Language:
Spanish
Year of publication:
2009
Titel der Quelle:
Judaica Latinoamericana; estudios histórico-sociales
Angaben zur Quelle:
6 (2009) 379-395
Keywords:
Rosa, João Guimarães,
;
Diplomats Biography
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in literature
Abstract:
The Brazilian writer João Guimarães Rosa (1908-67) was an assistant consul in the city of Hamburg between 1938-41. He and his future wife, Aracy Moebius de Carvalho (1908-2011), who was the chief of the passport section at the Brazilian Embassy, issued ca. 1,000 visas for Jews trying to escape Nazi Germany, dodging official rules then in force. In June 1937, a secret circular (no. 1127) of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs prohibited the issuing of visas to European Jews unless they were well-known cultural, political, or social figures. The outbreak of the war halted the emigration of Jews from Germany, but Moebius de Carvalho continued to help Jews in hiding by providing them with food and medicine. Several times, the Gestapo detained her, but they freed her because of her diplomatic immunity. In 1942, Brazil cut off diplomatic relations with Germany. Both of the diplomats were repatriated in May 1942. In 1960, Guimarães Rosa received the Order of Merit from the German government for having saved the lives of Jews during the Nazi period. In 1983, Moebius de Carvalho was awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem. Guimarães Rosa's literary works “Ave palavra” (1970), and “Estas estórias” (Rio de Janeiro 1969), especially the narrative “Paramo”, give testimony to Guimarães Rosa's stance toward Nazism, and how he dealt with the trauma of his experiences.
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