[Mb-civic] Harry Bingham

[Sierra Pecheur]

    Harry Bingham

    Just a little more evidence of the behavior of the Roosevelt administration
    toward the Jews during WWII --- 
    Sometime ago, the (then) Secretary of State, Colin Powell, gave a posthumous
    award for "constructive dissent" to Hiram (or Harry) Bingham, IV.
    For over fifty years, the State Department resisted any attempt to honor
    Bingham. For them, he was an insubordinate member of the US diplomatic
    service, a dangerous maverick who was eventually demoted.
    Now, after his death, he has been officially recognized as a hero. Bingham
    came from an illustrious family. His father (on whom the fictional character
    Indiana Jones was based) was the archeologist who unearthed the Inca City of
    Machu Picchu, Peru in 1911.

    Harry entered the US diplomatic service and, in 1939, was posted to
    Marseilles, France as American vice-consul.
    The USA was then neutral and, not wishing to annoy Marshal Petain's puppet
    Vichy regime, President Roosevelt's government ordered its representatives
    in Marseilles not to grant visas to any Jews.
    Bingham found this policy immoral and, risking his career, did all in his
    power to undermine it. - In defiance of his bosses in Washington, he granted
    over 2,500 USA visas to Jewish and other refugees, including the artists
    Marc Chagall and Max Ernst and the family of the writer, Thomas Mann.
    He also sheltered Jews In his Marseilles home, and obtained forged identity
    papers to help Jews In their dangerous journeys across Europe. He worked
    with the French underground to 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 sent to Argentina, where,
    later, he continued to annoy his superiors by reporting on the movements of
    Nazi war criminals. Eventually, he was forced out of the American diplomatic
    service completely.

    Bingham died almost penniless in 1988. Little was known of his extraordinary
    activities until his son found some letters in his belongings after his
    death. He has now been honored by many groups and organizations including the
    United Nations and the State of Israel.

    PLEASE honor his memory and resend this.






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