Operation Musy

   In February 1945, 1,200 prisoners in Theresienstadt were allowed to enter Switzerland as free people. The rescue of the Jews was the result of negotiations between the Vaad Ha-Hatsala (Rescue Committee of United States Orthodox Rabbis), Jean M. Musy, a Swiss politician, and Heinrich Himmler. The negotiations, which began in January 1945, initially called for the release of 1,200 Jews at two-week intervals. Fearing his own fate with regard to Germany’s imminent defeat in the war, Himmler, in exchange for releasing the Jews, demanded an end to anti-Nazi propaganda and that he be portrayed as a humanitarian.