Swiss vice-consul in Budapest who saved tens of thousands of Jews with protective letters and safe houses
Born in Walzenhausen, Switzerland, he emigrated to the United States in 1913 and from 1920 worked in the Swiss consular service in the US and in Jaffa. Appointed Swiss vice-consul in Budapest in 1942, he cooperated with the Jewish Agency. In 1944 he negotiated with the Hungarian government and the Nazis for permission to issue 8,000 protective letters for emigration to Palestine, applied it to families rather than individuals, and issued tens of thousands more letters, all numbered between one and 8,000. He declared some 76 houses around Budapest annexes of the Swiss legation; about 3,000 people found refuge at the “Glass House”. Credited with saving over 62,000 Jews, he was criticised after the war for exceeding his authority and rehabilitated only in 1958; in 1965 Yad Vashem named him one of the Righteous Among the Nations.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1913Emigrated to the United States
- 1920Joined the Swiss Legation in Washington
- 1935–1942Swiss vice-consul in Jaffa
- 1942–1945Swiss vice-consul in Budapest
- 1952–1961Swiss consul general in Bregenz
- 1965Righteous Among the Nations