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Jorgio PerlaskaFascist (savior)
Country:
 Spain |
Content:
- Giorgio Perlasca: The Fascist Savior
- Early Life and Military Service
- Budapest and the Rise of Nazism
- Rescue Mission
- Spanish Diplomacy
- Saving the Persecuted
- Confrontation with Eichmann
Giorgio Perlasca: The Fascist Savior
In the midst of the Second World War, Giorgio Perlasca, a staunch fascist and ardent follower of Mussolini, emerged as an unlikely hero for thousands of Hungarian Jews facing imminent deportation and death. His legacy would earn him a tree planted in his honor in the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem, and the prestigious Righteous Among the Nations medal bearing the renowned Talmudic words, "Whoever saves one life saves the entire world."
Early Life and Military Service
Giorgio Perlasca was born in 1910 in Como, Italy, and spent his formative years in Padua. Raised in a strictly Catholic household, he grew up with family members holding influential positions in the royal court. However, fate had grand adventures in store for Perlasca. After completing technical high school, he joined the military and fought in the Abyssinian War. In 1936, he volunteered to fight in Spain on Franco's side, earning the rank of artillery lieutenant. He witnessed the horrors of the infamous Guernica bombing, but later asserted that it was not as extensively damaged as depicted by journalists or portrayed in Picasso's renowned artwork.
During World War II, Perlasca's Spanish connections proved invaluable, safeguarding his freedom and potentially the lives of those under his protection. In 1939, with Italy preparing to enter the war on Hitler's side, Perlasca could have been recalled to military duty. However, by then residing in Budapest as a representative of a commercial firm supplying canned meat to the Italian navy, he was able to evade the draft.
Budapest and the Rise of Nazism
In September 1943, Mussolini's regime collapsed, and Italy withdrew from the war, severing its alliance with Germany and facing Nazi occupation. Perlasca, who had supported Mussolini but condemned his alliance with Hitler, declared his new stance: "I'm no longer a fascist, I'm an anti-fascist, but I'm also anti-Nazi."
Reluctant to return to Italy and fearful of persecution in Nazi-occupied Budapest, Perlasca's situation became precarious. For the Hungarian government, aligned with Hitler, Italians were now citizens of an enemy state. In spring 1944, Perlasca was interned with a group of Italian diplomats in a camp in Kecskemet, outside Budapest, where he remained for several months.
Rescue Mission
In October 1944, Perlasca secured his release through the intervention of Sweden, which represented Italian interests in Hungary. A Swedish delegation visited the camp to assess the conditions of the Italian internees, and Perlasca was granted permission to accompany them to Budapest for a few days. On October 15, 1944, a coup d'état took place, and the fascist Arrow Cross party, backed by German forces, seized power in Hungary after Regent Miklós Horthy's attempt to negotiate peace with the Soviet Union. Chaos ensued in the city, and Perlasca did not return to the camp.
With his status as an Italian citizen now even more vulnerable, Perlasca sought refuge at the Spanish embassy, recalling a promise of protection from General Francisco Franco for those who had fought on his side in Spain. He promptly became a Spanish citizen.
Spanish Diplomacy
Upon changing citizenship, Perlasca volunteered his services to the Spanish ambassador in Budapest, Angel Sanz-Briz. Like other diplomats in Budapest, including the renowned Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, Sanz-Briz provided assistance to Hungarian Jews, helping them avoid deportation and extermination. Sanz-Briz's actions were sanctioned by his government.
Although General Franco was seen as an ally of Hitler, he had refrained from participating in World War II. He also did not support Hitler's extermination of European Jewry.
Spain's history included the expulsion of all Jews from the country in 1492, one of the foremost tragedies in Jewish history before the Holocaust. For almost four centuries, Spanish law prohibited Jews from residing in the country. However, towards the end of the 19th century, a movement emerged to overturn this shameful law and acknowledge the harm caused to Jews by the past expulsion. After extensive debates, the government granted citizenship rights to all Jews from the Ottoman Empire whose ancestors had lived in Spain (Sephardic Jews). Notably, Spain was among the first countries to offer refuge to Russian Jews fleeing pogroms in the early 20th century.
Continuing this tradition, General Franco's government extended its protection to Jews during the terrifying Nazi era, particularly intensifying their efforts to aid them as Germany's defeat became increasingly evident in the latter years of World War II.
