The man who saved 62,000 people during the Holocaust: The power of anonymous courage

Carl Lutz was responsible for the largest civilian rescue
mission of the entire Holocaust. And yet his story is unknown to most of us.

Lutz was head of the Section for Foreign Interests in the
Swiss Embassy in Hungary. When the Nazis invaded in 1944, forcing nearly
438,000 Jews onto trains bound for Auschwitz, Lutz knew he had to do something.

As a young man, he had hoped to become a minister or a
missionary. However, he realized that his poor speaking skills would be a
hindrance, so he chose a diplomatic career.

Three decades later, he issued protective documents that
extended Swiss protection to Jews and exempted them from deportation. He also
placed seventy-six buildings under Swiss diplomatic protection, where he was
able to house thousands of Hungarian Jews who had lost their homes and
property.

In a 1949 report, Lutz summarized the motivations behinds
his rescue efforts, writing that he did not consider himself a “Christian
in name only” and thus found it a “matter of conscience” to
rescue Hungarian Jews “condemned to die.”

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates that he saved approximately sixty-two thousand people. Carl Lutz was therefore responsible for the largest civilian rescue mission of the Holocaust.

The power of anonymous courage

Most of us have not heard his name, but think of the people
whose lives he changed. Think of the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren
who are alive because of his heroism.

Now consider the fact that every act of courageous service
is significant whether the culture recognizes it or not.

Consider Abraham’s unnamed servant whose faithfulness was
instrumental in finding Rebekah, the woman who became Isaac’s wife and the
mother of Jacob (Genesis 24). Or Hathach, the servant of Esther who faithfully
and courageously transmitted messages between her and Mordecai that led to the
eventual salvation of the Jewish people (Esther 4).

I could go on at length…