Ireland's Oskar Schindler

In a biography of the Monsignor by J.P. Gallagher, there is an account of a Jewish family who came to the Mgr. for help. They gave him a gold chain and entrusted their seven year old son to his care. They suspected they would soon be arrested, and knew what their ultimate fate would be. They asked Mgr. O'Flaherty to keep their son in safety until the persecutions were over, and to use the chain for funds if need be. Mgr. O'Flaherty did take the chain and the boy, but provided false papers for the parents to leave, and when the war ended, returned the boy and the chain to them.

The exploits of this courageous man were far more than what this article can show. Because of Mgr O'Flaherty's efforts and those of other Catholic officials and lay people, 5000 of the 9700 Roman Jews were able to escape the Nazis and survive the war. Sadly, 1007 Jews were still forced to Auschwitz.

Epilogue

God's hand was obviously on the good Monsignor for helping save His people. Colonel Kappler was never able to catch him, and after the war, was sentenced to life in prison for his war crimes. He had a single visitor, once a month...Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty. In 1959, Kappler was baptized into the Catholic faith by O'Flaherty himself.

O'Flaherty retired from his Vatican duties in 1960 and went to live with his sister in Cahersiveen in County Kerry. He died and was buried there in 1963.

A grove of Italian trees now stands in Killarney National Park in honor and memory of the Monsignor, as well as a plaque with the words "To honour Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty (1898-1963). In Rome during World War II, he heroically served the cause of humanity."**

In 1983 the movie, "The Scarlet and the Black," staring Gregory Peck and Christopher Plummer was made based on Gallagher's biography of Mgr O'Flaherty.

Links:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlker/scarlet.... for several articles on various aspects of Monsignor O'Flaherty's service.

* http://www.angelfire.com/wa/moycullenwes... Notable Modern O'Flaherty page.

** http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/opinion... Words from the plaque taken from this site.

To purchase the movie, "The Scarlet and the Black" :

http://www.stgabriel.com/biovideo.html

OR

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/sto...

Also visit another O'Flaherty page at: http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ maintained by Bridget Haggerty, whose maiden name was O'Flaherty as she herself proudly proclaims on her site. This link also included in my links list. A must see.

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