HIRAM
BINGHAM IV
- WWII Diplomatic Hero -
DESERVES U.S. POSTAGE STAMP
MISSION OF THIS WEBSITE: TO ENCOURAGE AMERICANS TO URGE THE POSTMASTER GENERAL TO ISSUE A COMMEMORATIVE STAMP IN HONOR OF HIRAM ("HARRY") BINGHAM IV, UNITED STATES CITIZEN WWII "RIGHTEOUS DIPLOMAT," WHO BRAVELY RESCUED REFUGEES FROM THE HOLOCAUST. FOR NAMES OF REFUGEES SAVED, SEE "DIRECTORY" BELOW, CHAPTERS 6 AND 9. A NOTE OF CAUTION: SOME NEWSPAPER ARTICLES HAVE ERRONEOUSLY STATED THAT HARRY HAS BEEN AWARDED THE "RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS" MEDAL BY THE YAD VASHEM IN JERUSALEM, WHICH HE HAS NOT (HE HAS ONLY BEEN NOMINATED FOR THIS HONOR). MUCH IS STILL IN THE RESEARCH STAGE AND WE DO OUR BEST TO BE ACCURATE. ESTMATES OF LIVES SAVED HAVE RANGED FROM 1000 TO 2500+ BUT THE NUMBER MAY NEVER BE KNOWN. SOME GRATEFUL SURVIVORS ARE QUOTED BELOW.
ROBERT KIM BINGHAM, ESQ.
WELCOME TO THIS WEBSITE! We hope you'll AGREE that Hiram ("Harry") Bingham IV deserves to be honored by a U.S. POSTAGE STAMP that brings his compelling story to all Americans -- beyond his home state of Connecticut, where Governor Rowland proclaimed "Hiram Bingham IV Day" in April 2000, 2001 and 2002; the Connecticut state legislature UNANIMOUSLY endorsed the HBIV stamp proposal; and the Secretary of State dedicated the 2001 state Register and Manual ("Blue Book") to Harry.Hiram Bingham IV, of Salem, Connecticut (who is the son of Hiram Bingham III, the explorer who discovered Machu Picchu in Peru in 1911) died in 1988 at age 84. When he was the US vice consul in Marseilles, France from 1939 to 1941, he boldly defied State Department policy by writing visas for those fleeing the Holocaust, by hiding refugees in his diplomatic residence who were most wanted by Hitler, and by coordinating daring escapes to other countries from Southern France. Harry helped rescue renowned painter Marc Chagall, whose 'Glass Windows' are shown in this website (see DIRECTORY links below), anti-Nazi author Leon Feuchtwanger, Nobel Prize physicist Otto Meyerhoff, and ordinary refugees. This webpage attests to wide support for the HBIV stamp from distinguished citizens, newspapers, lawmakers, museums, national organizations, and ordinary Americans. Harry's story is continually retold by the History Channel (see "History Under Cover - Diplomats for the Damned"), and by a world-traveling "Visas for Life" exhibit, which features several WWII "righteous diplomats" and has been exhibited by the UNITED NATIONS at both New York and Geneva. Museums around the world have sponsored the exhibit. Not surprisingly, the stamp proposal has received broad BIPARTISAN SUPPORT in the Congress ("from Senator Kennedy to [then] Senator John Ashcroft"). On June 27, 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell praised Harry's actions and presented a posthumous award to Harry's children at a Foreign Service Officers Association awards ceremony at the State Department Headquarters. This was a welcome FIRST TIME official U.S. recognition of Harry's life-saving activity, 62 years after his removal from Marseilles by the State Department for defying policy.
Accordingly, the courageous stand taken by this UNITED STATES PUBLIC SERVANT during the nightmare of the Holocaust, who is now an international hero, justifies a commemorative stamp. Thank you for visiting this Hiram Bingham IV website (see ROUND-UP OF SELECTED QUOTES, followed by DIRECTORY links, below).
Sincerely,
Robert Kim Bingham, Esq., website administrator & stamp-drive coordinator
~~~~ROUND-UP OF SELECTED QUOTES~~~~
WASHINGTON POST: "Harry Bingham...became an extraordinary unsung hero of the American diplomatic corps. Bingham jeopardized both his career and his life in the early years of World War II to help rescue [ ] Jews and anti-Nazi activists while he was stationed in Marseilles, France. For this work in the years 1939-41, he was reassigned...and held back professionally through the rest of his career." Ilene Pachman Op/Ed 7/28/01.SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL (who granted a posthumous award to Harry's children): "This proud tradition of service has deep roots in American history and in the Foreign Service. Later in today's ceremony, we'll be honoring the memory of Harry Bingham, IV, a US Vice Consul in Marseilles who risked his life and his career, put it on the line, to help over 2,500 Jews and others who were on Nazi death lists to leave France for America in 1940 and 1941. I am especially, especially honored and pleased to welcome here today in the audience two people who owe their lives to Harry Bingham's "visas of freedom," two people who got out because Harry was prepared to take that risk to career to do that which he knew was right. Would Mrs. Lillian Stuart Smith and Mr. Pierre Shostal please rise so we can recognize them. I think they're here. (Applause.) Where are they? We've lost them. They're somewhere. (Applause.) And a number of Harry Bingham's 11 children are also here today and will accept an award on behalf of their father in a moment." (Speech at ceremony honoring diplomats, State Department, June 27, 2002.) The Washington Post further reported that Powell praised this "special constructive dissent award that went posthumously to Hiram Bingham IV, who defied State Department policy during World War II by surreptitiously issuing...visas to Jews desperate to flee Nazism...Powell called Bingham a diplomat 'who risked his life and his career' to do the right thing. Thomas Pickering, a seven-time ambassador who received an award yesterday for contributions to U.S. diplomacy, also paid homage to Bingham's 'creative integrity.'" Washington Post 6/28/02.