Sanz-Briz issued Perlasca a certificate identifying him as an employee of the Spanish embassy. The newly appointed diplomat assisted in issuing Spanish visas to Jewish residents of Budapest and provided shelter in safe houses affiliated with the embassy. At the start of Perlasca's involvement, around three hundred Jews were under Spanish protection. By the end of November 1944, amidst the encroaching Soviet advance on Budapest, more than three thousand refugees were living in these safe houses under Spanish jurisdiction.
Saving the Persecuted
Giorgio Perlasca's involvement in protecting Budapest's Jews was entirely voluntary and driven by a profound sense of moral obligation. "I simply could not turn away and ignore the heinous crimes occurring before my eyes," he recounted during a ceremony in Jerusalem, where he was recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations.
Although the Spanish embassy acknowledged the presence of only five or six Sephardic families in Budapest during the war, Spanish visas were issued to thousands of Jewish refugees.
On November 30, 1944, Perlasca found the Spanish embassy empty upon his arrival. Anticipating the imminent arrival of Russian forces, Sanz-Briz had departed for Switzerland without appointing a successor. Perlasca learned that he could have obtained a Swiss visa at the Spanish embassy in Vienna. However, he chose to remain and continue safeguarding those under his protection.
Despite no longer being authorized to issue Spanish passports, Perlasca continued to do so, effectively appointing himself acting consul of Spain. If his authority had been challenged by Hungarian authorities, the consequences could have been dire. Nevertheless, Perlasca seemed indifferent to the danger, describing himself as feeling "like a fish in water." Decades later, recounting his wartime exploits to journalists, Perlasca quipped, "Opportunity makes the thief."
On numerous occasions, the self-proclaimed consul intervened to save Jewish refugees from attacks by Hungarian fascists of the Arrow Cross party. Avraham Ronai, a renowned actor of Tel Aviv's Habima Theatre, was among the Hungarian Jews rescued by Perlasca. Ronai penned a memoir describing the final months of the war in Budapest. Then a twelve-year-old boy, Ronai lived with his mother and sister in one of the safe houses under the protection of the Spanish embassy. Each room housed at least ten people. Perlasca visited the refugees almost daily, bringing food and occasionally medicine.
One day, Hungarian fascists raided the safe house and forcibly removed a large group of people, intending to execute them by the Danube River. Ronai's mother and sister were among those taken. From his hiding place on the landing, the boy watched in horror. Perlasca suddenly appeared, swiftly assessed the situation, and confronted the Hungarian officer, demanding the release of all Jews under Spanish protection. He threatened to escalate the incident into a diplomatic crisis if his demands were not met. The officer apologized and withdrew with his soldiers.
Hungarian fascists were hesitant to provoke Spain, a neutral but friendly country, as they hoped to secure its help in establishing connections with anti-Nazi coalition members once the war ended.
Confrontation with Eichmann
In mid-January 1945, Hungarian Minister of the Interior Gábor Vajna ordered the roundup and execution of all Jews under the protection of foreign representatives in Budapest, in compliance with Hitler's unconditional demand. It seemed that Perlasca's efforts to save the doomed victims had been futile. However, the "Spanish consul" fought back.
Perlasca secured a meeting with the minister and spent two and a half hours trying to persuade him to rescind the barbaric order. His final argument was a threat of similar treatment for Hungarian citizens in Spain. Perlasca further promised that the Spanish government would ensure reciprocity in Brazil and Uruguay.
With Soviet forces encircling Budapest, the end of the war was approaching. Gábor Vajna agreed to maintain the "status quo" regarding Jews under Spanish protection. Although Perlasca was unable to help those seeking refuge at other embassies and missions, his actions had saved over three thousand people from certain death.
The following day, an official from the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded written confirmation that the Spanish government approved of the protection of Jews. The self-styled consul did not have any official authorization, so he anxiously awaited a response from Madrid. Within two days, a government telegram arrived, thanking Perlasca for his successful negotiations with the Hungarian minister and affirming Spain's commitment to rescuing European Jews from the Nazis.
Perlasca's encounters extended beyond Hungarian fascists to German officers who held sway in Budapest. On one occasion, Giorgio accompanied his Swedish counterpart Raoul Wallenberg to the train station in an attempt to save some of the thousands of Jewish victims bound for Auschwitz. While Jewish prisoners were lined up in a long row on the platform, Perlasca attempted to remove two teenagers from the group. However, an SS officer nearby intervened. Wallenberg tried to explain Perlasca's collaboration with him, but the Nazi remained unyielding.
Unexpectedly, the SS-Obersturmbannführer overseeing the operation intervened
