Most people have heard of Schindler’s List. It has become a famous movie, and Schindler is considered a hero to all who hear his story, which he very much is. He helped save lives from the Nazis. However, not many people know about the Irish priest who saved 6,500 lives from the Nazis.
Hugh O’Flaherty was born in Kiskeam in northern Cork, but he
moved with his family to Killarney. In Killarney, his father was the steward of
the Killarney Golf Club. O’Flaherty chose to become a priest and he was posted
to the Vatican in 1922. He studied and got his degree in one year and was
officially ordained in 1925. His studies continued, and he earned doctorate
degrees in divinity, canon law, and philosophy.
Over the course of a few years, he served the Vatican as a
diplomat in Egypt, Haiti, San Domingo and Czechoslovakia. He was called to come
back to Rome after his service in these other places and continued his work.
O’Flaherty worked in Rome at the Vatican during World War
II. In 1943, Nazi Germany occupied Rome. Herbert Kepler led the Nazi Gestapo to
hunt down Jews, escaped Allied prisoners, and resistance fires. O’Flaherty
refused to stand by.
O’Flaherty used his connections and built safehouses, used
disguises, and forged documents to aid those being targeted by smuggling them
out of the city. He hid people in convents, apartments, and Vatican buildings.
When the Nazis painted a white line out of hatred and
ordered O’Flaherty not to cross it or he would be arrested or killed,
O’Flaherty disguised himself as a beggar, a street cleaner, and a soldier to
sneak in and out of the Occupied Nazi reign to continue moving people to
safety.
By the end of the war, O’Flaherty had saved over 6,500
people. After the war, Herbert Kepler was arrested and sentenced to life in
prison. The only person to visit him while in prison was O’Flaherty, the person
he wanted to kill. O’Flaherty became one of the war’s greatest unsung heroes.
O’Flaherty’s actions earned him the nickname “Scarlet
Pimpernel of the Vatican.” He earned many awards and decorations, including Commander
of the British Empire and the US Medal of Freedom. He passed away on October 30,
1963, and he was mourned worldwide. The New York Times even dedicated the front
page of its paper to him.
Because of his actions, there are several tributes and
memorials still around to honor and remember O’Flaherty. There is a statue of
him in his hometown of Killarney. The Hugh O'Flaherty International
Humanitarian Award seeks to honor those who, like O’Flaherty, are working to
help those around the world who are in need.
There have been several
books and other works produced about O’Flaherty and his work. Joseph
O’Connor wrote a book entitled “My Father’s House.” “The Scarlet and the Black:
The True Story of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, Hero of the Vatican Underground”
was written by J. P. Gallagher and was later turned into a TV movie.
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