The Diplomat
Centro Sefarad-Israel has launched the initiative “The Ángel Sanz Briz List” in which it aims to collect the names of the people who received the protection of the Spanish diplomat, who saved the lives of more than 5,000 Hungarian Jews during the persecution of the Nazi regime.
The initiative, launched on the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of Sanz Briz, known as “The Angel of Budapest”, on 28 September 1910, aims to locate people who could have been saved by him or their descendants, in order to learn their stories.
In Budapest in 1944, Sanz Briz, then head of the Spanish Embassy in the Hungarian capital, organised the establishment of a network of safe houses and the issuing of protective documents for members of the Jewish community trying to escape the Nazis.
Now, with the support of the General Administration Archive, Centro Sefarad-Israel is launching this campaign, which will begin with an online activity in which his daughter Ángela Sanz Briz and various experts will participate.
The aim will be to raise awareness of the historical context in which the people who were saved by the diplomat lived, as well as some of their names, more specifically those found in the General Archive of the Administration. Although these lists do not include all the people that Sanz Briz allowed to flee Nazi persecution, they are a good reflection of the magnitude of the work that led him to be named Righteous Among the Nations.
The lists will be disseminated on social networks under the hashtag #LaListaSanzBriz.
Anyone who recognises their name, surname or that of a family member on these lists can write to the e-mail address that Centro Sefarad-Israel has set up specifically for this initiative: lalistasanzbriz@sefarad-israel.es