SURVIVOR LILLIAN STUART SMITH: "Hiram Bingham did not hesitate to issue visas for our entire family. I learned later that he helped many people who were in danger from the Germans. His courage and generosity cost him much. The Germans complained of his activities to the Vichy government, who then complained to Washington. It was still the time when President Roosevelt, by sending Admiral Leahy to Vichy, hoped to influence [Marshal] Petain. Hiram Bingham was transferred out of Marseille and sent to a South American post [Buenos Aires]. He was eventually to resign from the Foreign Service. Mrs. L.S.M" (whose family was saved by Harry); Foreign Service Journal, Jan. 2000.
SURVIVOR RALPH HOCKLEY: "I do want you to know that Hiram Bingham had me (when I was a 15-year old boy in Marseille working for the Quakers) into his office and told me how he would issue my family a visa to the US after we had obtained the release of my father from the Gurs Concentration Camp...I could write a treatise about what Consul Hiram Bingham did to save refugees during his posting as US Consul at the American Consulate in Marseille, France in the 1940-1941 period. He definitely helped to save my life and that of my parents and sister." RMH, Houston,Texas, 11/27/00
SURVIVOR WALTER SHOSTAL, age 93: "It happened in the summer of 1941 in Marseilles..[o]ur only faint hope was with America....Then a miracle happened. A letter arrived from the consulate... saying they were instructed to grant us a visa, and I should come by on such and such a date. I did, and the letter worked like a charm. My very vague memory seems to tell me that I was met by a rather tall, lanky young man with a nice boyish smile. The name of Hiram Bingham seems to stir an uneasy recognition...my personal hunch would rather be...that, indeed, the man whom I faced at the consulate jumped the hurdle and made the decision to grant a visa for all of us. If he did, we owe him a lot." Excerpt from 8/5/01 letter by Walter. S., age 93, about receiving visas in Marseilles, France for himself, his wife Magda, son Pierre, and a baby [girl?] and his mother and brother Robert.
SURVIVOR JOSEPH SCHACHTER: "I and my entire immediate family (six persons in all) had received the life-saving visas dated Feb. 7, 1941...My sister, who has the originals, hastened to let all those to whom I had forwarded the news story know that it was more than just a supposition that he had issued the visas - but that she had the original documents...I was just 10 years old at the time and do not remember any details other than a sense of relief that we were going to be able to escape the impending disaster having already had three 'brushes' with the Gestapo - in Vienna in 1938 from which we fled to Belgium, and from Antwerp which we fled in May 1940, and in the Occupied portion of France from which we managed to make our way south. Our parents - Salomon and Gitta Schachter accompanied by four children aged 17, 10, 8, and 7 were able to embark on Feb 17 by way of the Antilles and reach US territory, the Virgin Islands in March. Our parents are gone now, but there are quite a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren scattered in many parts of the United States and Canada, and some of us now reside in Israel. We have, as a result of the news story, passed on the very aspect of their existence as having been dramatically affected by the actions of Hiram Bingham IV...To paraphrase my mother's saying: "When he reaches Paradise he will find a multitude of greeters welcoming him and thanking him!" If we can be of any help in the project for a commemorative stamp, I'd be delighted to enlist the entire family and friends." Rabbi Joseph Schachter, letter 11/27/02
SURVIVOR AUTHOR & MRS. LION FEUCHTWANGER: "Bingham's advice was again accurate. He had told us that one could achieve a lot in Spain with Camel cigarettes and he had filled my backpack and the pockets of my suit with many packs. So I went into the Customs House and told them I had heard that there was a high duty on cigarettes and I decided not to take them, I preferred leaving them here - and I threw a whole bunch of packs on the table. They all grabbed the packs, and one of them quickly stamped a paper I gave him without looking at the name. I have never gone down a mountain so fast." Postscript by Marta Feuchtwanger in 1987 book "Der Teufel In Frankreich," originally published by renowned anti-Nazi author Lion Feuchtwanger in 1942 (Harry rescued the author and Mrs. Feuchtwanger). Translation from German to English Pages 227 to 236 by Ralph M. Hockley (whose family Harry also rescued).
SURVIVOR AUTHOR THOMAS MANN: "I want particularly to be able to thank you personally for your sympathetic help to the many men and women, including members of my own family, who have turned to you for assistance...Yours Very Sincerely, Thomas Mann." (whose family Harry rescued). Mann letter to Harry, Hartford Courant, 2/9/01
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN: "Some famous, others known to just a few, they make up a gallery of courageous individuals who, in the face of an inhuman force that was destroying lives and societies alike, took enormous personal risks to rescue Jews and others facing persecution and peril. They were true heroes; indeed, they were among the foremost human rights defenders of their day." Speech at "Visas for Life:The Righteous Diplomats" exhibit (which included Harry) at the UN, NY, 4/3/00
YALE PRESIDENT RICHARD LEVIN: "Hiram Bingham certainly personifies the kind of leadership and courage that we like to think that we instill in our students...Bingham is a true hero who rose to a dangerous occasion, thought for himself, and did what was right." New Haven Register 10/19/01
CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR JOHN G. ROWLAND: "Hiram Bingham IV courageously followed his conscience by writing ‘visas for life' and affidavits of eligibility for passage and organizing refugees' escapes from Europe, yet many people in the world have still not learned of this courageous man." Speech, Conn. College, April 3, 2000
LA TIMES COLUMNIST MIKE DOWNEY: "Before he cleans out his Oval Office desk for the last time, maybe Bill Clinton could consider doing something on behalf of Harry Bingham." Op/Ed 10/25/00.
