An Unforgettable Humanitarian Act
by Six million Jews perished in gas chambers during World War II, but there were thousands that were saved by those who risked their lives in the name of humanity.
There are many soul-stirring and heart-warming stories about men who jeopardized their own lives in their mission to rescue Jews from imminent death in Nazi concentration camps in Europe. One of those is the selfless and angelic mission that was accomplished by a low-ranking U.S. diplomat, by the name of Hiram Bingham, a descendant of outstanding politicians, social scientists and missionaries. It happened at a critical juncture in the lives of Jews in Europe when anti-Semitism was at its peak. It has reached a boiling point in France, shortly prior to World War II, when Hiram Bingham became aware of the grave predicament that Jews were about to suffer. France was in danger of being attacked by Germany. There were threatening signs in many places, warning “No Jews or Dogs Allowed.”
Not long thereafter, in June, l940, the Wehrmacht invaded France by land and air. Hiram Bingham wasted no time in sending his pregnant wife and four children back to the United States. It was a time when young Nazis were infected with deadly fanaticism. In his capacity, as a low-ranking diplomat, Bingham remained in France, even after Paris was captured by the Germans, on June 14, l940. Hitler divided France into an occupied zone and a state to the south that became known for its new capital: Vichy. Thousands of refugees were rounded up and coralled in internment camps in southern France, while hundreds were desperately begging the U.S. Consulate for documents that would permit them to leave. But there was already a U.S. policy in place, whereby the process of issuing documents had to be delayed for fear that there might be spies among the immigrants.
Bingham was deperate. It was a matter of life and death for Jews. He ignored the policy and began piling up as many visas as he could for Jews who were waiting to be rescued. It was around this period when the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, instructed the State Department to issue an exit visa to a Jewish novelist, by the name of Lion Feuchtwanger. Convinced that Mrs. Roosevelt’s request was enough to bring about the freedom of Feuchtwanger, Bingham found it fit to wait no longer. He issued the novelist, together with other refugees, travel documents that allowed them to leave France. At the same time, Bingham was secretly sheltering Heinrich Mann, brother of Thomas Mann, who was also a novelist, until he was safely out of the country. Shortly thereafter, Bingham paid a visit to Marc Chagall, persuading him to accept a visa and flee to the U.S.
Bingham continued to issue visas and travel papers to Jews who, after reaching their safe havens in the U.S., called him “The Angel of liberation.” Bingham’s angelic deeds continued until he was ordered to leave Marseille.
After the war, Bingham tried to join the ranks of those involved in the hunting of Nazis. In l998, the Yad Hashem Memorial in Jerusalem honored Bingham and other diplomats for having rescued Jews from imminent death.
Gingham’s daughter, Abigail, recalled a hymn, sung by her family, that she attributed to her father:
Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ‘twixt that darkness and that light.
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