Page 35 of The Righteous
IN AN INDUSTRIAL section of Budapest, anchored by the clothing and garment industries, a group of people stood outside the door of a redbrick, two-story warehouse.
Mardenawitz Finom Szovetek (Mardenowitz Fine Fabrics) was painted on the side.
“Are you sure this is the correct building?” Benjamin said.
“Then we should knock on the door, no?” said Rabbi Levy. He shrugged, stepped forward, and knocked. A moment later, a young man, no more than twenty, opened the door and said, “Is this the group from the Swiss embassy?”
“Yes, it is. I’m Carl Lutz,” he answered, showing his ID.
Julia looked at the messenger and said to Theresa, “He looks very young, and he speaks Hungarian.”
“Come this way, please,” the young man said. He took them down the hall and into a large room filled with folded fabrics, benches, cutting tables, and large spools of thread.
Sitting in a darkened corner, behind one of the tables, was an older man.
He wore a wide-brimmed black fedora pulled down low across his forehead.
His dark blue wool coat was pulled up at the collar.
He wore sunglasses. The lights in the corner had been dimmed.
The visitors would have little ability to later recognize this man, even if they were to meet him on the street corner.
If they were later asked by someone for a description, they could only respond, “An older man, thin, of medium height with a gray beard.”
“If it is quite all right,” the man said in German, “we shall try to keep our identities as covert as possible.”
“We respect your wishes,” said Theresa. “We also desire to protect our identities. One never knows who is doing the questioning. To begin with, we wish to express our gratitude that you have agreed to meet with our group. We are a small representative group of the Jewish community in Budapest. We understand that you may possess information about Germany’s immediate intentions concerning Hungary and, of course, the Jewish community.
We also understand that you may have information about Adolf Eichmann and the reasons that he has been sent to Budapest with a contingent of soldiers at this time. ”
The man tipped the black fedora and slowly nodded in agreement.
“It is true. I do know some things that others may not. Since you are affiliated with the Budapest Jewish community, I will tell you this: There is great cause to be alarmed. Mr. Lutz was wise to seek me out. He requested that I furnish information that will help you and your community make decisions on what should be done. He told me that some of you may consider leaving the country and others will resist that idea. That is understandable. Mr. Lutz also told me that some of you have deep roots in the Budapest community, and you find it difficult, if not intolerable, to consider relocation. Is that not also true?”
“That is correct, sir,” Solomon said. “My family can trace its roots in these soils for hundreds of years. That is true for many members of our community, and we want to protect our homeland and our right to live and work here.”
The black fedora nodded again. He raised his head and said, “While I can understand the emotional ties you have to this land, you would be better served by listening to reason rather than emotion.”
“But this is our home,” said Solomon. “Wise or not, we would like to know what we can do to prevent enemies from trying to take it from us. We don’t want to give up without a fight. How do we stop them?”
The informant nodded, shrugged, and stood up.
“I can’t help you. I am sorry, that is not why I came here today.
I can’t counsel you on how to fight. That’s foolishness.
You have no ability to stop the Nazis from advancing or even slow them down if they decide to move ahead.
” He turned and started walking toward the door.
“Wait!” Julia said. “That man spoke out of turn. We don’t want fighting lessons.
We are not looking for military defense measures.
We want to know what is best for our community at this time.
We understand that you are privy to closely held information regarding the German objectives in Hungary.
We’d like to know what they are. What is it that they are planning to do with the city, with the government, with the people?
What do they want to accomplish? When do they want to start?
You were asked to share your knowledge about Adolf Eichmann and the current state of affairs as you know them.
All we are seeking is information. We would appreciate anything you can tell us about Germany’s plans concerning Hungary and how Adolf Eichmann fits into those plans.
Anything you can tell us is more than we know now, and it will help us make intelligent decisions on what steps we should take with our families. ”
The man nodded, turned around, and sat down on the stool. “You ask how Adolf Eichmann fits in? Let me tell you about the man, and you can draw your own conclusions.”
“That would be most helpful,” Theresa said. “We are generally aware of what Eichmann has done in other European countries. We know that when Germany militarily conquered a country, like Romania or Holland, Eichmann was sent in to organize the arrest and deportation of the Jewish citizens.”
The man nodded. “It wasn’t because the Jews were enemy soldiers or that they even posed a danger,” he said.
“Indeed, of all the sectors of society, they were probably the most docile and well behaved. Yet because of Hitler’s hatred of Jews, he would order his officers, like Eichmann, to follow his military into the country, gather all the Jews, and send them to concentration camps in Poland or Germany.
He called that making the country Judenfrei . ”
Rabbi Levy spoke. “Tell us, if you know, how and why does a man like Eichmann ever become so cold and bitter? Is there a chance of reaching a compassionate side of him? After all, he is a human being. There must be some sense of feeling when he realizes that he is responsible for sending innocent people—women, children—to their deaths.”
“He is governed by ambition, not feeling. He wants to move up in the ranks of the Nazi Party, and executing Hitler’s wishes is the way to do so.”
“As we know,” said Carl, “Miklós Horthy was ordered by Hitler to attend a meeting at Klessheim. What do you know about that meeting?”
“Prime Minister Kállay was removed,” said the man in the black hat, “because he sent the second of the secret peace messages, but Horthy was spared. He was given instructions going forward and was sent back to Budapest.”
“What were the instructions?” asked Julia.
The man shrugged. “I don’t know the details, but I do know that Horthy is returning to Budapest later today.”
“Then Horthy will now become a Hitler puppet. Is that right?”
The man shrugged again. “You ask about the future. Who can tell?”
Rabbi Levy stepped forward. “Have you finished telling us about Eichmann?”
“There is much to tell, but you are impatient, and I will shorten the rest.”
“No, please,” said Theresa. “This is valuable information, and I implore you to continue.”
The man took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose.
“In 1942, Eichmann and his men organized the deportation of Jews from Slovakia.” Then he pointed at Julia.
“As the woman here has mentioned, he organized deportations from the Netherlands. He did the same in France and Belgium. In 1943, and earlier this year, he deported the Jews from Greece and northern Italy, and now he is here in Hungary. You may draw your own conclusions. But his time in Slovakia should be very important to you. It may predict what he will do here.”
Solomon raised his ancient body and stood before the group.
“Look, sir, whatever your name is, I don’t really care what he did in Slovakia.
I live in Hungary. I can agree with you that Adolf Eichmann is a very bad man.
He may have been responsible for the deportation of thousands of Jews from France or Belgium or Holland, but those countries were enemies of the Reich.
They were at war with Hitler. Hungary is not.
We are partners, members of the Axis powers.
We fight beside them in Axis battles. We were with them on the battlefields of Russia.
Because of that relationship, our citizens have never been subject to the same mistreatment as have citizens of enemy nations.
While the Jews of those other nations were sent away, or taken away, our Jews have been left alone to manage their own lives in peace, and that is how I expect it to remain.
Why would the appearance of Adolf Eichmann change anything? ”