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- Carl Lutz was the Swiss Vice-Consul in Budapest, Hungary from 1942 until the end of World War II. He helped save the lives of tens of thousands of Jews from deportation to Nazi Extermination camps during the Holocaust. He was awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1965. Lutz immigrated at the age of 18 to the United States, where he was to remain for more than 20 years. After working in Illinois and then studying at Central Wesleyan College in Warrenton, Missouri, Lutz went to work in 1920 at the Swiss Legation in Washington. He continued his education at George Washington University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1924. During his time in Washington, DC, Lutz lived in Dupont Circle. After serving as chancellor at the Swiss Consulates in Philadelphia and St. Louis from 1926 to 1934, Lutz’s more than 20-year sojourn in the United States ended with his assignment as vice-consul to the Swiss Consulate General in Jaffa, in what was then Palestine. Appointed in 1942 as Swiss vice-consul in Budapest, Hungary, Lutz soon began cooperating with the Jewish Agency for Palestine, issuing Swiss safe-conduct documents enabling Jewish children to emigrate. Once the Nazis took over Budapest in 1944 and began deporting Jews to the death camps, Lutz negotiated a special deal with the Hungarian government and the Nazis: he had permission to issue protective letters to 8,000 Hungarian Jews for emigration to Palestine. Lutz then deliberately misinterpreted his permission for 8,000 as applying to families rather than individuals, and proceeded to issue tens of thousands of additional protective letters, all of them bearing a number between one and 8,000. He also set up some 76 safe houses around Budapest, declaring them annexes of the Swiss legation. Among the safe houses was the now well-known "Glass House" (Üvegház) at Vadász Street 29. About 3,000 Jews found refuge at the Glass House and in a neighboring building. Together with other diplomats of neutral countries, such as Raoul Wallenberg, appointed at the Swedish embassy, Angelo Rotta, the Apostolic nuncio, Angel Sanz Briz, the Spanish Minister, later followed by Giorgio Perlasca, an Italian businessman working at the Spanish embassy, and Friedrich Born, the Swiss delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Lutz worked relentlessly for many months to prevent the planned death of innocent people, dodging the action of their German and Hungarian counterparts. Thanks to his diplomatic skills he succeeded in persuading Hungarian and Nazi-German officials, among them Adolf Eichmann, to tolerate, at least in part, his formal protection of Hungarian Jews. The Swiss Minister, Maximilian Jaeger, supported him thoroughly until he was ordered to leave the Country by the Swiss government, as the Soviets approached. In the last weeks before the Red Army took the city, Lutz was greatly helped by Harald Feller, who took over responsibility of the Swiss legation after Jaeger's departure. Of note, Lutz's wife Trudi played a central supporting role during the whole period of her husband's activity in Budapest. His engagement allowed the lives of tens of thousands of people to be saved. However, similarly to Paul Grüninger, his achievements were not recognized until 1958, when he was "rehabilitated" in Switzerland, after having been accused of having exceeded his authority. In 1963 a street was named after Lutz in Haifa, Israel, and since 1991 a memorial wall at the entrance to the old Budapest ghetto remembers him. In 1964, Lutz became the first Swiss national named “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, the Jewish people’s memorial to the Holocaust. Lutz died in Bern, Switzerland, in 1975.
- Carl Robert Lutz war ein Schweizer Diplomat. Er war verheiratet mit der späteren UNICEF-Vizepräsidentin Gertrud Lutz-Fankhauser (1911–1995). Das Ehepaar reiste 1935 nach Palästina, wo Carl Lutz bis 1941 als Konsularbeamter arbeitete. Sie wurden Zeugen der dramatischen Unruhen zwischen Palästinensern und jüdischen Einwanderern aus dem Dritten Reich. Lutz arbeitete in den Schweizer Konsulaten in Washington D.C. , Philadelphia, St. Louis, Jaffa und Berlin, bevor er 1942 als Vizekonsul unter Maximilian Jaeger an die Botschaft nach Budapest versetzt wurde. Bekannt wurde er durch seinen Einsatz für ungarische Juden während des Zweiten Weltkriegs, wodurch über 60.000 Menschen – rund die Hälfte aller überlebenden ungarischen Juden – vor den nationalsozialistischen Vernichtungsaktionen gerettet wurden. Er erreichte dies in seiner Position als Leiter der Abteilung „Fremde Interessen“ an der Schweizer Botschaft, indem er ab Mai 1944 für Juden, die nach Palästina auswandern wollten, Schutzpässe und Schutzbriefe ausstellte. Dies bewahrte sie vor der Deportation nach Auschwitz, denn Adolf Eichmanns SS-Dienststelle im Reichssicherheitshauptamt respektierte diese Papiere, wobei Lutz’ frühere diplomatische Tätigkeit im Jahr 1940 in Palästina, bei der Wahrnehmung von deutschen Interessen gegenüber England, eine Rolle spielte. Der schwedische Diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, welcher im Juli 1944 nach Budapest kam, orientierte sich über die Vorgehensweise des Schweizers und arbeitete mit ihm zur Rettung von Budapester Juden zusammen. Wallenbergs Tätigkeit wurde weltweit durch den Fall seines mysteriösen Verschwindens bekannt, dagegen blieb Lutz als quasi unordentlicher Beamter in der Schweiz lange ungewürdigt. Nach dem Krieg wurde er in seinem Heimatland wegen Kompetenzüberschreitung gerügt. Yad Vashem ehrte ihn und seine erste Frau 1965 mit dem Titel Gerechter unter den Völkern. Lutz liegt auf dem Berner Bremgartenfriedhof begraben.
