Radigales Sebastián

Radigales, Sebastián de Romero Before World War II there were many Spanish Jews living abroad. After the war broke out the Spanish government did not hold itself responsible towards those Jews residing in countries under German or Fascist control, despite their having Spanish citizenship. Spanish diplomats, therefore, were not expected by their superiors to provide any help or protection to their country's Jewish citizens. Their return to Spain was radically restricted, and they were left without any protection from the murderous plans of Nazi Germany. Spanish foreign policy in the case of the Spanish Jews living in Greece was no different. In March 1943 the deportations of Jews from Salonika to Auschwitz began, and within five months 48,000 Jews were deported. The thriving Jewish community, which existed since Hellenistic times, was almost completely decimated. For pragmatic reasons, the Germans agreed to exempt Jews holding Italian and Spanish citizenship from deportation, on condition that they return to their countries. Italian Jews were thus spared and could return to Italy; but the Spanish Jews were faced with the reluctance of the Spanish government to permit them to be repatriated. Salomon Ezraty, of the Spanish diplomatic delegation in Salonika, reported to his superiors about Italy's protection of its Jewish citizens, and asked that the Spanish authorities do the same. On April 8, 1942 the request was formally rejected by the Department of Economy of the Spanish Foreign Ministry. This was the situation which Sebastián de Romero Radigales, the newly-appointed head of the Spanish diplomatic delegation in Athens, found on his arrival. In a letter from April 15, 1943, written shortly after his arrival, Radigales thanked the Foreign Minister Jordana for his nomination and stated that he was busy with arranging the repatriation of 510 Jews from Salonika who had Spanish citizenship. Despite the strong opposition from the Spanish Foreign Office as well as that of the German Ambassador to Greece Altenburg, Radigales was determined to save these Jews. Following Radigales' cables asking Madrid to facilitate the repatriation of the fleeing Jews, the Spanish Foreign Minister Jordana instructed the Spanish ambassador in Rome to forward to Radigales a cable of March 18, 1943, with updated regulations, drastically restricting the number of Spanish citizens eligible for repatriation. This did not deter Radigales and in the beginning of June 1943 he proposed that the Spanish Jews would return to Spain by sea. Jordana ordered the Spanish ambassador in Berlin, who was officially Radigales' superior, to instruct the diplomat in Athens "to maintain a passive approach, avoid any personal initiative and to refrain from issuing collective passports". Still determined, Radigales devised a plan to evacuate the Spanish Jews of Salonika by using a Swedish ship that would sail under the Red Cross flag. He went on to issue the necessary travel documents and make the preparations for the repatriation. He made a report on his progress to Ambassador Vidal in Berlin, who passed the reports on to Madrid. In a cable from July 1, 1943 Jordana wrote: "it is crucial to curb the pro-activeness of the General Consul in Athens and to block his initiative". The same orders were repeated in the cables that followed. Radigales not only acted on behalf of Jews with Spanish citizenship, but also tried to extend his protection to others. In a cable from June 9, 1943 he broached the subject of widows and divorcées of Jewish Spanish citizens, who had lost their citizenship when their union with a Spanish-citizen spouse had ended. In one particular case, Radigales tried to provide protection for a Greek Jew and his crippled son who were housed by Ezaraty in Salonika and were about to be deported. These attempts were in complete defiance to the instructions he had received from his ministry, and must have aggravated his superiors. As the Spanish authorities continued to delay in their decision regarding the repatriation, the German authorities informed the Spanish ambassador in Berlin that until such a decision would be made they were considering transferring the Spanish Jews of Salonika to a camp in Germany, thereby giving the Spanish government some more time. The Germans nevertheless stressed that should there be no progress, they would transport the Jews to Poland. In his report to Jordana, Ambassador Vidal added: "I cannot conceal the tragic implications of such a transfer to Poland". On August 13, 1943 a group of 367 Jews with Spanish citizenship arrived in Bergen-Belsen. Radigales continued relentlessly in his attempts to protect these Jews until finally the Spanish government changed its position, and permitted the transfer of this group to Spanish Morocco. Their travel documents bore Radigales' signature. Isaac Revah, who was a child at the time, remembered how his group was allowed to leave the camp in February 1944. "Being released from a Nazi camp is an incredible event. It all happened thanks to an outstandingly courageous and humane man", he wrote to Yad Vashem. Revah did not forget his rescuer's actions, and applied to Yad Vashem to have Radigales honored and recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. Following the German occupation of Athens in September 1943, the Jews of Athens were now also in danger of deportation. Rachel-Lola Hassid Frances told Yad Vashem that when the Germans came to arrest her family on March 25, 1944, her father managed to phone Radigales. Radigales prompted him to flee with his family, and sent his wife over with an embassy car. But Rachel's father refused to go, and the family was deported to Bergen-Belsen along with another group of Spanish citizens. The family did survive, and in 2010 Rachel submitted her testimony about Radigales' actions to Yad Vashem as well. Radigales did everything in his power to help the Jews who went into hiding. He also intervened with the German authorities to have Jews released from the Haidari detention camp; supported those who went into hiding; kept the belongings of arrested Jews to ensure that they were returned to their owners or their rightful heirs after the war – actions that were all far beyond his duty as a diplomat, and often against the his government's policy. On 26 February 2014 Yad Vashem recognized Sebastián de Romero Radigales as Righteous Among the Nations.