SECRETARY OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT SUSAN BYSIEWICZ: "It is then, with great pride and admiration, that I dedicate the 2001 edition of the CONNECTICUT STATE REGISTER AND MANUAL to Hiram Bingham IV, truly a righteous and honorable man." 10/18/01.
CURATOR, SIMON WIESANTHAL CENTER: "Bingham set up Fry with the underground and materially aided with his rescue of Jews and other refugees in Marseilles in 1940...Bingham personally escorted Dr. Otto and Hedwig Meyerhof across the French-Spanish border. Dr. Meyerhof was a recipient of the Nobel prize in physics." Eric Saul letter, Los Angeles, 3/16/99.
THE DAY, New London, CT: "Collectively," Bingham and 10 righteous diplomats from other countries "clandestinely saved 200,000 lives from the Holocaust, by writing visas and affidavits of eligibility for passage, and planning escapes from Europe, circumventing their superiors' orders. There are an estimated 1 million descendants of these survivors." Op/Ed May 24, 1998.
BARBARA STREISAND film: "What you're doing with these refugees represents the finest face of our country." Varian Fry praising Harry while visiting Harry's diplomatic residence in the film "VARIAN'S WAR."
HARTFORD COURANT: "Harry kept signing affidavits. He provided papers, the routes, and the strategy for how to make it work. There was soon a steady flow of people getting out of the camps, and getting from Harry the precious visas that others refused to issue." Lucretia Bingham Op/Ed Feb. 9, 2001
THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: "Harry Bingham [as portrayed in the film "Varian's War"] is clearly violating both the spirit and letter of the State Department's policy of explicit neutraliy and implicit anti-Semitism." Peter I. Rose, at B18 (Ap. 20, 2001).
LA TIMES OP/ED: "Although he was already famous, considered one of the great modern artists of the era, Chagall had been arrested by the Nazis and then released with Bingham's help. He knew he was on the list for extinction, that the next step for him was a concentration camp. Reluctantly, he and his wife fled their beloved city of Paris for the sanctuary of the diplomat's villa. They hid there until Bingham, working with the Resistance movement, managed to engineer their safe escape.....He resigned in protest--and in frustration. He spent the rest of his life as a philosopher and artist...keeping quiet about his secret career. When he died at 84 in 1988, he was almost penniless, having spent all that was left of the family money to raise and educate his kids and to keep the family farm afloat." 9/27/01
WASHINGTON POST OP/ED: "Although Bingham in his later years didn't talk much about his lifesaving work, he played a pivotal role in the rescue of many scholars and notable artists.... As Robert Kim Bingham, one of his eleven children, noted, he put humanity before his career." Ilene Munetz Pachman 7/28/01.
Web browser: "[H]ope he´ll be honored soon with a stamp from not only U.S. government; any country considered part of free world must honor him." DMP, Peru, 2/1/02
BOSTON GLOBE OP/ED columnist Jeff Jacoby: "Bingham...at times would even drive into concentration camps, confront the Nazi commandant with falsified US papers, and demand that Jewish prisoners be released into his custody." 10/30/02.
US SENATOR JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN: "I am pleased to reiterate my strong support for a commemorative stamp honoring Holocaust hero and diplomat, the late Hiram Bingham IV. I am enclosing, for your reference, a copy of a March 2000 letter of support for the stamp signed by myself and 35 other United States Senators. I would like to call your attention to the significant fact that July 17, 2003, will mark the 100th anniversary of Hiram Bingham's birth. It would be very fitting for a stamp to be issued during 2003. Hiram Bingham IV was a courageous American hero who deserves the tremendous honor of a postage stamp. I very much hope this will be on the stamp agenda for next year." Letter to USPS 3/5/02.
US SENATOR FRED THOMPSON: "Hiram Bingham...helped save people from the Holocaust." Letter to US Postal Service 4/6/02.
US SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD: "At the time it was U.S. policy not to aid Jewish refugees and Mr. Bingham's actions were denounced by the American government....The posthumous awards are significant, but this true hero that sacrificed life and limb for so many innocent individuals deserves more. A commemorative stamp should be issued prior to the 100th anniversary of his birth [July 17, 2003]. Americans across the nation would welcome the stamp of such a great American and international citizen. At a time of widespread uncertainty, Mr. Bingham's story reestablishes our faith in humanity and redefines the significance of being an American.... I urge the Committee's favorable consideration of the Hiram Bingham IV stamp." Letter to US Postal Service 12/20/02
US POSTAL SERVICE (Reply to Robert Kim Bingham): "Thank you for your recent letter expressing your support for the issuance of a commemorative stamp honoring the 100th birthday of Mr. Hiram Bingham IV. Unfortunately, we cannot honor your request. The 2003 and 2004 stamp programs are now closed. You will be pleased to know that Hiram Bingham remains under consideration by the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee as a future stamp issuance...." Terrence W. McCaffrey, Manager, Stamp Development, 12/27/02
WEBMASTER'S NOTES: While 2003 and 2004 appear less viable years for unveiling an HBIV stamp, the succeeding years look more promising than ever with Colin Powell's posthumous award and mounting support from other figures. Nevertheless, this webmaster and other supporters have urgently requested the Postmaster General to RECONSIDER issuing the stamp in 2003 since it is the 100th anniversary of Harry's birth. It has been gratifying that this website has inspired several surviving families to respond, expressing deep appreciation for Harry's actions. One family in Jerusalem that found this HBIV website sent copies of their visas signed by Harry. It was a thrill for me and my family to see our father's familiar signature on the life-saving visas dated 1941. My father loved children, and I can tell by his careful, firm, signature next to each family member's passport photo that he must have been so proud to sign for them. Robert Kim Bingham 1/20/03
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Here is one note from Marc Chagall to Harry (rough transcription from a
hand-written note):
28-5-41
Cher Monsieur Bingham
Je me permit de vous presente mon bon ami M. Dijour, vice-president de
"Hicim" de qui je vous ai parle l'autre soir. C'est un homme tres
(con------)(sp?) et profondemont (devoue) a sa tache.
