Created by the Carl Lutz Foundation and is presented by the Embassy of Switzerland in Canada.
The Glass House in Budapest is an international symbol of moral courage. In 1944, under the diplomatic protection of Swiss Vice-Consul Carl Lutz, and with the contribution of Jewish activists, it was the center of protection for thousands of people, and of rescue for many more. The Glass House presents the indestructibility of humanity, and the continuity of its prevalence. Its history is an exemplar of honor and bravery.
Present alongside the many tragedies of twentieth-century Hungarian history are also uplifting instances of integrity and moral courage. At the time of the calamity, countless honourable people hid, fed, and assisted the ostracized and condemned Central European Jews to escape.
The operations of Swiss diplomat Carl Lutz, a Righteous Among the Nations, and the deeds of Jewish heroes and others in the Glass House in Budapest were presented in the New York headquarters of the United Nations, at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, in the Kossuth House in Washington, D.C., and in Augusta, Georgia.
Aim and contents of the exhibit
The exhibit introduces the important events of Carl Lutz's life, his role and deeds in Budapest. As a Swiss diplomat he wholeheartedly represented the interests of Western allied states and their citizens. His actions to rescue the lives of persecuted Jews played a role in his later international assessment.
The first column contains a chronology of the story, which recalls Carl Lutz's years in the United States and Budapest. The second column introduces the efforts to promote Jewish emigration during the war. The third column deals with the preparation of the Swiss collective passport and the activities of the Emigration Department in the Glass House established by Carl Lutz and his Jewish colleagues. This column contains a 3D animation of the special architecture of the Glass House designed by Lajos Kozma. The fourth column is about how several thousand Jews survived the months of open Nazi terror in the overcrowded Glass House under Swiss protection. Along with remembrance and expressions of honor and gratitude the fifth column refers to the scholarly and educational introduction of the story.