-Caveat Lector- > Opinion & Features > Columnists > > Geoffrey Alderman > > Quiet modesty of the really great heroes > > What makes a true hero? Living as we do in the age of the > blockbuster “action” movie, and of the world-wide obsession > with sport and physical fitness, our children might be > forgiven for thinking that heroism is somehow tied to biceps > and brawn, or to the derring-do of swashbuckling > adventurers. > > Well, I won’t deny that that is heroism of a kind. What > worries me is the extent to which those who indulge in acts > of physical bravery and sporting prowess come to be seen as > role-models, when their activities (to which I have no > objection in principle) bear no comparison with another type > of heroism, infinitely more worthy of emulation. > > I have in mind the quiet heroism of those who risk their > lives and their livelihoods in the pursuit of noble but > unfashionable ideals, who swim silently but doggedly against > the tide, often with no one, not even their families, to > provide emotional support. > > Two weeks ago, the American Secretary of State, Colin > Powell, conferred an award for “constructive dissent” on > Hiram Bingham IV. > For over half-a-century, officials of the State Department > had resisted any attempt to honour Harry (as he preferred to > be called) Bingham, whom they regarded as an insubordinate > member of the US diplomatic service, a dangerous maverick > who was eventually demoted. > Now, posthumously, he has been officially recognised as a > hero. > > Bingham came from a well-to-do family. His father (on whom > the fictional swashbuckler Indiana Jones was based) was the > celebrated archaeologist who had, in 1911, unearthed the > Inca city of Machu Picchu, in Peru. Harry entered the US > diplomatic service and, in 1939, found himself posted to > Marseilles as American vice-consul. > > The USA was then neutral and, not wishing to annoy Marshal > Pétain’s puppet Vichy régime, President Roosevelt’s > government ordered its representatives in Marseilles not to > grant visas to any Jews who might apply for them. Harry > Bingham decided that this policy was immoral and, with cold > calculation and quiet deliberation, he set about subverting > it. > > In defiance of his bosses in Washington, he granted around > 2,500 US visas to Jewish refugees, including the artists > Marc Chagall and Max Ernst. What is more, he gave shelter > to Jews in his house in Marseilles and procured forged > identity papers to assist Jews in their hazardous journeys > across Europe. He collaborated with the French underground > to help smuggle Jews out of France into Franco’s Spain or > across the Mediterranean and even contributed to their > expenses out of his own pocket. > > In 1941, Washington lost patience with him. He was packed > off to Argentina, from where, later on, he continued to > annoy his superiors by reporting on the movements in Latin > America of Nazi war criminals. > In time, he was forced out of the American diplomatic > service. > > Harry Bingham’s quiet heroism was parallelled by that of an > older English contemporary, Frank Foley. > The son of a Somerset railway engineer, Foley, who spoke > excellent French and German, was invalided out of the Great > War but was offered employment in the British secret > service. Between 1918 and 1939, he worked as > passport-control officer in the British Embassy in Berlin. > > In those days, the title of passport-control officer was a > routine cover for members of the secret service. > Foley’s real job was to make contact with disillusioned > Communists and persuade them to work for the British > government — in other words, to “run” spies in Germany. > That was what Whitehall paid him to do. Foley did not enjoy > diplomatic immunity, and, even at the best of times, his > work would have been fraught with danger. > > Unknown (it would appear) to his controllers in London, > during the 1930s he embarked on a quite different set of > objectives. Disgusted at the minimalist refugee policy of > the British government, Foley used his authority to issue > visas, authorising entry to Britain and Palestine, to > literally thousands of Jews who, strictly speaking, were not > “legally” entitled to them. > > Foley risked his own livelihood, and life, to save perhaps > as many as > 10,000 Jews from the gas chambers — far more than were saved > by Oskar Schindler. > > Foley used his official status to enter concentration camps > to get Jews out of them. He hid them — they included Leo > Baeck — in his Berlin home. He helped them obtain forged > passports and he assisted their aliyah. He knew a great > deal about the clandestine operations of Zionist groups > smuggling Jews into Palestine in defiance of the British > mandatory authorities. But he never betrayed this trust. > > During their lifetimes, neither Bingham nor Foley ever > boasted in public about their rescue efforts. Foley died in > a self-imposed obscurity in 1958. The truth about him began > to emerge only three years later, when, during the trial of > Adolf Eichmann, his secret exploits were in part revealed > and at which Foley was described as a “Scarlet Pimpernel.” > Bingham died almost penniless in 1988. The full extent of > his renegade activities was revealed only when his family > discovered documents he’d hidden behind a fireplace. > > Heroism is about knowing when to break the rules, regardless > of the personal cost. Neither Harry Bingham nor Frank Foley > was Jewish. For my money, they are ultimate role-models, > however, and I hope that schools —particularly Jewish > schools — teach their truly heroic histories. > > > >http://www.jewishchronicle.com/opinionsandfeatures.asp?Page=20&Type=4&Record=16948&Login=True
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