Righteous Among the Nations

Frank Foley v Nationality British BERLIN IN THE 1930s Like other countries in Europe, when Hitler’s Nazi Party came to power, Britain had diplomatic relations with Germany. There were many British administrative offices in major German cities and the Embassy was in Berlin. Intelligence officers (often called spies…) were secretly embedded in these offices. They monitored the events that were happening at the time in order to provide vital information to decision makers in Britain. Hitler became the chancellor of Germany in 1933. WHO WAS FRANK FOLEY To the outside world Frank Foley merely worked in the British Passport Office located in the embassy in Berlin, but in reality he was working for MI6, Britain's Secret Intelligence Service. He was, in effect, Britain’s most senior spy in Berlin in the 1930s. Major Frank Foley served, and was wounded, in World War One. A fluent German speaker, he was resident in the country from the mid-20s onwards. SITUATION IN GERMANY From the very beginning of the Nazi Party’s rise to power in 1933, life for Jews became more and more difficult. As well as the increased intimidation they suffered from Hitler’s followers, a steady stream of restrictive laws were passed. In particular in 1935 the Nuremburg “German Citizenship” Laws, which defined precisely who had the right to German citizenship and who didn’t – officially excluding Jews from most parts of German society. A Nazi supporter imposing a boycott on Jewish businesses As it became harder for German Jews to live normally in their own country, they began to search for other places to move to. Many looked to Britain for safety… German Jews waiting to apply for exit visas HIS CHOICES Foley’s official role was to report on the political situation in Germany to the UK Government. It was important that this was kept secret to enable him to gather this information. Although he knew he would be jeopardising that position, as well as his own safety, he could not stand by as he witnessed what was happening to Germany's Jews. This was dangerous work – if he had been caught he would have been arrested and even executed. And as he was acting on his own initiative, he did not enjoy the diplomatic immunity of other British officials. He was a deeply religious Catholic. His conscience and humanity prevented him from merely observing what was happening and he choose to embark on a series of actions that would eventually save an estimated 10,000 German Jews. Thousands of Jews queued for hours outside embassies to obtain visas… WHAT DID HE DO? It was not easy for Jews who wanted to escape Nazi Germany to leave. The German authorities made them give up all their property and wealth. Also, potential places of refuge like Britain put strict limits on the number of people they would admit. But despite this, being fully aware of the danger facing Germany’s Jews, Foley decided to issue as many entry visas to the UK as he could. Along with a dedicated team of co-workers such as Margaret Reid (right) he worked tirelessly in his Berlin office, often long into the night, issuing visas to desperate people who were fearing for their lives. Margaret Reid – who worked very closely with Foley. WHAT DID HE DO? He even went into concentration camps with carefully prepared visas that enabled prisoners to be released in order to emigrate to Britain or Palestine, which was under British control at the time. Foley even hid Jews in his own home when they were in direct danger from the German authorities, sheltering them until the appropriate papers, passports and visas were ready. Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, where Foley went with valid UK entry visas RECOGNITION After World War II Frank Foley’s efforts were largely unrecognised. He lived a quiet unassuming life and his funeral in 1958 was a small family affair. Many of those who were saved because of his efforts never knew who was responsible for producing the documents that would be their lifeline. He was honoured by Yad Vashem, the Centre for Holocaust Studies and Commemoration in Jerusalem, in 1999 as Righteous Among The Nations and a statue was unveiled in Prince William at the 2018 in Stourbridge in the Midlands, where Foley lived inauguration of the Foley during his retirement. memorial in Stourbridge. HIS LEGACY Frank Foley is regarded as one of the most successful British agents ever. A plaque dedicated to his memory has been placed in the current British Embassy building in Berlin, along with another that remembers the efforts of all the other embassy Elisheva Lernau, whose family officials who worked to save Jewish lives. was saved by Foley, honouring his memory at the embassy in Berlin The figure of 10,000 saved is probably an underestimate. The number of descendants from these rescued people is incalculable – each one is a testament to the courage and ingenuity of this remarkable man. SOME USEFUL LINKS https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/frank-foley-0/ https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/foley.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/west/series7/frank_foley.shtml https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/frank-foley https://www.het.org.uk/news-and-events/748-remember-major-frank-foley https://www.stourbridge.com/frank_foley.htm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDkCFadKw_8.

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