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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Alice Irasari.

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<v Speaker 2>And I'm Colin Loalva. Spotlight uses a special English method

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<v Speaker 2>of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no

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<v Speaker 2>matter where in the world they live.

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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen forty four, a Jewish woman was brought to

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<v Speaker 1>the banks of the Danube River and shot. There was

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<v Speaker 1>a shout as she fell into the water. A small

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<v Speaker 1>man in glasses raced past armed members of the Arrow Cross.

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<v Speaker 1>These dangerous soldiers were members of the ruling Fascist Party.

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<v Speaker 1>They were allies with the Nazis. They believed that Jewish

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<v Speaker 1>people were less than human.

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<v Speaker 2>But Karl Lutz was not frightened of those soldiers. He

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<v Speaker 2>jumped into the river after the bleeding woman. The Arrow

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<v Speaker 2>Cross members were too shocked to react as Lutz pulled

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<v Speaker 2>her from the water. Lutz lied to the officers. He

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<v Speaker 2>told them that the woman was a Swiss citizen. He

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<v Speaker 2>said he was taking her to a hospital. The soldiers

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<v Speaker 2>were so surprised that they let the war go. She

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<v Speaker 2>was free and Karl Lutz had saved another life.

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<v Speaker 1>Lutz was an ambassador to Hungary during World War II.

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<v Speaker 1>He was Swiss. Switzerland was neutral in this war. It

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<v Speaker 1>did not choose a side, but Lutz found he could

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<v Speaker 1>not stand by and watch while people died. He decided

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<v Speaker 1>he needed to help. In doing so, he saved over

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<v Speaker 1>sixty thousand lives. Today's spotlight is on Carl Lutz.

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<v Speaker 2>Karl Lutz was born in eighteen ninety five in Switzerland.

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<v Speaker 2>Lutz's family was very religious. They were Christians who believed

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<v Speaker 2>that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Lutz's parents

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<v Speaker 2>also tried to help others as much as they could.

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<v Speaker 2>They gave to the poor. They were also pacifists. Pacifists

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<v Speaker 2>believe any kind of violence is wrong. Leo Tolstoy was

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<v Speaker 2>a famous writer and pacifist. He once wrote, in all history,

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<v Speaker 2>there is no war which was not planned by the governments.

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<v Speaker 2>The governments alone. This is different from the interests of

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<v Speaker 2>the people. For the people, war is always harmful, even

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<v Speaker 2>when successful.

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<v Speaker 1>Buttz held many of the ideas he learned in his

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<v Speaker 1>childhood for the rest of his life. For many years,

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<v Speaker 1>he even tried to become a Christian religious leader, but

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<v Speaker 1>he soon discovered he was better at diplomacy. He represented

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<v Speaker 1>his country in the United States, Palestine, and Hungary.

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<v Speaker 2>Lutz's time in Hungary was particularly challenging. The Second World

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<v Speaker 2>War had begun in nineteen thirty nine. Hungary was one

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<v Speaker 2>of the Axis Powers, like Nazi Germany, Italy and Imperial

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<v Speaker 2>Lutz was supposed to remain neutral, but the Axis Powers

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<v Speaker 2>were responsible for some of the worst crimes of the war.

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<v Speaker 2>Lutz arrived in Hungary in nineteen forty two. That same year,

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<v Speaker 2>the Nazis started the Holocaust. They planned to kill every

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<v Speaker 2>Jewish person in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>The situation was different in Hungary. For several years, the

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<v Speaker 1>Arrow Cross's ideas were like the Nazis, but they were

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<v Speaker 1>not part of the Holocaust. This changed in nineteen forty

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<v Speaker 1>four when the Nazis occupied the The Germans took over

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<v Speaker 1>the government and forced their ideas on the country. They

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<v Speaker 1>shipped many Hungarian Jews to death camps like Auschwitz and Berkanal.

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<v Speaker 1>Lutz could not stand by and watch this violence. Charlotte

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<v Speaker 1>Shhaliah is a Holocaust expert. She told the British Broadcasting Corporation.

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<v Speaker 3>After the German occupation of Budapest, the Hungarian jury in

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<v Speaker 3>the countryside was quickly taken to Auschwitz. Lutz understood he

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<v Speaker 3>needed to act very fast.

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<v Speaker 2>As a diplomat, Lutz had worked with the Nazis before

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<v Speaker 2>he had their trust. He visited one of the Nazi

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<v Speaker 2>leaders named Adolph Eichmann. Eichmann was responsible for organizing the Holocaust.

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<v Speaker 2>Lutz asked the Nazi leader if he could print eight

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<v Speaker 2>thousand letters of protection for Jews living in Budapest. These

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<v Speaker 2>letters would ensure a person's safety. Eichmann made fun of

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<v Speaker 2>his efforts, but Lutz got his permission thanks to his

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<v Speaker 2>earlier work with the Germans.

