Researching Bosques’ rescues

IN terms of the role he played in rescuing Jews from Nazi extermination, Mexican diplomat Gilberto Bosques was a lot like Oskar Schindler -- but “his list was longer,” says Liebe Geft, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance.

Bosques, who died in 1995, has been credited with helping to spirit 40,000 Jews out of occupied France during World War II by issuing them Mexican visas before he was arrested. “He certainly also helped people fleeing the situation in Spain, and people who were in the Resistance, but we do suspect that the vast majority were Jews, because it was only Jews who were targeted for annihilation and so were in the greatest danger,” Geft says.

Now, the Museum of Tolerance is sounding a call to locate people who have connections to the beneficiaries of these visas as it prepares for an October exhibition to honor Bosques.

“There is certainly a large movement from Mexico to California, so it does stand to reason that -- if not the individuals themselves -- family members, neighbors or friends who could shed light on some very personal stories might indeed be here,” Geft says. “There is a sizable community of Holocaust survivors living in the Los Angeles area, and they may be connected.”

Geft says the museum is in touch with leaders of the Jewish community in Mexico City to tap into Mexico’s immigration records.

Anyone who has information regarding Bosques and his rescue efforts may contact public relations director Avra Shapiro at the Museum of Tolerance, (310) 553-9036.

-- Diane Haithman