[The Federalist] As the world observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day Jan. 27, victims and survivors will be honored with incredible stories of bravery and sacrifice. This year marks the 75th anniversary of liberation and the end of the Second World War, plus the 125th anniversary of the birth of Carl Lutz, a man whose story remains mostly lost to history. Lutz’s actions toward the end of the war make him responsible for the largest civilian rescue mission of the entire Holocaust and deserve to be known more widely.On March 19, 1944, the Nazi Wehrmacht invaded Hungary, and by the afternoon were parading through the streets of Budapest. By early July, nearly 438,000 Hungarian Jews were forced onto trains and sent to Auschwitz. About 90 percent were murdered upon arrival. Swiss diplomat Lutz, a soft-spoken but pragmatic negotiator, was serving in Budapest as the head of the Section for Foreign Interests in the Swiss Embassy. As he witnessed the deportations and threats to the Jewish population, he knew he had to do something.
LUTZ DETERMINES HE MUST ’SPEAK UP’ FOR VICTIMS
The decisions Lutz made in 1944 were greatly shaped by experiences earlier in his diplomatic career. In 1913, at the age of 18, Lutz immigrated to the United States, where he first worked in a factory for several years near St. Louis. In 1919, he enrolled in Central Wesleyan College in Warrenton, Missouri, where he hoped to train as a minister or missionary. However, Lutz ‐ ever the perfectionist ‐ realized quickly that his poor speaking skills would preclude him from preaching fiery sermons to large audiences.