Carl Lutz

Carl Lutz, an Appenzell diplomat and second-in-command at the Swiss Embassy in Budapest, saved tens of thousands of persecuted Hungarian Jews from death during World War II. His humanitarian action is considered the greatest civil rescue operation of Jews during the Holocaust. Lutz negotiated directly and shrewdly with Adolf Eichmann, the deviser of the Holocaust. During this rescue operation, the married Vice-Consul fell in love with one of his protégés. After the end of the war, he divorced his wife, married his beloved in Budapest and moved with her and her daughter to Berne. Instead of being thanked by his country, he was chided for excess of authority and splashing out on his expense account. Until his death, Lutz fought bitterly and vainly for his rehabilitation.