Je peut esperer que vous lui reservere un bon accueil. Merci d-avance.
L'espere que nous vous serrons encore about notre deport.
Bien affectienensement a vous.
Marc Chagall
Rough Translation:
May 28, 1941
Dear Mr. Bingham
Permit me to present to you my good friend Monsieur Dijour, Vice President of HICIM (Note: Hebrew Refugee Organization) of whom I spoke to you the other night. He is a man very con(cerned)(?) and profoundly devoted(?) in this awful mess (literally: stain). I would hope that you would reserve a good reception for him. Thanks in advance. I hope that we will (see you?) again before our departure.
Very affectionately towards you.
Marc Chagall
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THIS WEBSITE IS UPDATED PERIODICALLY
... THANK YOU FOR VISITING US! +Go to Directory & Links Below+
~~~DIRECTORY~~~
'HARRY'S FRIENDS' - RECOUNTED BY 1998 YAD
VASHEM EXHIBIT
NEWS & LETTERS
5/7/03 US Senator Frank R. Lautenberg writes to Postmaster General: "The Hiram Bingham stamp is currently under consideration by the Citizens' stamp Advisory Committee. I urge you to quickly approve this commemorative stamp in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Mr. Bingham's birth [2003]."5/7/03 See well-written article about Harry in Cleveland by Stewart Hoicowitz at: http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/display/inn_features/profile/zsun0425.txt
2/26/03 US Postal Service wrote: "The proposal for a Hiram Bingham IV commemorative stamp has been reviewed by the Committee and it remains under consideration as a possible future stamp issuance....Currently, stamps for 2005 and subsequent years are being considered." Deborah D. Leifer, Mgr. Government Relations
1/27/03 US Postal Service wrote that it will "share" RKB'S request with Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to RECONSIDER the decision not to include the HBIV stamp in the 2003 lineup.
11/6/02 Last day of "Visas for Life" exhibit at Boston Univ.; Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, praised the exhibit in an Op/Ed 10/20/02. Sponsor: Terri Hootstein, Director of Development, Greater Boston Chapter, American Jewish Committee at hootsteint@ajc.org
10/3/02 Connecticut Congressmen Rob Simmons and Chris Shays and 17 other U.S. Representatives send a letter to the national Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee in strong support of the stamp, together with a copy of a pending House Joint Resolution recommending issuance of the Hiram Bingham IV stamp.
7/17/02 Governor Rowland designates July 17, Harry's birthday, as Hiram Bingham IV Day in Connecticut.
6/27/02 Colin Powell gives posthumous award to Harry at State Department ceremony. Amb. Thomas Pickering also praises Harry.
5/16/02 Congressman Rob Simmons wrote a "Dear Colleague" letter for House members to sign, urging the Postmaster General to issue the HBIV stamp in 2003. Please urge your Representative to sign today!
5/9/02 U.S. Senator Lieberman again wrote: "I strongly support the Hiram Bingham IV stamp proposal...I wish you success in this continued effort."
4/2/02 The U. S. Postal Service wrote: "The nomination of a stamp honoring Hiram Bingham IV remains under consideration by the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee....Currently, the stamp program for 2003 is closed, and stamps for 2004 and subsequent years are being considered." Kimberly A. Weaver, Mgr., Government Relations
4/14/02 There was a Visas for Life Exhibit on April 14, 2002 at the London Jewish Community Center, where Harry's story was "emphasized" (per Dr. Eric Saul). In 2002, there will be other "righteous diplomat" exhibits at Princeton, Boston Univ., and San Antonio.
1/22/02 The President of the American Foreign Service Asso, John K. Naland, wrote Harry's family that "the Governing Board of the American Foreign Service Association has voted to give a special posthumous award to our colleague and your late father, Hiram 'Harry' Bingham IV" at the State Department ceremony in Washington, DC on June 27, 2002. Harry was featured on the cover of the FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL June 2002 issue.
9/27/01 LA TIMES: "It turns out that Hiram Bingham IV hadn't failed in life at all. In fact, he was a hero who succeeded admirably at his chosen career: secretly saving lives, as a vice consul in Marseilles."
8/7/01: U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman wrote: "On July 12th I wrote a note to the Postmaster General . . . calling his attention to the Hiram Bingham IV commemorative stamp proposal. I received the enclosed response, which states that the suggestion remains under consideration...."
8/2/01: Harry's oldest daughter, Tiffany, wrote from Maine: "A fine article especially honoring Dad and supporting proposal for a Bingham stamp appeared in 7/31 Bangor Daily News on OpEd page."
8/28/01: Editorial in Washington Post urges Secretary of State Colin Powell to support Bingham stamp proposal. To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/A63679-2001Jul27.html
8/19/01: U.S. Senator Lieberman's office advised that the Hiram Bingham IV stamp was (again) "on the agenda" of the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee mtg 7/18 - 7/19!
