GILBERTO BOSQUE SALDÍVAR: BIOGRAPHY OF A MEXICAN HERO - HISTORY - 2025

Gilberto Bosques Saldívar (1892 - 1995) was a Mexican diplomat, politician, academic and journalist, internationally known for having helped tens of thousands of people escape a fatal fate during World War II.

He went down in history as the "Mexican Schindler", since thanks to his collaboration, more than 30,000 people were saved who were assigned Mexican visas and passports, coming from Nazi Germany and the Spanish regime of Francisco Franco.

UNAM, via Wikimedia Commons

He and his family were captured by the Gestapo, who made them prisoners of war of the Germans for about a year.

When Bosques Saldívar returned to Mexico in 1944, he was greeted with great joy, especially by the Spanish and Jewish community who gathered to await his arrival.

From then on, he became interested in politics, as well as journalism, a career in which he achieved the recognition of the entire country from positions such as the CEO of the newspaper El Nacional de México.

It also remained closely related to pedagogy. During his time as a diplomat, he was in charge of promoting Mexican culture around the world. Bosques continued in diplomacy until 1964, when he was 72 years old.

His humanitarian work has been recognized in all parts of the world. In his country, Mexico, he has received numerous tributes and honors, including the engraving of his name in the Puebla Congress and the creation of institutions named after him.

In addition, abroad it has also obtained the appreciation of several countries. The Austrian government created a walk called Gilberto Bosques. Also the award for human rights created by the embassies of France and Germany in Mexico bears his name.

His story has served as inspiration for plays and, in the same way, other audiovisual pieces, such as a documentary made in 2010 about his life, which was entitled Visa to paradise.

Biography

Early years

Gilberto Bosques Saldívar was born on July 20, 1892 in the town of Chiautla, in Tapia, State of Puebla, Mexico. He was the son of Cornelio Bosques and his wife, Mrs. María de la Paz Saldívar de Bosques.

He began basic instruction at the local school, until in 1904 he went to the capital of Puebla, where he began his studies to become a primary school teacher at the Instituto Normalista del Estado.

It was in those years when the young man began to sympathize with the ideas of the Mexican Liberal Party. His ideals led him to interrupt his studies in 1909, since he wanted to adhere to the revolutionary cause.

Gilberto's inclinations were a seed that germinated in his home. Several of his ancestors had participated in patriotic movements, including his grandfather, Antonio Bosques, who fought against France in the Three Year War.

The young Bosques Saldívar was related to student movements from an early age. At 18 he was serving as president of the Board of Directors of the Society of Normal Students.

During those years he participated in a conspiracy led by Aquiles Serdán, which was destined for failure. As a consequence of that, Bosques Saldívar had to take refuge for a time in the mountains of Puebla.

Revolution and political beginnings

In 1911, Gilberto Bosques Saldívar returned to his studies as a normalista, whose degree he obtained in 1914. Meanwhile, he worked as an auxiliary at the José María Lafragua Primary School, but after finishing his education he separated from his position.

Then, he marched to Veracruz where he joined the army that fought the Americans in the north and in this way the young Bosques Saldívar definitely entered the revolutionary and political life of the nation.

In 1915, Bosques Saldívar organized the First National Pedagogical Congress, which was held during the following year. In that meeting an attempt was made to reshape education so that it could reach the people in a more democratic way.

All this formed part of the preparations for the constitution that was proclaimed after the triumph of the Revolution. In the new government, education was used as a tool to spread the ideals of freedom among Mexicans.

Between 1917 and 1919, Bosques Saldívar was one of the deputies of the Constituent Legislature of the State of Puebla. And two years later he was selected as Secretary of Government of the State of Puebla by Governor Claudio Nabor Tirado, and then as treasurer of the entity.

Journalism

From 1920, Gilberto Bosques Saldívar began to practice journalism. Five years later he founded a printing company called Aztlán. In it they reproduced media of various political tendencies, including the communist flag newspaper.

Bosques Saldívar never militated in the ranks of the extreme left; However, the Mexican was always in favor of freedom of thought and expression in all its forms.

At the end of that decade, Bosques Saldívar was part of the body of the Press Department of the Ministry of Public Education (SEP). He wrote in the weekly El Sembrador, which was part of that organization, as well as being one of its founders.

The pages of El Sembrador were fortunate to be adorned by the finest traces of Mexican art, since it had the collaboration of great national painters.

The 1930s were also hectic for Gilberto Bosques Saldívar, who founded and also acted as editor-in-chief of a magazine that was baptized as National Economy.

He was a polyglot and for a time he made translations of different languages ​​for the press department of XFI, a Mexican radio station, dependent on the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

In 1937 he was Secretary of Press and Propaganda of the Party of the Mexican Revolution, until the following year he was appointed as director of the newspaper El Nacional, also of the party in whose ranks he was a member.

