Page 52 of The Righteous

When the confidential meeting was finally over, Julia met with Carl and conveyed the content of the morning’s meeting with Samu Stern.

Carl was shocked. “I have been here for over two years, and this is a total turnaround. The Jews of Hungary have always been good, loyal citizens. They are undeserving of these punitive restrictions. Theresa’s father is right.

Emigration is the only way. We must secure as many Swiss letters as we can and pass them out to families.

Then we need to make plans for mass emigrations. ”

“Families need to emigrate out of Hungary on pilgrimages to safe lands,” Theresa said. “Like Moses in the biblical times. History is full of pilgrimages. We need to lead our people out of tyranny to freedom in safe countries.”

“To Jaffa?” Julia said. “That is what Ira Hirschman does. He is in Turkey now, and he would help us get to Palestine, maybe Jerusalem. We just need to get to Ira. It’s a pilgrimage to the holy land.”

“It sounds like a fairy tale,” Theresa said. “How are we going to do that?”

“It’s not a joke. It can be done,” Julia insisted.

“We just need to get emigration groups to Turkey. Businessmen and people with diplomatic immunity travel on trains to and from Hungary every day. Trains still deliver manufactured goods, farm produce, machinery, and businessmen every day. We just need to get on one of those trains with proper credentials.”

“Right. We need to pass out as many Swiss letters as we can,” Theresa said. “Then the holders will have diplomatic immunity. Can we get one hundred thousand?”

Carl shook his head. “We are promised eight thousand, and that is the limit. Remember, we increased the number from eight thousand individuals to eight thousand families. I can try to convince Bern to print more, but I doubt they will. We may need to manufacture more certificates, passports, and letters ourselves, in our own print shop.”

“Seriously,” Julia said. “You sound like me.”

Carl shrugged. “I will keep requesting them from Bern, but we need other neutral governments to step up.”

“Then what about Sweden? Sweden is a neutral country,” Theresa said, “and the Swedish do business in and out of Hungary all the time. I know that Raoul Wallenberg’s boss, Kálmán Lauer, is a Hungarian Jew.

He was born here. He has traveled to Budapest with Raoul many times on business.

Of course, Mr. Lauer is a Swedish citizen now, so he enjoys immunity.

Sometimes he takes a plane, but more often, he and Raoul take the train.

What if Mr. Lauer could bring us letters of protection from Stockholm? ”

“What if he brings us Rudy?” Julia said. “We need to contact him right away.”

“He won’t be able to do it on his own,” Carl said.

“Letters have to be sponsored by the Swedish government. Somehow, we have to convince the Swedish government to help out. Maybe your friend Rudy has influence. I know I can’t ask Bern to make the request of Sweden; they would consider it a violation of their duty to remain impartial. ”

“What if the US were to request it?” Julia said. “I mean confidentially, behind the scenes. I’m thinking of the War Refugee Board.”

“That is a possibility, I suppose. What influence does the WRB have in Stockholm?”

“I don’t know,” Julia said. “I am scheduled to place a call to John Pehle at four o’clock this afternoon. Maybe John can forward a request through diplomatic channels. Knowing the WRB, that’s why it was chartered.”

“That would be good to hear. Ask John and let me know. Right now, however, I have to travel to Geneva,” Carl said. “I may be gone for a few days. It has to do with the meeting I just concluded. I’ll tell you all about it when I return.”

At four pm Budapest time, ten AM Washington time, Julia and Theresa placed a call to John Pehle.

“Twelve thousand people in one day?” John said incredulously. “How can they possibly do that?”

“There are trains running day and night,” Julia said. “I am told that two hundred thousand Jews have already been taken from southern Hungary and are on their way to camps in Poland. The SS hasn’t come into Budapest yet, but it won’t be long.”

“What is Carl doing?” he asked.

“Right now, he’s traveling to Switzerland.

Geneva, I think. He said he had an important report to deliver to his government, and he was sure we would find out about it soon.

Until then, he couldn’t discuss it. He has already supplied three thousand letters of protection indicating that the bearer is under the protection of the Swiss government, and we are promised five thousand more, but Switzerland doesn’t want to go beyond that amount.

They are very hesitant about getting involved or being perceived as partial.

They fear they will lose their status. If they do, all of the letters will be worthless.

Theresa and I believe that Sweden, also a respected neutral country, is in a position to help.

Raoul Wallenberg is a very good friend. His family is prominent in Sweden, as is his boss, Kálmán Lauer.

Raoul has traveled to Budapest on business with Mr. Lauer before.

If the US were to make a humanitarian request, the Swedish government might authorize letters of protection for Hungarian Jews.

But it would have to be done right away.

Maybe the WRB could suggest such a request, you know, maybe with President Roosevelt.

Hungary loses tens of thousands of Jews every day. ”

“One thing that troubles me,” John said.

“If we succeed in passing out thousands and thousands of letters of protection, at what point will Berlin see this as a ploy for making Jews untouchable? At what point will Berlin realize that all of the Jews in Hungary are not diplomats or Swiss citizens? If that happens, then all we have will be worthless pieces of paper.”

“Well, for one thing, Berlin doesn’t know how many letters are being distributed, nor do they know who has one,” Julia said.

“There are no records. No one is keeping an index of individuals holding Swiss letters. All a Nazi agent knows is that a person produces an official paper with the holder’s name and a number between one and eight thousand.

It’s not public knowledge how many have been issued or to whom.

But you have a point. Sooner or later, there may be so many Swiss letters that Berlin will conclude it is a ruse.

That’s why Switzerland has limited them to eight thousand, and that is why we need other sources. ”

“I promise that the WRB will do whatever we can to put through an official request to Sweden,” John said. “Let me get off the phone and I will get to work.”