6/5/01: Letter to OUR TOWN-SALEM: "The Harry Bingham family received news that the State of Israel will mint a bronze medal in Harry's honor . . . Our family extends heartfelt thanks to the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut, and Eric Saul, "Visas for Life" Curator, Simon Weisanthal Center, Los Angeles for sponsoring the coin...." s/Robert Kim Bingham"
5/28/01:Historian's quote: "Bingham was the only State Department official anywhere in Europe who gave Jews emergency visas." Blanche Cook "Varian Fry. A Hero for Our Time." Blanche Wiesen Cook is Distinguished Professor of History at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center. Culturefront on Line. Vol 7 #2,
5/1/01: There was an exhibit of the WWII "righteous diplomats" at the Museum of American Politics, Joseloff Gallery, University of Hartford, Connecticut, which is a world traveling exhibit that has been to NY, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Europe and Japan ...to 110 sites so far. It was open from May 1 thru ++June 13, 2001, and received significant publicity in the Hartford Courant and a wonderful community response. Source: Ms. Zina Davis, Director, Joseloff Gallery, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue West Hartford, CT 06117
3/22/01: U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, "introduced legislation Wednesday recommending the [Hiram Bingham IV] stamp....Simmons and [State] Rep. Linda Orange, D-Colchester, previously gained unanimous endorsement from the state Legislature to support a petition to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee...'It's been a tremendous bipartisan effort, and I hope it will prevail,...Those interested in supporting the stamp proposal can search for Hiram Bingham on the Yahoo! search engine to learn how....Simmons hopes to gain the same overwhelming [bipartisan] support in Congress.' Norwich Bulletin
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4/12/01: The History Channel again aired the hour-long "Diplomats for the Damned" program featuring HBIV and 3 other "righteous diplomats," as part of the channel's Classroom Study Program. The video of that show is available for order (along with a nice writeup) at the following link:
http://www.historychannel.com/classroom/admin/study_guide/archives/thc_guide.0475.htm ________________________________________________________
Spring 1999: US SenatorJoseph Lieberman letters: [to the Chair of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee in Washington, DC]: "In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service issued an historic stamp honoring Swedish diplomat Raul Wallenberg, who rescued many thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. I was very proud that the United State Postal service issued a stamp of such great dignity and importance....At this time, I want to express my support for a stamp proposal to honor another hero of the Holocaust, the late American diplomat, Hiram Bingham IV of Salem, Connecticut, whose story only recently came to light. I was privileged to pay tribute to Hiram Bingham IV on the Senate floor in February 1998 and to present his remarkable story to my colleagues...Hiram Bingham IV was a U.S. diplomat stationed in Marseilles, France, in 1940. Acting against orders, and at great personal risk, he issued visas, safe passes, and letters of transit to Jewish refugees. Working in collaboration with American journalist Varian Fry's Emergency Rescue Committee, Hiram Bingham IV is credited with helping save more than 2,500 Jews from the Holocaust. I understand that many were Jewish artists, intellectuals, scientists and authors, including Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Andre Breton and Heinrich Mann...."
11/27/00: Quotes from a survivor saved by Harry who petitioned for a stamp in Harry's honor: [To RKB:] "I do want you to know that Hiram Bingham had me (when I was a 15-year old boy in Marseille working for the Quakers) into his office and told me how he would issue my family a visa to the US after we had obtained the release of my father from the Gurs Concentration Camp. I consider Hiram Bingham and his colleague, Myles Standish, as real heroes." [To Postmaster General:] "I would like to petition herewith the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee and Postmaster General Henderson to look favorably at the issuance of a commemorative stamp to honor Consul Hiram Bingham IV, a World War II diplomatic hero of the United States. I could write a treatise about what Consul Hiram Bingham did to save refugees during his posting as US Consul at the American Consulate in Marseille, France in the 1940-1941 period. He definitely helped to save my life and that of my parents and sister." RMH, Houston,Texas
++April 10, 2001: Rec'd survivor Marta (Mrs. Lion) Feuchtwanger's 1987 account of her escape from Marseilles (she and her husband were hiding in Harry's "villa"): "In the cafes of the city, the abductions of the members of the Reichstag Severing and Breitscheid, as well as Theodor Wolff, the Chief Editor of the Berliner Tagesblatt, were being whispered about. [They all died in Nazi concentration camps.] We felt safe for the moment since were on the U.S. soil of the American Cousulate, not knowing that the private villa of Consul Hiram Bingham did not enjoy that immunity. I knew that Bingham's Swiss housekeeper, who was very loyal to the family, was the sister of a Nazi. The Czech maid alerted me to this situation. I tried to buy the good will of the caretaker by buying her gifts. More important was that on many evenings, I took her place in the kitchen regularly so that she could visit her brother who was a cook in a hotel...Lion, whom Bingham only permitted to leave the house after sundown to take a few steps, was concentrating on the third part of his Josephus Novel and was unaware of the present and of his surroundings. Only Bingham was depressed frequently filled with an endless despair about his powerlessness. The State Department had prohibited him from issuing the necessary visas to the people who were besieging the Consulate...Golo [Mann} came and was also hidden at Bingham's....A new problem arose. In order to be able to get a French exit Visa, you needed to have an American entry visa. The name Feuchtwanger was too dangerous. Bingham had a great idea. He asked Lion whether he had ever published under a pseudonym. Lion remembered a joke which he pulled once in Berlin. It was a long time ago. Inspired by Sinclair Lewis' Babbit, when Lion was writing some American ballads, he signed them J. L. Wetcheek. That was the American translation of Feuchtwanger. This enabled the U. S. Consulate to issue him his visa under the unobtrusive name, Wetcheek. Everything necessary was prepared by Bingham... [To escape into Spain] we had to climb over the mountain where there was no path and to avoid the road. We were both good mountain climbers and from skiing I knew how to find my way. I memorized everything because a map could not be found on us. First we went through vineyards, then there were only boulders. The most important was to find the Customs House otherwise one could be shot as a smuggler. After we had climbed for a long while, we heard voices below us and they came from the Customs House. We could not enter the house together because I had no visa, not even an ID card in another name. Lion, however, had his American entry visa in his pseudonym of Wetcheek. So he went ahead alone. I observed how he went into the Customs House from my hiding place and came out soon thereafter walking down the mountain with a satisfied demeanor. After that, I also went into the Customs House and Bingham's advice was again accurate. He had told us that one could achieve a lot in Spain with Camel cigarettes and he had filled my backpack and the pockets of my suit with many packs. So I went into the Customs House and told them I had heard that there was a high duty on cigarettes and I decided not to take them, I preferred leaving them here - and I threw a whole bunch of packs on the table. They all grabbed the packs, and one of them quickly stamped a paper I gave him without looking at the name. I have never gone down a mountain so fast." POSTSCRIPT by Marta Feuchtwanger in 1987 to the book "Der Teufel In Frankreich," originally published by Lion Feuchtwanger in 1942. Translation from German to English Pages 227 to 236 by Ralph M. Hockley (whose family Harry also rescued).
