Wednesday, April 2, 2014

B is for Budapest: April 2014 A to Z Challenge

Blogging From A to Z
April 2014 Challenge
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com
B is for Budapest, capital of Hungary.  With approximately two million inhabitants, today it's a thriving metropolis. But, it didn't begin that way. Budapest was originally settled by the Eravasci, a Celtic tribe, around 40 AD. They named the city "Ak-ink", which the Romans renamed, "Aquincum" after its conquest.

Remains of the ancient city of Aquincum can be seen today in Budapest.

The Ruins of the Ancient City of Aquincum, modern day Budapest.


(Personally, I find this to be pretty amazing and would love to tour Europe one day just to see all the cool places I write about.)


Map of Europe
Hungary in Red

There is a ton of fascinating history about Budapest but I want to tell you about a man who made a difference while residing there during WWII. Before I do, here are some links to learn more about the history of Budapest.





Okay, on to the star of the show, Mr.Giorgio Perlasca.  Giorgio Perlasca was an Italian businessman working in Budapest when all hell broke loose in 1943.

"When Mussolini fell in July 1943, all Italians in Hungary were requested to return home. Perlasca refused to go to a German-ruled Italian puppet state. As Perlasca said: "I was neither a fascist nor an anti-fascist, but I was anti-Nazi." Perlasca was interned; however, on October 13, 1944, he was able to talk his way out of the hotel where he was being held." (Quote from the Jewish Virtual Library Website)

This is where it gets interesting.  Let's look at that last sentence one more time: " Perlasca was interned; however, on October 13, 1944, he was able to talk his way out of the hotel where he was being held."

I like this guy already but it gets really wild when he declares himself the Spanish Ambassador to Hungary.  I know, I know, I keep saying, "WTF?" too.  Stay with me, okay?  K.

Perlasca was appalled at the way Hungarian Jews were being treated.  In the beginning, he took it upon himself to save a couple here and there.  Then he saved families. Then groups of people.  He was even able to pull hundreds of Jews off of a Nazi deportation train!  This man had huge balls and was sharp as a razor. He could think on his feet and never got rattled.  He bribed high-ranking Nazis in order to save more lives.  During one "negotiation", the greedy Nazi he was trying to bribe held a knife to his throat whilst on a fourth floor balcony.  Perlasca never missed a beat and offered the guy double if he'd put the knife away.  Of course it worked.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this movie. Yes, it's all in Italian with English subtitles but it's so good you'll forget all about that. Here's a link to a trailer of the film.  It may now be possible to find the entire film online:




(Why don't people like foreign films?  I love em.  This one ROCKS.)

From DeliberatelyConsidered.com:

"Giorgio Perlasca was born in Como, Italy, in 1910. During World War II, he was an Italian diplomatic envoy to the countries of Eastern Europe as a food purchasing manager (meat) for the Italian Army. For a number of reasons, he found himself in the position to pretend to be a substitute for the Spanish ambassador in Budapest, Sanz Briz. When the ambassador was forced to leave Hungary, Perlasca decided to impersonate a Spanish consul in order to grant Spanish citizenship to thousands of Jewish Hungarians. He took advantage of the Rivera Law, which allowed him to naturalize all the Jewish people with Sephardi origins from all over the world. Thanks to this law, over a period of 45 days, between January 1944 and January 1945, “Jorge” Perlasca saved thousands of Hungarian Jews."

Final thoughts:  You gotta see the movie, "Perlasca".

Tammy - Out.

19 comments:

Danielle L Zecher said...

What an awesome guy! Thanks for posting about him. I had never heard of him before. I definitely want to see the movie too. I have no problem with subtitles; it's one of those things you definitely have to be in the right kind of mood for, but subtitles are in no way a deal breaker for me.

CA Heaven said...

Budapest is a very intetrsting city. I was there both in 1988 and 1989, at the time when the communism collapsed. There was a very big difference from 88 to 89

Cold As Heaven

KC Kendricks said...

Truly interesting post. Good job!

A to Z Blogging Challenge Participant

Unknown said...

Good story telling on your blog, very interesting and enjoyed it immensely. thanks for the brain food, i needed it... lol

Anna said...

I'm a sucker for a great foreign film. I'll be checking out this one for sure.

Brenda said...

Interesting post...I love historical articles.


Brenda

www.AnEclecticAuthor.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Budapest ist still on my list of cities I need to see. Never heard of Perlasca before, but I'll go see the film, if it is available somewhere here in Germany.

Unknown said...

Great Post Tammy and wow, never knew about the guy or even the story of nazi's madness in hungary too!

Unknown said...

What a brave man. Thanks for sharing this history that could so easily be overlooked.

Happy A to Zing
Cold Shadow

Tammy Petry said...

I'm so happy you enjoyed reading about him! I found him to be really cool as well and the film is OUTSTANDING. I have watched a LOT of films in my life and rarely do I say that but this film is worthy.

Tammy Petry said...

Wow! Very cool! It's a place I definitely want to see.

Tammy Petry said...

Thank you!

Tammy Petry said...

LOL! Glad to be of service and I'm happy you enjoyed reading it.

Tammy Petry said...

Wonderful! You won't be disappointed. :)

Tammy Petry said...

Thanks! I'm an avid history buff/nerd, LOL.

Tammy Petry said...

Wonderful! Netflix currently offers it to members as streaming video, included in the basic membership plan. I'm sure the selections vary from place to place but if you can't find it, please let me know. I did find it on Amazon.com (American) and I'd be happy to help you get a copy across the pond. Also try YouTube!

Tammy Petry said...

Thanks Marie!

Tammy Petry said...

So glad you liked it !

Tasha Duncan-Drake said...

Absolutely fascinating; I didn't know that about Budapest and Giorgio Perlasca sounds like a very interesting man.
Tasha
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