Page 19 of The Righteous

“WHERE HAVE YOU been all day?” Julia said as Theresa entered the apartment. “The last I heard, you were going to a meeting with John Pehle.”

“Oh, I did,” Theresa answered with a confident smile. She pulled up a chair and sat across from Julia at the kitchen table. “Carl Lutz was there. He’s the Swiss vice consul in Budapest, and he was willing to talk to John and me about Hungary.”

“Was he able to answer your questions? Is it true that things are quiet in Budapest? Did you ask him about the safety of the Jewish community? Did he set your mind at ease?”

Theresa leaned forward. “Julia, you won’t believe this.

I’m going there. I’m going to travel to Budapest in two days.

Carl is taking me! I’m going to be his assistant, and I’ll be able to find out the answers for myself.

I’ll be able to meet with my parents, my sister, my brother, and my aunts and uncles. It’ll be a great reunion.”

Julia’s eyes opened as big as quarters. “You’re right, I don’t believe you.

Hungary is halfway around the world, an ally of Germany and an enemy of the United States.

People are begging to get out of there. Why would you do that?

I know you want to see your parents, but you’d be putting your life on the line. ”

Theresa gave Julia a tilted shrug. “Maybe, but I don’t think so. I will be Carl’s administrative assistant, an intermediary between the Swiss embassy and the Budapest Jewish community. You know, a go-between.”

“You’ll have an ID that will keep you safe?”

She nodded. “Carl says the Hungarian officials, even the Germans themselves, will honor the independence of Swiss government officials, and even those people who have been given a Swiss letter of protection. I will also have a Swiss ID.”

Julia shook her head in disbelief. “How did all this come about?”

“John called me this morning, remember? I went to a meeting with him and Carl Lutz. It was just the three of us, and everything we said was strictly confidential.”

Julia sat back and raised her palms. “Then don’t say anything more.”

“No, it’s okay. He knows we are very close and that we’re staying together, and he gave me permission to discuss it with you. But what I’m going to tell you is absolutely top secret.”

Julia took her finger and ran it across her lips like a zipper.

“First, Carl advised me that as of now, the situation hasn’t changed for Hungarian Jews. There are no mass arrests and no cruel pogroms punishing them.”

Julia was confused. “So, if they’re all right and not under any threats, why are you going into enemy territory?”

Theresa leaned forward. “Remember, this is totally confidential. Carl said that the real reason he had come to Washington was to meet with our military leaders at the Pentagon and with John Pehle at the War Refugee Board. Carl is convinced that Hitler is prepared to invade Hungary.”

“What? Why? Hungary is part of his Axis group. They fight side by side on the battlefield.”

“Apparently, that relationship is on shaky ground. Up to now, there have never been any reasons for Germany to doubt Hungary’s loyalty. But recently, Hitler found out that Prime Minister Kállay sent secret messages to a few of Germany’s enemies asking to form an alliance.”

“The State Department said that nothing ever came of Kállay’s so-called peace feelers that were sent some months ago,” Julia said. “Besides, even if Kállay could offer such an alliance, Germany would not be threatened by Hungary. Maybe this is all just a rumor.”

Theresa shook her head. She spoke in a whisper, mimicking Carl Lutz. “It’s not just a rumor, and we know it for a fact. Switzerland has a contact deep inside the Reichstag. Carl feels very strongly that Germany may pull the trigger and move into Hungary within a short time.”

“Then you can’t go to Hungary,” Julia said.

“That would be insanity. The Nazis could conquer Hungary within a matter of days. Germany will install its leaders, and Hungary will become a puppet state with a monster like Seyss-Inquart pulling the strings. It would be a carbon copy of what they did in the Netherlands. I lived through that, Terri. It’s far too horrible. You absolutely cannot go to Hungary!”

“I have to, Julia. I can’t just sit here and not know anything about my parents, especially if there’s a chance to help them escape.

I want to do whatever I can to protect them.

If the Germans move in, I need to get my parents out and move them to a safe place like Palestine.

I have Carl’s assurance that he will help me do that.

If I go with Carl, a Swiss officer, then I will be protected, at least to some degree.

Please don’t criticize me. You’d do the same thing if it was your parents. ”

“I understand, and I don’t fault you,” Julia said. “I told Teddy I would meet him for lunch today. I was just about to leave when you walked in. Why don’t you join us? Maybe Teddy can share some thoughts and offer some suggestions.”

Theresa winced. “I don’t think so. He’ll just try to convince me not to go. Teddy will take your side, and then it will be two against one. I really don’t want to argue. I want to go home, pack my bags, and go with Carl to help my parents.”

“No arguments,” Julia said. “The arguments are over. Just lunch.”

“WHAT A NICE surprise,” said Teddy as Julia and Theresa walked into the Capital Grill. “I’m glad you could come along, Terri.”

“I am too,” Theresa said. “It’s been a busy and stressful morning.”

“So I heard,” Teddy said with a smile. “Are you packing?”