11/26/00: The TV History Channel featured Harry and three other "righteous diplomats" on the Sunday night World Premiere History Undercover program entitled "Diplomats for the Damned" at 10PM ET/PT. The one-hour prime-time TV program schedule noted: "Years before the Allies defeated the Nazis, a group of unsung heroes took lonely, defiant stands for humanity. Men like Carl Lutz of Switzerland, Aristides de Sousa Mendes of Portugal, Hiram Bingham of the United States and Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz of Germany secretly issued visas, falsified papers and cut backroom deals, risking their lives and careers to rescue Jews from the clutches of the Nazis." The program ended with several of Harry's children singing "Aura Lee" by his gravesite in Salem, Connecticut - a song he had taught them, among many. Program tapes can be purchased from the History Channel.
3/28/00: US Senate support: Thirty-six United States Senators endorsed the Hiram Bingham IV postage stamp proposal in a letter to the USPS. Many thanks to Senator Joe Lieberman for sponsoring the Senate circular, and to Ms Ilene Pachman for her follow-up efforts. US Senators who signed the letter dated March 28, 2000 are: Joseph I. Lieberman, Christopher J. Dodd, Richard G. Lugar, Paul Wellstone, Wayne Allard, Max Cleland, Spencer Abraham, Charles E. Grassley, Thomas Daschle, Russell D. Feingold, Charles E. Schumer, Rod Grams, Patty Murray, Carl Levin, Chuck Hagel, Mike DeWine, John W. Warner, Richard H. Bryan, Fred Thompson, Robert Torricelli, Slade Gorton, Rick Santorum, Barbara Boxer, Paul S. Sarbanes, Richard J. Durbin, Arlen Specter, John Ashcroft, Frank R. Lautenberg, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Robert J. kerry, John F. Kerry, Barbara A. Milkulski, Edward M. Kennedy, Harry Reid, Gordon Smith and Tim Johnson. And thank you, Senators.
3/9/00: US House support: The New London Day reported that [former] Rep. Sam Gejdenson is petitioning members of the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to endorse a stamp honoring the late Hiram Bingham IV. "Gejdenson urged the endorsement in a letter to the committee, which recommends stamps to the U.S. Postal Service. Thirty-four members of Congress signed the letter....To demonstrate broader support for the stamp, Gejdenson urged his colleagues in Congress to join him in urging endorsement of the stamp...." The following House Members signed the letter: Sam Gejdenson, Norman Sisisky, Luis V. Gutierrez, Charles B. Rangel, Robert T. Matsui, Jerrold Nadler, Martin Frost, Howard L. Berman, Henry A. Waxman, Sander Levin, Bob Filner, Tom Lantos, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Michael R. McNulty, Bernie Sanders, Rush Holt, Grace F. Napolitano, John B. Larson, Dennis J. Kucinich, Steven C. LaTourette, Rosa L. DeLauro, Lloyd Doggett, Frank Pallone, Jr., Carrie P. Meek, Anthony Weiner, Pete Stark, Peter Deutch, Janice Schakowsky, Robert Wexler, Max Sandlin, Bob Borski, James Greenwood, John Lewis, David E. Bonior, Bob Etheridge. Special thanks goes to former Congressman Gejdenson for this worthy effort, with heartfelt thanks also to the above Representatives who joined him. Additionally, I thank the Norwich Bulletin for prominently featuring the Hiram Bingham IV stamp drive on its front page on March 11, 2000. RKB
UN Honors Harry: The April 3, 2000 "Visas For Life" Exhibit Opening at the United Nations was a SUCCESS AND A MOVING EXPERIENCE (news accounts attached). More than 30 Bingham descendants, spouses, in-laws and hundreds of other "righteous diplomat" descendants, and in-laws and survivors of the Holocaust attended the ceremony in the General Assembly Great Hall. Elie Wiesel, Honorary Chairman of the UN righteous diplomat, exhibit gave a brilliant keynote address.
4/4/00: Statehouse support: The Connecticut State Legislature unanimously endorsed the Bingham commemorative stamp proposa: "For the first time in history," all 151 state representatives and all 36 senators endorsed a proposa, without exception. Congratulations to the two State Representatives who worked tirelessly on this stamp endorsement: Rob Simmons, R-Stonington (now newly-elected Congressman), and Linda Orange, D-Colchester. [Governor John Rowland and Lieutenant Governor Jodi Rell had already endorsed the Bingham stamp proposal.]