- Carl Lutz est un diplomate suisse et un Juste parmi les nations. Carl Lutz fut le vice-consul suisse à Budapest en Hongrie de 1942 à la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Il a fourni les papiers qui permirent à des dizaines de milliers de Juifs d'échapper aux nazis. Avec d'autres diplomates de pays neutres comme Raoul Wallenberg à l'ambassade de Suède, Angelo Rotta, le nonce apostolique, Angel Sanz Briz, le représentant de l'Espagne, et plus tard Giorgio Perlasca, un homme d'affaires italien travaillant à l'ambassade espagnole, et Friedrich Born, le délégué suisse du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge, Carl Lutz travailla sans relâche pendant des mois pour aider des innocents à échapper à leur mort programmée. Mais, comme pour Paul Grüninger, son action ne fut pas reconnue avant 1958, lorsqu'il fut "réhabilité" en Suisse, après avoir été accusé d'avoir abusé de ses fonctions. En 1963, une rue reçut le nom de Lutz à Haïfa en Israël, et depuis 1991 un mémorial à l'entrée de l'ancien ghetto de Budapest évoque son souvenir. En 1965, Carl Lutz a reçu le titre de Juste parmi les nations de Mémorial de Yad Vashem.
- Carl Lutz si recò nel 1935 insieme con sua moglie Gertrud Lutz-Fankhauser (più tardi vicepresidente dell'UNICEF) in Palestina, dove restarono fino al 1941. Qui Lutz lavorò al consolato svizzero e fu testimone dei drammatici tumulti fra i palestinesi e gli ebrei fuggiti della Germania e da altre parti d'Europa (anche dall'Italia). Lutz lavorò in seguito nei consolati svizzeri a Washington (D.C. ), Filadelfia, St. Louis, Jaffa e Berlino, prima di essere spostato, nel 1942, come viceconsole a Budapest. È in Ungheria che egli divenne famoso a causa del suo impegno a favore degli ebrei ungheresi durante la seconda guerra mondiale, grazie al suo aiuto furono salvati dalla morte nei campi di concentramento nazionalsocialisti circa 60'000 uomini, la metà di tutti i sopravvissuti fra gli ebrei ungheresi. Lutz raggiunse questo risultato sfruttando la sua posizione come direttore della sezione "interessi stranieri" dell'ambasciata svizzera, con la distribuzione di lettere di protezione a ebrei pronti a emigrare in Palestina. Queste lettere proteggevano gli ebrei, perché le SS di Adolf Eichmann le accettavano grazie al lavoro diplomatico di Lutz in Palestina (1935-1941) a favore dei tedeschi contro gli inglesi. Il famoso diplomatico svedese Raoul Wallenberg, che arrivò nel 1944 a Budapest, poté rendersi conto del prezioso operato dello svizzero. Mentre il ruolo di Wallenberg fu dopo la II Guerra mondiale reso subito noto, quello di Lutz è stato a lungo trascurato. Addirittura, dopo la guerra, lo Svizzera ammonì Lutz per non avere rispettato le proprie competenze. Solo nel 1995 il governo federale si è scusato ufficialmente per averlo dimenticato così a lungo, definendolo “uno dei cittadini eminenti nella storia della nazione”. Yad Vashem ha onorato Carl Lutz e la sua prima moglie nel 1965 con il titolo di "Gerechter unter den Völkern" (Giusto fra i popoli). Lutz è sepolto nel cimitero di Bremgarten a Berna.
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