomat, capable of deceiving even the most vile Nazi collaborators.

Case in point: www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/…

When Lutz returned to Switzerland, he expected his colleagues to have questions about his actions.

When he arrived at the Swiss border, he was only asked one thing: "Do you have anything to declare?"

There was no one waiting for him. (cont.)

In fact, the only initial comment he received was condemnation. Shortly after Lutz returned from Switzerland, he received a notice from the accounting department complaining that he had ordered a glass of orange juice in Istanbul after his family escaped Budapest in 1945.

Anyway, thanks everyone for following along. A big part of the reason I'm in grad school is so I can share Carl Lutz's incredible story. Happy to spread the word however I can. #HMD2019

One more thing! If you're interested in learning more about Lutz, there's a great doc/ebook on him that includes interviews with Lutz & survivors. #HMD2019

Trailer:

Get the app here: itunes.apple.com/de/app/carl-lu…