Governor John G. Rowland designated April 3, 2000 as "Hiram Bingham IV Day in the State of Connecticut" :
"WHEREAS, Hiram Bingham IV courageously followed his conscience by writing ‘visas for life' and affidavits of eligibility for passage and organizing refugees' escapes from Europe, yet many people in the world have still not learned of this courageous man; now
THEREFORE, I, JOHN G. ROWLAND, GOVERNOR, DO HEREBY OFFICIALLY DESIGNATE April 3, 2000 as HIRAM BINGHAM IV DAY in the State of Connecticut."
11/1/00: Reliable sources say the UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE is finally considering the Hiram Bingham IV stamp proposal "for 2003," which year is very appropriate since Harry's 100th birthday anniversary falls on July 17, 2003 -- a HOPEFUL SIGN.
10/25/00: LA Times columnist Mike Downey wrote a very supportive piece about Hiram Bingham IV, titled "A Holocaust Story of Heroism and History's Neglect." He invited outgoing President Clinton to "[ do] something" for Harry: "Before he cleans out his Oval Office desk for the last time, maybe Bill Clinton could consider doing something on behalf of Harry Bingham. It's only 60 years overdue. Rabbi David Baron, for one, would have no objection to this. He knows an unsung hero when he hears of one. It's just that like millions of Americans, he hadn't heard of Harry Bingham, at least until a couple of years ago.... Today, there will be teaching guides and a new film that can help educate young people--plus older ones, hearing these stories for the first time--about Harry Bingham and other courageous men like him. On film there is 'Diplomats for the Damned,' which examines non-Jewish men of authority who put their careers and lives in jeopardy during the Holocaust."
September 2000: "CONNECTICUT MAGAZINE" reminds readers to watch Harry on TV: The magazine wrote of 'Holocaust Hero' Hiram Bingham IV, at page 168, reminding readers of the History Channel's History Under Cover program "Diplomats for the Damned....including Connecticut's own Harry Bingham."
7/26/00. My wife Anne and I returned from Geneva, Switzerland, where the UN exhibited the "righteous diplomats," with Hiram Bingham IV among the honorees. The UN-Geneva exhibit, coincidentally, opened on Harry's birthday, July 17, 2000. In a speech at the reception for ambassadors, visitors, diplomatic children, and media, James Foley, Deputy U.S. Representative to the UN, happily acknowleged America's "own" diplomat Hiram Bingham among the honorees. As Harry's son, I was asked to waive to the audience. It was a very exciting moment for us and for the other righteous diplomats' children, who had a delightful three-day reunion, which included a ferry-boat ride on Geneva Lake to the picturesque medieval French city of Yvoire. RKB
7/26/00: The Lyman Allyn Museum at Connecticut College and the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut exhibited the WWII "righteous diplomats," including local hero, Harry. They also collected over 1,000 signatures from attendees, on 16 petitions, supporting the HBIV stamp. I proudly forwarded these petitions to the Postmaster General.--RKB
3/9/01: Harry's nephew Stephen Bingham writes: "I think my favorite memories of Uncle Harry are his various athletic endeavors. When we were still at Salem School, your father was getting all of us enthused about "Florball" and all the other games that could be played in the "Sportatron" (Harry's patented 24'- long sport court). It never made sense to me why there weren't Sportatrons everywhere. Uncle Harry felt so strongly that all of you [his eleven children] should be good athletes! A contrast with my family when we were growing up. He was good at whatever sport he was playing, especially as I remember, tennis...." SMB,California
4/20/00, the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee met in Washington, DC, and sources say the Hiram Bingham IV stamp proposal received a "favorable reading." The USPS, which acts on the committee's recommendations, typically announce any stamp acceptance in the Fall of the year before its issuance. RKB
5/4/00: Present at an elegant 1000-person dinner sponsored by the American Jewish Committee in honor of the "Righteous Diplomats" at Union Station's Convention Center, Washington, DC was Madeleine Albright, keynote speaker. Before her speech, she walked to the Bingham family table adjacent to hers and warmly shook hands with each of Harry's children, Abigail, Robert Kim, and William and their spouses. This gracious gesture seemed to indicate a 180-degree turn around by the State Department since the department transferred Harry out of Marseilles almost 60 years ago, for violating its policy by rescuing people from the Holocaust. The children of the honored diplomats were asked to stand and received an ovation. RKB
April 30 and May 11, 2000: On April 30, the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut awarded the Bingham family an elaborate menorah in appreciation of their father's bravery during the Holocaust. The gift was on display during the lovely exhibition at the Lyman Allyn Museaum, which ran through mid-July 2000. At the (second) May 11 opening, Governor Rowland personally proclaimed "Hiram Bingham IV Day in the State of Connecticut," calling Harry Connecticut's "international hero."
Earlier news:
Spring 2000: Elie Wiesel graciously accepted the Honorary Chairmanship of the Righteous Diplomats "Visas for Life" exhibit at the UN in New York (April 3, 2000).Calling Hiram Bingham IV "AMERICA'S WALLENBERG," a joint letter of support for the Hiram Bingham IV stamp was signed by the President and Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee in New York in early 2000. The American Jewish Committee now refered to Hiram Bingham IV as "America's Wallenberg" in its petition to Dr. Noelke, Chairperson of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory committee, responsible for recommending commemorative stamps to the United States Postal Service.