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<v Speaker 1>Lutz immediately went into action. He made it seem like

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<v Speaker 1>he had not correctly understood his agreement with Aikman. He

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<v Speaker 1>printed enough letters of protection for eight thousand families. He

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<v Speaker 1>gave them to anyone who needed protection. Once he ran out,

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<v Speaker 1>he simply printed the letters again.

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<v Speaker 2>After some time, the Nazis found that some of Lutze's

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<v Speaker 2>letters were copies. They brought Karl and his wife to

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<v Speaker 2>a work camp where the Nazis kept Jewish prisoners. They

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<v Speaker 2>made them identify their false paperwork. They both tried to

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<v Speaker 2>lie about as much as they could, but they had

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<v Speaker 2>to be careful as many were sent to the death camps.

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<v Speaker 1>This only strengthened Lutz's resolve. He knew he could not

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<v Speaker 1>save everyone with his letters. The Nazis might kill people

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<v Speaker 1>even if they had the right papers, So Lutz organized

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<v Speaker 1>seventy two places in the city where Jews could hide.

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<v Speaker 1>He named these official Parts of Switzerland. Soldiers entering these

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<v Speaker 1>buildings would face punishment. The most famous of these buildings

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<v Speaker 1>is called the Glass House. At one point three thousand

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<v Speaker 1>Jews hid there.

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<v Speaker 2>Many Hungarian Jews died in the Holocaust. In fact, more

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<v Speaker 2>Jewish Hungarians were killed killed then Jews from any other country.

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<v Speaker 2>But Lutz's efforts had an amazing effect. They were responsible

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<v Speaker 2>for half of Hungary's surviving Jews.

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<v Speaker 1>When the war ended, his family went home. They expected

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<v Speaker 1>Lutz would be a hero, but no one welcomed Lutz.

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<v Speaker 1>On his return to Switzerland, the leaders criticized him. Switzerland

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<v Speaker 1>was supposed to be neutral. He had endangered that neutrality.

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<v Speaker 2>This criticism came as a shock to Lutz. He had

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<v Speaker 2>watched people die in front of him. He was already

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<v Speaker 2>filled with guilt over the people he could not save.

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<v Speaker 2>His health got worse. He spent some time in a

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<v Speaker 2>mental hospital. He and his wife got a divorce. He

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<v Speaker 2>continued to work for his country, but he felt rejected

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<v Speaker 2>and alone.

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<v Speaker 1>But time would honor Carl Lutz. He recovered and returned

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<v Speaker 1>to work. In nineteen forty nine, he fell in love

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<v Speaker 1>with and married a woman he had saved in Budapest,

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<v Speaker 1>and in nineteen sixty one the Swiss government changed their position.

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<v Speaker 1>They decided that Lutz's efforts had been justified. He was

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<v Speaker 1>considered for the Nobel Peace Prize several times.

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<v Speaker 2>Few people celebrated Karl Lutz's efforts in his own country.

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<v Speaker 2>Right before his death in nineteen seventy five, he still

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<v Speaker 2>felt a sense of failure, but for those he saved,

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<v Speaker 2>Lutz was one of the most important people they would

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<v Speaker 2>ever meet. Agnes he Or she was Lutz's daughter through

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<v Speaker 2>his second marriage. He saved her and her mother from death.

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<v Speaker 2>She told the BBC.

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<v Speaker 4>I think he was a hero. He was a very

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<v Speaker 4>qu man. It was not really in his nature to

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<v Speaker 4>do what he did, but he saw the pain of

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<v Speaker 4>the Jews he thought he had to help.

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<v Speaker 1>Why do you think Carl Luttz did what he did?

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<v Speaker 1>Would you try to save the life of someone you

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<v Speaker 1>did not know. You can leave a comment on our

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<v Speaker 1>website at www dot Spotlight English dot com. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and x

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<v Speaker 1>You can also get our programs delivered directly to your

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<v Speaker 1>Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.

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<v Speaker 2>The writer of this program was Dan Christman. The producer

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<v Speaker 2>was Michyo Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the

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<v Speaker 2>United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted

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<v Speaker 2>for this program and voiced by Spotlight. No AI or

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<v Speaker 2>artificial intelligence was used in this program. Spotlight programs are written, voiced,

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<v Speaker 2>and produced by real people for real people, no matter

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<v Speaker 2>where in the world they live. This program is called

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<v Speaker 2>Carl Lutz The Quiet Hero.

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<v Speaker 1>We hope you can join us again for the next

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<v Speaker 1>Spotlight program. Goodbye,