Ángel Sanz-Briz (28 September 1910 – 11 June 1980) was a Spanish

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

. Sanz - Briz is credited with saving more than 5,200

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

in German-occupied Hungary from the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

in the later stages of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. For his actions, Sanz-Briz has been referred to as "the Angel of Budapest" and the "Spanish Schindler".

Early life

Sanz-Briz was born on 28 September 1910 in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, the youngest of four sons and one daughter of Felipe Sanz, a merchant, and Pilar Briz. He attended the Colegio Escuelas Pías in Zaragoza, then earned a degree in law at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

. In 1942, he married Adela Quijano y Secades, with whom he had five children.

Diplomatic career

Sanz Briz began his diplomatic career with the Spanish Foreign Ministry in 1933. His first diplomatic posting was to

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, Egypt. At the beginning of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, Sanz volunteered for the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

in opposition to the socialist government of

Francisco Largo Caballero Francisco Largo Caballero (15 October 1869 – 23 March 1946) was a Spanish politician and trade unionist who served as the prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. He was one of the historic leaders of the ...

. Sanz served as a truck driver in the Cuerpo de Ejército Marroquí, a unit of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

's army created in 1937 and commanded by General Juan Yagüe. Unknowingly, Sanz was part of the same side of the Italian Giorgio Perlasca, who would be his main partner during World War II in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. On 1 April 1937, almost a year after the start of the Civil War, he was fired by the government of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

. However, he was reinstated on 19 August 1938.

Actions in Hungary

Sanz-Briz began his posting as the first secretary at the Spanish Embassy in Budapest, Hungary, in 1942. In the summer of 1944, Sanz-Briz was appointed the embassy's

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

. Shortly after the persecution of

Hungarian Jews The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived ...

began, he offered on behalf of the Spanish government to provide passports to Jews of Spanish origin, and to negotiate for their protection. He was authorised by his superiors to extend these rights to 200 Jews; however, Sanz-Briz extended his efforts to 200 Jewish families instead. He lied to the Hungarian authorities and said that Spain, under the dictator

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...

, had given Spanish citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. Primo de Rivera had issued such a decree on 20 December 1924 but it had been canceled in 1930, a fact the Hungarian authorities were not aware of. Sanz Briz dutifully informed the Spanish Foreign Ministry of his actions, that were deliberately permitted by Madrid through administrative silence, a typical diplomatic procedure used to not compromise the chancellery. In addition, Sanz-Briz rented buildings and apartments around Budapest at his own expense to shelter for the Jews to whom he had issued papers. He placed Spanish flags at these locations, which survivors referred to as the "Spanish houses" and posted notices indicating that they were offshore properties belonging to the Spanish embassy. Between June and December 1944, according to Giorgio Perlasca, he and his assistants issued fake Spanish papers to 5,200 Jews, saving them from deportation to concentration camps. The Spanish government ordered Sanz to leave Hungary in December 1944. In 1944, as the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

approached

, he followed government orders to leave for Switzerland. He was replaced by the Italian Giorgio Perlasca, who pretended to be a Spanish consul and continued to issue Spanish visas and to patrol the safehouse system for Jews set up by Sanz Briz.

Post-war and later life

After the war, Sanz-Briz continued his diplomatic career, with much of his actions during the war unknown, even to his family. He was posted to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

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, Ambassador to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

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and China (1973, where he became the first Spanish Ambassador). In 1976 he was sent to Rome as Ambassador of Spain to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, where he died on 11 June 1980. Sanz Briz himself tells how he was able to save the lives of so many Jews, in Federico Ysart's book ''Los judíos en España'' (1973). He is also the subject of the 2011 Spanish television series '' El ángel de Budapest'', based on Diego Carcedo's book ''Un español frente al Holocausto'' ("A Spaniard against the Holocaust").Society The ‘Angel of Budapest’ becomes immortal in the Hungarian capital
12/ 11/ 2015 at marcaespana.es Accessed 5 January 2018

Recognition and legacy

On 8 October 1966,

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

recognized Ángel Sanz-Briz as a

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

. In 1991, he was recognized by the Holocaust Museum

of the

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, who gave his family the title of

. In 1994 the Government of Hungary gave him the Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest Order (honour), State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of ...

. In 2015, a street in

Óbuda-Békásmegyer Óbuda-Békásmegyer is the List of districts in Budapest, 3rd district of Budapest, Hungary. Landmarks * Aquincum, ruins of the Roman city * Óbuda Jewish Cemetery * Római Part (Roman Beach) History The military camp, then city of Aquincum, l ...

in Budapest was renamed Angel Sanz Briz Avenue. Sanz-Briz was also honored with a statue. Sanz Briz has been caught up in modern Spain's debate about the legacy of

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

and the regime's actions during the Holocaust. In 2023, in the

Spanish Senate The Senate () is the upper house of the , which along with the Congress of Deputies – the Lower house, lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palacio del Senado, Palace of the Senate in Madri ...

rejected a proposal by far-right party Vox to commemorate Sanz Briz. Vox argued that Sanz Briz acted with the knowledge and direction of the Franco-led Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Left-wing parties, however, accused Vox of attempting to "whitewash Francoism" by associating Sanz Briz's actions with the Franco regime.

References

External links

The angel of Budapest - Angel Sanz Briz (1910-1980), by Salvo Haim Alhadeffas in the European Sephardic Institute

Angel Sanz Briz (1910-1980)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanz Briz, Angel 1910 births 1980 deaths Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Spanish people of World War II People from Francoist Spain Spanish Righteous Among the Nations People who rescued Jews during the Holocaust Ambassadors of Spain to Belgium Ambassadors of Spain to China Ambassadors of Spain to Guatemala Ambassadors to Hungary Ambassadors of Spain to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Spain to Peru Ambassadors of Spain to the Holy See Ambassadors of Spain to Switzerland Complutense University of Madrid alumni Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary People from Zaragoza Spanish jurists