Rescue of Jews in Budapest
Raoul
Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat assigned to Sweden's embassy in
Budapest, led one of the most extensive and successful rescue efforts
during the Holocaust. He worked with the American War
Refugee Board (WRB) and the World Jewish Congress to protect tens
of thousands of Hungarian Jews from deportation to the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center. Diplomats from other neutral countries also joined the
rescue effort. Carl Lutz, a Swiss diplomat, issued certificates of
emigration, placing nearly 50,000 Jews under Swiss protection. Italian
businessman Giorgio Perlasca, posing as a Spanish diplomat, issued
forged Spanish visas to Jews. At liberation, more than 100,000 Jews
remained in Budapest, mostly because
of these rescue efforts.
Source: U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum
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