Page 36 of The Righteous

The man in the black fedora leaned back.

He obviously wasn’t getting through to all the attendees.

He shook his head and emitted a quiet snicker.

“Pardon me, sir, but you are a fool, and a poor representative of your community. Eichmann was at the Wannsee Conference with Reinhard Heydrich. He swore commitment to the Final Solution, remember? He even recorded minutes of that meeting, and I have seen those minutes. He noted that Heydrich spoke for an hour and continually demanded the eradication of the Jews. During their conversation, they minced no words about it at all. They spoke about methods of killing, about liquidation, about extermination, after which they broke for a glass of cognac. Do you understand, sir, mass killing is Eichmann’s purpose?

He lives for that. That is his raison d’être, his reason for being.

He first went to Poland and visited Auschwitz in 1941, and by then, he had already begun to organize mass deportations of Jews from Germany and Bohemia.

For the last several years, Eichmann’s office has been the headquarters for the implementation of the Final Solution.

And now, sir, he is here in Budapest, and why the hell do you think he is here? For the food?”

With that, the old man stood, humphed, and pulled up his coat collars to hide his face. He walked quickly out of the room without a second glance.

The warehouse room was perfectly still for a few minutes while everyone gathered their thoughts.

Finally, Solomon rose, brushed himself off, and said, “You can’t believe everything you hear, especially from a German.

He speaks of Armageddon. He says, ‘Take my word for it or perish.’ Well, I don’t.

Take a walk outside. Go down Dohány Street.

What do you see? You see men and women and children all going about their lives.

Eichmann may be here, but nothing has changed.

It is still our lovely community. Speaking for me and my family, we’re not panicking. ” With that, Solomon left the room.

Rabbi Levy raised his hand. “Don’t blame old Solomon.

He has lived here for eighty years, he is a true patriot, and he is set in his ways.

He cannot envision anything else. I agree with him in many respects.

We all need to put on our thinking caps.

We don’t know for a fact what Eichmann’s plans are.

Right now, he is staying in a room in the German compound.

Nothing else. I am inclined to agree with Solomon, not to jump to conclusions, pull up stakes, and run. ”

“So we should wait and sit on our hands until it is too late?” Julia said.

“I can’t believe what I am hearing. Do you want to wait until all the troops are in place and Eichmann decides the time is right to order them to round up the Jews and put them into cattle cars?

Don’t you get it? It’s too late then. We need to act now! ”

“I agree with my sister in arms,” said Theresa.

“We originally wanted to come here from America to check on my parents. An opportunity opened up, and we were able to travel here. If it was as we feared, then we wanted to take my parents out of Hungary and help them immigrate someplace safe to save their lives. In many ways, our responsibilities have broadened; they are no longer limited to the Weissbach family. We are now embracing the entire Budapest Jewish community in our thoughts and plans. A month ago, it may only have been worries or fears, but now, they are realities. We must accept the fact that Eichmann is going to engineer a mass deportation to extermination camps. Why else would he be here with a military contingent? We cannot sit still while he works his evil.”

“I, for one, would like to know what happened when Eichmann was in Slovakia,” Julia said. “Why did the man say it was so important for us to know?”

“I would as well,” said Carl. “I will contact the man and try to find out.”

“In the meantime, shouldn’t we start having serious discussions on what it would take to move large numbers of people out of the country, should that become necessary?

” Theresa asked. “Julia is right, we can’t do that overnight.

At this time, there is no limitation on our freedoms. Tomorrow, who knows?

It would make sense if we made plans to send people to Palestine right away! ”

The rabbi spread his arms. “Theresa, you say there are no limitations? The Hungarian borders are all closed, and there are Axis troops on all of the exits. How are families supposed to get to Palestine? Will they walk? Take a train?”

This time, it was Carl who shook his head.

“Maybe, but trains are stopped at the borders, and people must have identification. I suppose, if you had the right credentials, you could make it through Romania all the way to Turkey. And if you did get that far, Ira Hirschman could help you get to Palestine, but those arrangements would have to be made in advance. Theresa is right in one regard—the arrangements would take careful planning and should be undertaken right away.”

Theresa’s father stepped forward and gently put his arm around her shoulder.

He pulled her into his chest and hugged her.

“Terri, even if you could make those arrangements, not everyone can or will leave. I don’t know if I can leave, but I think you should go.

Both you and Julia came to Budapest for humanitarian reasons and because you love us.

But now you should leave before things get worse.

We don’t know what is going to happen here, so why put yourselves at risk?

Julia, we aren’t even your family, and you stick your neck out.

Look, I trust the man in the black hat. He said to leave, and the two of you can make it.

Both of you have Swiss IDs and the ability to travel back to Switzerland and then to the United States. I urge you to go.”

“Then come with us,” Theresa said.

Benjamin shook his head. “It’s not as easy as that.

Pack up an entire life and leave for unknown territories?

Not many would elect to do that. In my case, it would be a hardship for your mother to make a long journey all the way to Palestine.

I certainly couldn’t leave and run out on my congregants.

I am their president and a leader that they look to for advice.

Can I leave and abandon all of them? And what about Sammy and Becca?

They have respective professions and are building solid futures here in Budapest. What about your Uncle Morry and your cousins?

I can’t turn my back on my people. I may have to stay, but you should go.

” He turned to Carl. “Mr. Lutz, can you arrange it? Can you take Terri and Julia to Bern and arrange for their passage home to America? I will cover the costs, whatever they are.”

“Apa, I love you,” Theresa said, “but it’s my decision. I came here to help you and Anya escape. We can still do that. I accepted an appointment as Carl’s assistant. I should not abandon him at such a precarious moment. Julia, maybe you are the one who should consider going home.”

Julia solemnly shook her head. “I came with you to watch your back, and I’m glad I did. We can stick it out together. Other than Carl, I am the WRB’s only contact here. I have a Swiss ID as Carl’s assistant, and that should provide a measure of safety. The Nazis will honor it.”

Carl smiled and nodded. “I made a good choice in hiring you two as administrative assistants, and Julia is right, your Swiss IDs prove that you work for the government of Switzerland, and they will protect you. Right now, I want to get out of this drafty old warehouse and return to my office. I will schedule another meeting, a private meeting, with my German contact for tomorrow morning. I should learn more than he was prepared to discuss today. After that, I’d like to meet with Theresa and Julia in my office.

Between now and then, I’d like you to digest everything that has happened here today and check in with John Pehle at the WRB, and tomorrow, we’ll make some decisions. ”