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Hiram Binghan
Subject: Unsung hero
(information received from an e-mail)
In these times of disgusting behavior,
it is good to remember those who acted with quality
and integrity.
A few months ago, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell,
gave a posthumous award for "constructive dissent"
to Hiram (or Harry) Bingham, IV. For over fifty years,
the State Department resisted any attempt to honor Bingham;
for them he was an insubordinate member of the US diplomatic
service, a dangerous maverick who was eventually demoted.
Now, after his death, he has been officially recognized
as a hero.
Bingham came from an illustrious family. His father
(on whom the fictional character Indiana Jones was based)
was the archeologist who unearthed the Inca city of
Machu Picchu, Peru in 1911. Harry entered the US diplomatic
service and, in 1939, was posted to Marseille, France
as American vice-consul. The USA was then neutral and,
not wishing to annoy Marshal Petain's puppet Vichy regime,
President Roosevelt's government ordered its representatives
in Marseille not to grant visas to any Jews. Bingham
found this policy immoral and, risking his career, did
all in his power to undermine it. In defiance of his
bosses in Washington, he granted over 2,500 US visas
to Jewish and other refugees, including the artists
Marc Chagall and Max Ernst and the family of the writer
Thomas Mann. He also sheltered Jews in his Marseille
home, and obtained forged identity papers to help Jews
in their dangerous journeys across Europe. He worked
with the French underground to smuggle Jews out of France
into Franco's Spain or across the Mediterranean and
even contributed to their expenses out of his own pocket.
In 1941, Washington lost patience
with him. He was sent to Argentina, where, later. he
continued to annoy his superiors by reporting on the
movements of Nazi war criminals. Eventually, he was
forced out of the American diplomatic service completely.
Bingham died almost penniless
in 1988. Little was known of his extraordinary activities
until his son found a series of letters in his belongings
after his death. He has now been honored by many groups
and organizations including the United Nations and the
State of Israel.
Please pass on this fascinating
information about a Rightous Gentile who made such a
difference in so many lives.
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