Sampaio Carlos

Carlos Sampaio Garrido On 4 April 1944, Carlos Sampaio Garrido, the ambassador of Portugal in Hungary, sent a cable to his government in which he described the plight of the Jews in Hungary and the anti-Jewish decrees that were aimed to "humiliate, rob and persecute them". Because of Allied bombing, some of the embassies chose to move from Budapest to the outskirts of the city, among them the Portuguese. The ambassador rented a house in Galgagyörk some 60 Km. from Budapest, and moved the embassy offices and his home to the new location. In his new residence he hosted a dozen Hungarian citizens, most of them Jews, so as to protect them from the danger in the city. Among these people were his Jewish secretary, Magda Gabor, and many members of her family. Sampaio Garrido did not inform his government of this fact. On 23 April 1944 and following the German occupation of Hungary, the Portuguese ruler Salazar decided to order his ambassador to return to Lisbon and leave the Chargé D'affairs in his place. Five days later, on 28 April 1944, at 5 a.m., the Hungarian political police burst into the ambassador’s residence. The ambassador tried to physically stop them from entering his residence, insisting that his home was ex territorial and that they were violating his diplomatic immunity. In her testimony Annette (Tillemann) Lantos described the moments when the police broke into the ambassador's residence. "When the ambassador saw them taking Magda, he put his foot in the door and didn't let them leave." Despite the ambassador's persistence, the policemen went on and arrested his “guests” and brought them to Budapest. Sampaio Garrido continued to argue for his protégés' release, until they were let go. Not deterred by this incidence and although he was due to leave Hungary within days, Sampaio Garrido submitted a complaint to the Hungarian government, demanded an investigation and apology. Several days later the Hungarians declared Sampaio Garrido persona non grata. It was only at this time that the ambassador informed Salazar of the identity of the people he had hosted in his home. On 2 February 2010 Yad Vashem recognized Carlos Sampaio Garridoas Righteous Among the Nations.