Speaker: Roger Moorhouse

Topic: The Holocaust’s Most Audacious Rescue Operation

Venue: Vinson Building

Time: 14:00-15:00 Friday 13 September

Talk Summary:

During the Second World War, Jewish activists in Switzerland engaged in a wholly remarkable – and, until now, almost completely unknown – humanitarian operation. Under the leadership of the Polish Ambassador, Aleksander Lados, they undertook a systematic programme of forging identity documents for Latin American countries, which were then smuggled into German-occupied Europe to save the lives of thousands of Jews facing extermination in the Holocaust. The Lados operation was one of the largest rescue missions of the entire war, and Roger Moorhouse reveals this extraordinary story for the first time. He follows the desperate bids of Jews to obtain these life-saving documents, and their painful uncertainty over whether they will be granted protection from the Nazis’ murderous fury. Above all, we witness the quiet heroism of those who decided to act in an attempt to save thousands of lives.