DOCUMENTARY-LEADERSHIP BEYOND DUTY

The Department of International Studies and History in collaboration with the Consulates General of Switzerland and Israel is organizing within the framework “Leadership Beyond Duty” Exhibition and Screening of the Swiss documentary film “Carl Lutz – The Hidden Hero”.  

The session was inaugurated by Professor Manoharan who gave brief introduction to the programme. Ariel Seidman, Deputy Consul General of Israel to South India addressed the gathering by showing two videos, which featured the tragic past of the Holocaust. In the video, there was a mention of numerous brave people, who put their lives at risk during the Holocaust, to rescue the Jews. These brave people have been honoured, through the years, by Israel. They are given the ‘Righteous Among the Nations’, an honorific title, to honour their (non-Jews) efforts to save the Jews from extermination by the Nazis. 

Sébastien Hug, CEO and Consul General at Swissnex India, Consulate General of Switzerland, talked about a number of diplomats among these brave people who went beyond their duties and saved many Jewish lives. One of them, was Carl Lutz a Swiss diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the clutches of the Nazis, on whom the documentary “Carl Lutz – The Hidden Hero” is based. The 2014 documentary talks about the hardships faced by Lutz during and after World War II,  due to his actions which extended the requirements of his duty.

The documentary was followed by an engaging Q&A session, chaired by Professor Vageshwari and Professor Manoharan. Both the Consul Generals were presented with token of appreciation by Professor Koiremba and Professor Anurag.

The documentary and panel discussion was followed by an exhibition organised by the State of Israel, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. the entire exhibition was curated by the Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, Jerusalem. The exhibition was organised as a part of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

Titled “Beyond Duty: Diplomats recognised as Righteous Among the Nations”, the exhibition was dedicated towards commemorating those few diplomats who made efforts to help Jews during the Holocaust. 

The exhibition chronicles the history of the Holocaust (Shoah), from 1933-1944. The 2 principle themes of this narrative were: 

            1. Germany’s Anti - Jewish policy during these years and 

            2. Efforts taken by diplomats towards rescuing the persecuted jewish population of Europe

Though the exhibition highlights only a few of the diplomats from Germany, Japan, UK, France, Czechoslovakia, Spain, Peru and Switzerland, among many others, the Yad Vashem has recognised around 36 diplomats as ‘the Righteous Among the Nations’. Moreover, these 36 diplomats are a few among the 27,000 people who are recognised as ‘the Righteous Among the Nations’, as of 2017. The exhibition truly embodied the essence of Yad Vashem’s sincere efforts towards commemorating the ‘Righteous Among the Nations’ .