HIRAM BINGHAM IV MENTIONED IN NEW BOOK: On Decemebr 20, 1999, Eric Saul, Simon Wiesanthal Center Curator, wrote me: "I have got some great news for you to pass along to the Bingham family.... There is a new book on Varian Fry that just came out. It is called: "A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry," by Andy Marino, published by St. Martin's Press. I have been reading it and your father [Hiram Bingham IV] is mentioned prominently in several places. Varian Fry talks about the importance of a friend in the American embassy in Marseilles. I will be taking the information from this book and passing it along to the Righteous Department in Israel. I will send this information to you as soon as it is finished."
HARRY'S SURVIVOR PUBLISHES LETTER IN JANUARY 2000 ISSUE OF FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL IN SUPPORT OF HIRAM BINGHAM IV COMMEMORATIVE STAMP, "A Consul Who Saved Lives," at page 11: "I feel I should recount [my experience fleeing France]. In the years before WWII, my father, owner of a French newspaper feature syndicate and publisher of several magazines, had published a number of anti-Nazi news stories. When the Germans overran France, my father was high on the Gestapo list and therefore in great danger. Our family joined the long line of refugees going south on the roads of France, one step ahead of the advancing German Panzer divisions. On reaching Lyon, my father went to the American consulate to obtain U.S. visas. His connection with the United States was very close: His press syndicate represented the Hearst Corp. in Europe, his magazine business was closely associated with both the Disney and the Fawcett organizations, and he had an established office of his own in New York.... The consul told him he could have visitor's visas for himself, his wife, and one child. The other two children would have to stay in France, according to regulations, he said, 'to insure that you will return to France and not stay in the U.S. beyond your visitor status.' My father, of course, refused such a bargain. Proceeding to Marseille, he again went to the American consulate. The consul was Hiram Bingham, who did not hesitate to issue visas for our entire family. I learned later that he helped many people who were in danger from the Germans. His courage and generosity cost him much. The Germans complained of his activities to the Vichy government, who then complained to Washington. It was still the time when President Roosevelt, by sending Admiral Leahy to Vichy, hoped to influence [Marshal] Petain. Hiram Bingham was transferrred out of Marseille and sent to a South American post [Buenos Aires]. He was eventually to resign from the Foreign Service....This story has a strange sequel. Eight years later, I married an American Foreign Service officer. In the late 1970s our son was a student at Groton School in Massachusetts, and one lovely autumn day we went there for a parents' weekend. Sitting in the dining room at lunch, we introduced ourselves to the man sitting next to me. He was Hiram Bingham. (He had a son in the same form as our son.) When I expressed my family's profound gratitude for what he had done for us, I found him to be an affable but rather shy and modest man, whose most satisfying recollecltion of that period seemed to be that he had helped Marc Chagall. Hiram Bingham is now dead, but not long ago I was in touch with his son [Kim], who informed me that the State of Israel had recognized in a ceremony the help that Hiram Bingham had given to many Jewish intellectuals and artists trapped in France in 1940. The son and other Americans aware of the father's actions are trying to persuade the U.S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp in his father's memory. It seems to me that this at least should be done for Hiram Bingham. L-S-M"
February 2000: One question the History Channel producer asked me when his film crew came to our family home in Salem from Hollywood was: "What caused HBIV to stand above his peers?" I answered along the folowing lines: 1) Harry's personal motto, taught to his children, was relevant: "Give the Best that You Have to the Best that You know." During the Holocaust, saving lives was "the best that he knew." 2) He believed there is a "spark of divinity" in each human being. He saved not only luminaries but also many ordinary refugees. It was painful for him to remember the long lines of individuals outside the consulate desperately seeking exit visas. He once told me he thought they were "treated like cattle." He could not talk about his experience without displaying agony and a deep frown on his face. 3) His family's missionary "zeal" may have augmented his motivation: Hiram I led the first missionaries to Hawaii in 1918 (he was depicted as Abner Hale in Mitchener's "Hawaii"); Hiram II was also a missionary in the Sandwich Islands who single-handedly translated the entire Bible into written Gilbertese; Hiram III was a public servant who also became an explorer (who discovered Machu Picchu in Peru) and later became a US senator of Connecticut. Hiram IV neither converted souls nor entered politics, but, with equal zeal of his forbears, he "quietly battled to save lives" from the Holocaust. 4) He believed bullies should be stopped: Hitler was an evil bully. HBIV told his son how, when he was a youngster, he stopped a student bully who was picking on another smaller student on a school bus. When they got off, and he again told the bully to stop. The bigger student asked him "What are you going to do about it?" HBIV thereupon slowly removed his thick glasses threatening to poke the bully in the nose. The startled bully turned and ran. 5) His "GOLDEN HEART" played a role: his colleague, Varian Fry, and other underground partners in the "crime of saving human lives," wrote that Hiram Bingham IV had "a heart of gold." These traits could have made HBIV stand above his peers, as he placed humanity above career, while he was stationed as a vice counsel in Marseilles (1939-1941) during the nightmare of the Holocaust. RKB
EASY INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. Collect petition signatures: (push email button below to request Robert Kim Bingham to email petition to you...the information is on the petition);2. Lobby U.S. Congress to pass resolution: (push email button below to request Robert Kim Bingham to email proposed bipartisan resolution to you for forwarding to your Congressman, Congresswoman, or U.S. Senator(s) for sponsorship); or
3. Write letter of support for the HIRAM BINGHAM IV commemorative stamp to: Dr. Virginia Noelke, Chairperson, Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Room 4474E, Washington, DC 20260-2437 (c.f. scroll running below).
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Robert
Kim Bingham<rbingham03@snet.net> |