Reign of Terror

In this WWII memoir, a Swedish émigré living in Budapest during the war recounts his efforts to save thousands of Hungarian Jews from Nazi death camps.

An officer of the Swedish Embassy in Budapest, Valdemar Langlet was in a unique position to help his Jewish friends and colleagues from the threat of fascist violence. But soon his life-saving work grew into an extensive network of safehouses and falsified documents. Without the permission of the Swedish Red Cross, Langlet issued so-called Letters of Protection—passport-like documents with official-looking stamps—that saved Hungarian Jews from the death camps.

A gifted linguist, Langlet dealt directly with Hungarian officials, many of whom were eager to have the protection of the Swedish Red Cross emblem on their own houses as the Red Army drew closer to the capital. When the Germans put their Arrow Cross allies and chaos broke out in the streets, Langlet risked his life to shelter Jews and other refugees throughout Budapest.