Emissary of the Doomed

[LarryHW.]

Just read Emissary of the Doomed, by Ronald Florence.

The book just came out. It is the story of the formal German invasion of Hungary in 1944, and the attempt, apparently by Himmler, to make a show of offering the Allies a deal to spare Hungary's 850,000 Jews in return for 10,000 all weather trucks. The offer was never serious and was never going to be considered by the Allies. While the offer was being made, over 400,000 Jews were sent from Hungary to Auschwitz. Even now the behavior of the Germans--Eichmann, Veesenmeyer, and others, along with significant sections of the Hungarian police/military and the Arrow Cross is mind boggling in its corruption and violence.

The Hungarian Arrow Cross are not much talked about. Maybe some forum members can shed light on them and their activites?

[Napalm]

Hi Larry,
Just google The Hungarian Arrow Cross, tons of stuff on wikipeida...

[Steven Amber]

Re:Emissary of the Doomed.

You have a better grasp of what actually happened than the book does.Florence's book offers up another tearjerker of Allied "indifference" and Anti-Semitism leading to their "abandonment" of the Jews. Of course we weren't going to give the Nazis 10,000 trucks!! Were we going to commit suicide? Surely the issue of helping our enemy, the no.1 threat to civilization, had more to do with the decision not to go ahead than indifference.This was a moral dilemma. Revisionist authors deplore the prioritization of victory over rescue, as if winning WWII were no more important than winning a football game. What do people think would have happened if the War had gone on longer? And what do they suppose the Nazis would have done with 10,000 trucks??Something nice?

[LarryHW.]

Re: Emissary of the Doomed

True. Also, the killing was proceeding at a very quick pace, even as this "offer" was made. The offer, and the idea of some "negotiated" rescue, was completely illusory--for the reasons you outline--and, perhaps, was an attempt by Himmler and others to look better in the post-war period all knew was coming. Of greater relevance was the brutality of the Germans and significant segments of the Hungarian police, military and, of course, the arrow cross. To my mind, the ideal allied response would have been to bomb the rail lines and keep them out of order.

You have a better grasp of what actually happened than the book does.Florence's book offers up another tearjerker of Allied "indifference" and Anti-Semitism leading to their "abandonment" of the Jews. Of course we weren't going to give the Nazis 10,000 trucks!! Were we going to commit suicide? Surely the issue of helping our enemy, the no.1 threat to civilization, had more to do with the decision not to go ahead than indifference.This was a moral dilemma. Revisionist authors deplore the prioritization of victory over rescue, as if winning WWII were no more important than winning a football game. What do people think would have happened if the War had gone on longer? And what do they suppose the Nazis would have done with 10,000 trucks??Something nice?