# #196: The WWII Hero who Rescued Budapest's Jews

From **History For The Curious** by R Aubrey Hersh;Mena Reisner.

- **Published:** Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:51:29 +0100
- **Duration:** 1:01:36
- **Audio:** https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/7n4i8hb86qx9tc6t/HC091_-_Ep_196_-_Holocaust_Part_2_Assembled_mixdown7rc6i.mp3
- **Page:** https://rabbiaubreyhersh.podbean.com/e/196-the-wwii-hero-who-rescued-budapests-jews/
- **TorahApp:** https://torahapp.org/share/p/3P_history-curious?e=rabbiaubreyhersh.podbean.com%2Ffe3dc9fd-7c24-3b2a-94c6-2795d2a01fa8

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<p>George Mandel-Mantello was one man on his own, a Jew living in Switzerland, who ignited an international outcry against the destruction of Hungary’s Jewish community and stopped the deportation of the last 250,000 Jews. Mantello’s weapon was not a gun or an army — it was information.  </p>
<p>With extraordinary courage and ingenuity, he forged papers, sent a courier into Hungary to gather first-hand reports about Auschwitz and forced the allies to react. But for decades afterwards, the actions of this saviour were deliberately minimised and censored.  </p>
<p>Meanwhile in nearby Germany, the brother of the highest ranking member of the SS, was helping Jews escape the Nazi inferno. His courage also went unheralded for many years. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Timestamps:</p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:03:55] – George Mantello – An Overlooked Hero of the Holocaust</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:15:14] – The Auschwitz Protocols &amp; Mantello’s Information Mission to Hungary</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:26:30] – Emergency Meeting in Switzerland &amp; Decision to Act</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:29:12] – Breaking Swiss Censorship &amp; Media Avalanche</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:33:31] – Global Political Impact &amp; Halting the Hungarian Deportation Trains</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:37:08] – Raoul Wallenberg and the International Ghetto in Budapest</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:38:45] – Arrow Cross Takeover, Death Marches &amp; Survival of Budapest Jewry</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:41:08] – Post-War Rescue Operations and Salvadorian Papers Reused</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:49:42] – Reinhard Heydrich – Architect of the Final Solution</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:54:40] – Heinz Heydrich – The Brother Who Turned Rescuer</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[0:58:25] – Lina Heydrich &amp; Persistence of Nazi Ideology</li>
<li style="font-weight:400;">[1:00:45] – Closing Reflections &amp; Recovering Mantello’s Legacy</li>
</ul>