Page 59 of The Righteous
THERESA AND JULIA spent the next two days trying to solve tricky issues.
For several reasons, they decided that their convoy train should not leave from Budapest’s central station.
That station was full of Arrow Cross personnel or Nazi SS.
They were still shipping Jews north to Auschwitz and Majdanek, although at a slower pace.
“In fact,” Julia said to Theresa, “Raoul Wallenberg was at the station yesterday handing out Schutz-Passes to Jewish prisoners by pushing them through the train windows. At one point, when the SS blocked his way on the platform, he climbed up and walked on the roof of the train, leaning over and reaching the passes down to passengers’ hands sticking out the windows.
‘Those are Swedish subjects!’ he yelled.
He thought that while the Arrow Cross might disregard them and not let the holders off the train, the Germans would honor them at the camps and let them go free. ”
Julia decided that she and Theresa should check out the train stations on the line south of Budapest. They drove south to Cegléd.
Arriving at the smaller, quieter station, Theresa said, “It makes sense to leave from here, but how do we get all our passengers out of Budapest and down to this station?”
Julia shrugged. “I am supposed to meet with Carl later today, and we will have John on the phone with us. How are your father and Rabbi Levy doing signing up families for the journey to the new settlement?”
“It’s surprising, for many different reasons,” she said.
“Some of the families are too frightened to make such a long journey, especially with small children. Some are just the opposite. They may have small children, but they’re ready to go.
They’re willing to brave the journey so their children can grow up in a free land.
Some of the families are choosing to stay in Budapest because they have Swiss or Swedish passes, and they’re confident in the protection provided.
Others are afraid that when the Arrow Cross runs out of prisoners with yellow stars who have no passes, they will take anyone they can find, letters of protection or not.
Many believe that Eichmann and the Arrow Cross will never stop as long as there is a single Jew left alive. ”
“How many are on the passenger list so far?”
“So far, Apa and Rabbi say that one hundred fifty families are signed up.”
Julia smiled and nodded. “So that’s about six hundred people, more or less. Terrific, but we can take more than that. Many more. Tell them to keep trying.”
Carl, Martin, and Raoul were waiting in the embassy communications room when Theresa and Julia arrived.
“We spoke to the Cegléd station engineer, Gunther Walz, a very nice man,” Julia reported.
“He said that the SS hasn’t been at his station for weeks.
When Horthy was removed and Szálasi appointed, the Arrow Cross started transporting all the Jewish prisoners from the central station, Budapest Keleti.
Gunther told us that when the SS did transport from his location, they would load prisoners either in passenger cars or boxcars or both.
Passenger cars would seat anywhere between fifty and one hundred people.
Boxcars more. Trains with twenty cars could carry up to three thousand people. ”
Then they heard John’s voice over the speakerphone.
“I’m here with Theodore Hartigan, who has volunteered to spend some of his off-hours working on this project.
We have been in touch with Ira Hirschman in Ankara, Turkey.
As you may know, Ira marshaled eight thousand people from Slovakia to Hungary and then to Palestine in a series of transports.
He is very anxious to assist in bringing your group down from Hungary.
He is assisted by Laurence Steinhardt, the US ambassador to Turkey.
You may know him, Julia; he was with the State Department as a senior diplomat. ”
“I know him,” Raoul said. “He was the US first minister to Sweden in 1937, the year I returned home. He was awarded the Order of the Polar Star in 1936 by King Gustav. I believe he is Jewish.”
“That is correct,” John said. “He played a major role in rescuing a group of Jewish children from Romania, bringing them down to Turkey. He is a very valuable contact, and we’re asking him to do the same for you.
He is credited with rescuing many refugees, including American airmen who were shot down in bombing raids in southern Europe.
I mention all this because we talked to Laurence, and he is anxious to help your convoy make its way from Hungary all the way to Palestine.
He and Ira would like to help you establish a settlement in Palestine, not far from where Laurence and his family live.
He told me that his contacts in Bulgaria should make it easier for you to travel all the way to Turkey on land without having to cross the Black Sea. ”
“That would be wonderful,” Julia said. “When would he and Ira be ready to help us? I ask that because Gunther Walz told me that next Tuesday is a very quiet day at the Cegléd yards. There are no freight trains scheduled that he knows of, but if they came, it would be later in the day. It would be best for him to help us load our group, starting early in the morning.”
“Will we be ready by then?” Theresa asked.
“I will have a Swedish train to take us south, and I should be ready by then,” Raoul answered. “Naturally, I will go with you and make sure that everyone along the way knows it is an official Swedish legation train under the authority of King Gustav V. Just tell me how many cars you will need.”
Julia smiled and thought, Dependable Rudy. I always wondered how I let him get away, but the truth is, I wasn’t prepared for the long haul. I needed to grow up. Maybe neither of us was ready back then. Maybe we never would be right for each other. Or maybe…
Martin spoke up. “How will all the passengers get from their homes in Budapest to the train station at Cegléd? Have we made arrangements?”
“Since they are all in Budapest,” Carl said, “we can provide trucks to pick them up at various stops in the city. Talk to your father, Theresa, and give me a list of people and convenient pickup spots.”
“I have an idea,” Julia said. “Assuming that SS and Gestapo and Arrow Cross men will be roaming the streets, like they do all day long, I propose that we leave in the middle of the night. I don’t ever see them walking around at that time.”
“Excellent idea,” said Carl. “Let’s start picking up families at three AM. ”
“And we’ll arrange for our train to leave Cegléd first thing in the morning,” Raoul said.