Carl Lutz

Carl Lutz (30 March 1895 – 12 February 1975) was a Swiss diplomat. He served as the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary, from 1942 until the end of World War II. He is credited with saving over 62,000 Jews during the Second World War in possibly the largest rescue operation of the Holocaust.

Due to his actions, half of the Jewish population of Budapest survived and were not deported to Nazi extermination camps during the Holocaust. He was awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.

Early life and education Lutz was born on 30 March 1895 to Johannes and Ursula Lutz in Walzenhausen, Switzerland, in the mountains of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in the northeast of Switzerland, and attended local schools. His father owned a sandstone quarry. During his time in Washington, D.C., Lutz lived in Dupont Circle. He continued to work for the Swiss Legation.

Lutz was a Methodist.

Diplomatic career In 1926, Lutz was appointed as chancellor at the Swiss Consulate in Philadelphia, United States. He next was assigned to the Swiss Consulate in St. Louis, and served in total from 1926 to 1934 in the two cities.

In 1934, he met his first wife, Gertrud Fankhauser, and they married in January 1935. In the last weeks before the Red Army took the city, Lutz was helped by Harald Feller, who took over responsibility of the Swiss legation after Jaeger's departure. He retired in 1961.

Legacy and honours Lutz saved the lives of tens of thousands of people. As in the case of Paul Grüninger, however, his achievements were not immediately recognized in Switzerland. Soon after the war, he was first criticized by the Swiss government for having exceeded his authority, as officials were fearful of endangering Switzerland's neutral status. Lutz was decorated with the Cross of Honor, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. His name has been included in The Raoul Wallenberg-memorial at the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest (see photo above). In 2017, a scenic lookout built in his memory was dedicated in Switzerland Forest, near Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, and the Golan Heights. In 2018, a meeting room in the West Wing of the Federal Palace of Switzerland in Bern, Switzerland, was renamed the Carl Lutz room. The Carl Lutz Society promotes his legacy.

Statements and songs Statement by Rabbi Dr Norman Lamm. Beacons in the Dark Statement by Professor MP Irv Cotler. Beacons in the Dark The Rescuers song by David Ben TReuven Carl Lutz: the Glass House Rescuer song by David Ben Reuven