Diplomatic Rescue in the Holocaust

Prepared by Eric Saul

For a comprehensive database of diplomatic rescue and rescuers, click here.

Diplomats were different from ordinary rescuers of the Holocaust.  They were often in a position to rescue large numbers of Jews and other refugees.  Diplomats were responsible for saving among the largest number of Jews and other refugees rescued in the Holocaust.

Most diplomats, particularly those active early in the war, issued visas, including exit, transit, and destination visas, protective passes, and other life-saving documents.  Diplomats often worked with rescue and relief organizations, including clandestine networks and organizations.  This was often done in direct opposition to their countries’ orders, policies and regulations.  Vatican diplomats also issued protective papers and life-saving baptismal certificates.  Archbishop Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli helped save thousands of Jews by issuing protective papers from his office in Turkey. He worked closely with U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Laurence Steinhardt.

In addition to issuing protective papers, diplomats were often the first line in reporting the murder of Jews throughout Europe.  Polish diplomat Jan Karski gathered information about the Holocaust in Poland and reported it to leaders in the West.  Vatican diplomats (nuncios) were among those at the forefront of reporting on atrocities in Europe.  Monsignor Andrea Cassulo and Monsignor Giuseppe Burzio reported directly to the Vatican.

Many diplomats encouraged their governments to intervene on behalf of the Jews.  They encouraged their governments to actively protest the murder and advocated that governments liberalize immigration policies to save as many people as possible.  Some diplomats were especially successful in these efforts.  Italian diplomats in Southern France, Croatia and Greece influenced the policy of the government toward saving Jews.  Mexican Consul General Gilberto Bosques protested the treatment of Jews to leaders in Southern France. He soon established two refugee centers which housed thousands of Spanish Republican soldiers and Jews.

Some diplomatic missions aided Jews representing European governments in exile. The Lados group representing the Polish government in exile in Switzerland distributed protective documents to endangered Jews.

Several diplomats warned the Jewish community of impending disaster.  Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, of Germany, warned of the impending deportations in Denmark in October 1943.  His warning enabled the Danish people to thwart Nazi plans to murder the Jews of Denmark.

Some diplomats saved lives by providing the very means of survival.  International Red Cross representatives, who carried the status of diplomats, not only issued protective papers but were also responsible for distributing food and medical supplies to Jews throughout Europe.  Many databases that document diplomatic rescue in the Holocaust do not include International Red Cross representatives.  In addition, the Red Cross had members representing the United States, Sweden, Switzerland and a number of other countries.  We have included 24 Red Cross representatives in our database of diplomats.

Several diplomats, such as Raoul Wallenberg, Carl Lutz, George Perlasca and Selahattin Ülkümen, prevented Jews from being deported by physically standing between the Nazis and the Jews they were deporting, risking their very lives.  These diplomats stopped Jews from being deported and intervened to save Jews who were on death marches.

The most important quality of diplomats who helped refugees was a willingness to defy their own governments and the governments of the Nazis and their collaborators.  Coming to the aid of persecuted Jews required not only courage, but also a high degree of independent-mindedness and creativity.  These diplomats used every loophole, ruse, or nuance in the regulations of their own country as well as the policy of the Nazi occupiers in order to help refugees.

As diplomats, disobeying home office directives took on great significance as their role was to represent the official policies of their countries.  By disobeying their home countries’ policies, they gave the impression of official sanction by the home country.  The decision to issue visas and other protective papers was seen as official opposition to Nazi policy.  The courageous diplomats were aware of this impression, and it made their dilemma to issue the visas more difficult.  Nazi officials often thought that diplomats were, in fact, operating officially when they were not.

A private decision to defy the authority of the home country was a difficult moral and political decision.  The rescue of Jews by a diplomat was thus never done in secret and thus the diplomat’s action immediately put him at personal and political risk. This did not often protect them from being punished for disobeying orders.  

To some extent, diplomats were protected by their diplomatic status.  Their lives were often not as necessarily at risk as individual rescuers in Nazi occupied Europe.  This, however, was not always the case.  Several diplomats were arrested and imprisoned for their life-saving activities. Some were deported to German concentration camps. Two diplomats were murdered.

Government policies, even ones that are morally wrong, were expected to be obeyed.  Consul Chiune Sugihara, of Japan, was forced to resign in 1947 for helping Jews in Lithuania.  Consul General De Sousa Mendes, of Portugal, was forced out of diplomatic service and was unable to obtain employment for the rest of his life.

There were several Jewish diplomats aiding their fellow Jews. They were particularly at risk for doing so. They cannot be recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by the State of Israel.