“You heard?”

“I just talked to John. I guess you’re about to take a trip.”

Julia’s mouth hung open.

Theresa closed her eyes in exasperation. “I thought it was a secret. Strictly confidential.”

“Well, I didn’t tell anyone,” Teddy said apologetically. “It’s not like I called The New York Times .”

“What did you say when you heard I was going?” Theresa asked.

“I said, ‘Lucky her. I wish I could go.’”

“Seriously?” said Julia. “You said that knowing there would be an invasion?”

“I didn’t know anything about an invasion.

Now I do, and I still wish I were going to Budapest with Theresa and Carl.

” He smiled. “This is going to be the Netherlands, part two. There are innocent people there that are going to need a lot of help, the kind of help we provided last year. I guess it’s in my blood. ”

“You’re both crazy,” Julia said. “What can you two possibly do to provide help? We both witnessed it, Teddy. We’ve experienced it.

We fought against it. If Theresa goes back to Budapest, she’ll put herself right in the middle of the Jewish community, and she’ll be a target.

I don’t want my best friend to do that.”

Tears were running down Theresa’s cheeks.

“I love you so much for saying that, and I know it’s because you care, but I have to go back.

You and Teddy did things in the Netherlands to save lives, and I know you don’t regret it.

You told me that tens of thousands of Hollanders were saved.

My family and all the people I knew and loved growing up are in harm’s way.

You didn’t run away when you were in Holland.

When they closed the Amsterdam consulate and everyone went home to be safe and sound, you stayed behind because you cared about the people.

You wanted to do what you could to save them. ”

Julia reached over and gripped Theresa’s wrist. “But I wasn’t alone, Terri.

There were many others who had my back. There were groups of people, rescue organizations, and we all worked together to save as many as we could.

We forged documents, hid families, and drove laundry trucks with hidden children, and families adopted babies who would have otherwise been killed.

Even at that, we were only able to save a percentage.

When the rescue efforts ended and there were no more Jews in Holland, Teddy and I and other volunteers became targets.

Our faces were posted on walls and telephone poles.

Teddy and I were fortunate; we escaped with our lives.

But we were able to do that because we had each other.

We weren’t alone. Tell her, Teddy. What can Terri do if she’s alone in Budapest? ”

“I don’t know that she’ll be alone; she’ll be an assistant to the Swiss consul,” answered Teddy.

“But I do agree that if people don’t band together and do whatever has to be done, like we did in Holland, then Jews will die.

Julia, you just said that the rescuers in Holland were only able to save a percentage, but that percentage wasn’t insignificant.

Tens of thousands were saved, and they are alive today.

A thousand babies who would have died will now live to grow up in families that love them. ”

Theresa nodded. “I know you are worried about my being alone, but Carl said I could go to Budapest with him, so I won’t be alone.

I will be working at the Swiss embassy. I will have credentials.

I will be protected by diplomatic immunity.

Maybe I’ll help to distribute Swiss letters of protection, or help people to immigrate to Turkey or Palestine, or…

I don’t know. But I will help my family and my community in any way I can. ”

Julia’s head sagged. She was losing this battle.

“And when you go out into the city to help your family, who protects you? Who has your back? Carl is a diplomatic officer. He may or not be in Budapest at the time. Face it, Terri—you have no experience in matters like this,” Julia said.

“What plans would you make to help your family? Survival is a skill, an art, and you have no training. After the US consulate closed in December 1941, Teddy and I lived on the run for two years. Sometimes we hid in a safe house, sometimes with Sara’s parents in the woods.

We found ways of joining with secret rescue groups.

We learned techniques. Ultimately, we were lucky.

We escaped. But none of that would have happened if we didn’t have each other.

I was never alone, that’s the key.” Julia shook her head.

“I can’t let you do this alone. What kind of friend would I be if I let you go into Budapest by yourself? I’ll go with you.”

“I’m afraid Julie is talking sense,” Teddy said.

“She and I survived in Holland for two years and managed to escape because we had each other’s back.

You don’t know what the Swiss embassy will be doing, if they’ll cover for you when you are trying to rescue your people, or even if the Nazis will continue to respect Switzerland’s diplomatic immunity.

Julie and I were able to accomplish some wonderful deeds because we did it together and because we had the support of others in the Amsterdam community. ”

“I love you both for saying that,” Theresa said, “but Julie can’t come with me. I leave in two days, and Julie doesn’t have any credentials. I’m a Hungarian citizen, and I will be a Swiss official, but Julie doesn’t have anything.”

“Let me talk to Carl,” Teddy said. “I’d like to know his thoughts on you needing a backup or whether it’s possible for Julie to have a Swiss ID too. He might agree, but he may not approve of Julie going along. Julie, you certainly don’t want to go unless Carl approves.”

Julia nodded. “I agree. I wouldn’t go if Carl didn’t want me to, although I don’t know why he would object. Try to talk to him as soon as possible, Teddy. We don’t have much time.”