We were There - The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation

George Mandel-Mantello (1901-1992) was a Jewish diplomat working for the Salvadorian Consulate
during World War II. Working in conjunction with Jose Castellanos Contreras, he saved thousands of Jews
from Nazi persecution by issuing them fictive Salvadorian citizen papers, and he spearheaded a publicity
campaign that eventually led to the end of deportations from Hungary.
Giogio Perlasca (1910-1992) was an Italian who posed as a Spanish consul-general in order to save
himself from Nazi persecution. While working at the Spanish Embassy in Budapest, Perlasca issued
protective visas to Jews in an effort to save them from Nazi persecution. He is credited with saving over
5000 Jews, and he was recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1989.
Angelo Rotta (1872-1965) was the Apostolic Nuncio in Budapest during the end of the war. He was a
major contributor to the efforts attempting to save Jews from Nazi deportations in Hungary. He issued
thousands of protective papers for Jews, and he was recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous
Among the Nations in 1997.
August Schmidthuber (1901-1947) was a German General and the commander of the German troops
in Hungary. He was instructed by Adolf Eichmann to carry out the liquidation of the Budapest ghetto in
early 1945. Threatened by Wallenberg and others, General Schmidthuber called off the massacre, thereby
saving around 70,000 Jewish lives.
Ferenc Szalasi (1897-1946) was the leader of the National Socialist Arrow Cross Party. He led the
Hungarian Government from October 15 1944 until the March 28, 1945. After the war, he was tried in a
Soviet court and convicted of crimes against the state. He was hung on March 12, 1946.
Jenő Ruszkay (1887-1946) was an Army General. He was a prominent member of the Arrow Cross
Party and later the Hungarian National Socialist Party, and an informer of the SD. In 1945 he was
appointed Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS. He was convicted guilty of war crimes and
executed.
Gennaro Verolino (1906–2005) was the Deputy to Monsignor Angelo Rotta at the office of the Papal
Nuncio in Budapest. Father Verolino went on numerous rescue missions in support of Monsignor Rotta.
He was instrumental in the establishment of the Vatican-protected houses in Budapest and supervised
the many Vatican volunteers active in rescue operations.
Sources
Spector, Shmuel and Robert Rozett, editors. Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. New York: Facts on File, 2000.
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