Education

Not only because of his training, but also because of his commitment and vocation, Gilberto Bosques Saldívar always remained closely linked to the educational apparatus of the nation, since from the beginning of his career, that was his main passion.

In 1916 he had personally presided over and organized the First National Pedagogical Congress, in which the foundations of the new educational system in Mexico were consolidated after the triumph of the Liberal Revolution.

At the end of the 1920s, while he practiced journalism, he remained very close to pedagogy, since Bosques Saldívar held positions as part of the press corps of the Ministry of Education of Mexico.

In 1932 he was appointed as head of the Technical Education for Women section of the Ministry of Education. The following year, he took for a time the leadership of the chair of Castilian at the Escuela Superior de Construcción; In addition, he taught classes on it at the institution.

During 1938, Gilberto Bosques Saldívar was president of the Center for Pedagogical and Hispanic American Studies. At this time he intended to carry out studies related to education in France. However, his destiny would take him on other paths once he established himself in Paris.

Diplomacy

Second World War

Starting in 1938, a new facet emerged in the life of Gilberto Bosques Saldívar. Since that year he began to provide the nation with a service abroad, being entrusted to different positions as a diplomat for almost three decades.

While in France, Bosques Saldívar was appointed consul general of Mexico in Paris. The Spanish Republic had fallen, and the situation in the region was delicate as a consequence of the emergence of nationalist movements on the continent.

For all these reasons, the Mexican president of the moment, Lázaro Cárdenas, empowered him to help all Mexicans who were in the area.

However, Bosques Saldívar did not consent to stand idly by and approved visas for thousands of Spaniards who did not sympathize with Francisco Franco. Then he did the same with Jews and Germans who were persecuted by the Nazi regime.

Sometimes they even had to help them leave French territory in secret.

France was being progressively occupied and on June 22, 1940 Paris was taken by the Germans. It was then that Bosques Saldívar established the consulate in different locations, until he finally arrived in Marseille.

In the coastal city he leased two castles, Montgrand and Reynarde, to receive the waves of persecuted that did not stop arriving to knock on the door of his office trying to receive the shelter of Mexico.

Both places became refugee centers, but they were arranged so that different activities could be carried out within them. In addition, they could depart from the same port of the city and from Casablanca.

Captivity

In 1943, Gilberto Bosques Saldívar, along with his family and other diplomats, were captured by the Gestapo. They were then taken prisoner in Bad Godesberg, Germany.

Despite the adversity, Bosques Saldívar made it clear to his captors that they would not receive ill-treatment since they were prisoners of war. He assured that Mexico would act as a consequence of the occurrence of an offense against a citizen of the country.

In Portugal, during 1944, members of the Mexican diplomatic corps in France were exchanged for captive Germans. In April, Gilberto Bosques Saldívar and those who accompanied him returned to Mexico.

Members of the Jewish community, German and Spanish, waited for him at the train station and carried him on their shoulders when he arrived from Europe.

Other missions

Upon returning, Gilberto Bosques Saldívar, was part of the Ministry of Foreign Relations.

He was then entrusted with a position of utmost strategic importance at that time, that of Minister Plenipotentiary in Portugal. From there he continued helping Spaniards fleeing the dictatorship of Francisco Franco and seeking asylum in Mexico.

Later, until 1953, he was in charge of the leadership of the Mexican mission in Sweden and Finland. Then his main interest was the dissemination of Mexican culture and art in the Nordic countries, which he promoted with exhibitions and exhibitions in both countries.

Finally, Gilberto Bosques Saldívar's last destination as a diplomat was in Cuba, between 1953 and 1964. There he held the position of extraordinary ambassador.

In that position, he also stood out for his humanitarian work managing asylums for Cubans in Mexico and highlighting the art of his country. When saying goodbye to the Caribbean nation, he assured that he would carry Cuba in his heart forever. She was 72 years old.

Death

Gilberto Bosques Saldívar passed away on July 4, 1995, in Mexico City, 16 days before his 103rd birthday. His death was due to natural causes due to his advanced age.

With his wife María Luisa Manjarrez he had three children named María Teresa, Gilberto and Laura. All of them went through the hard times of German captivity in World War II with their father.

The invaluable work that Bosques Saldívar provided to his country, thanks to his love for education, journalism and freedom, was always treasured both by Mexicans and by the thousands of refugees to whom he extended a helping hand.

Recognitions and honors

In the same way in life, as after his death, Gilberto Bosques Saldívar has obtained thanks for his services and his humanitarian work, not only from the Mexican government, but from other countries, non-governmental organizations and individuals.

- Engraving of his name in the Puebla Congress (2000).

- Creation of the Paseo Gilberto Bosques Saldívar in Vienna (2003).

- Bust in the House of León Trotsky (1993).

- Plaque in his honor at the Regional Council of Marseille, France (2015).

- Gilberto Bosques Saldívar Center for International Studies, created by the Senate of Mexico in his honor (2013).

- Creation of the Gilberto Bosques Saldívar Human Rights Award, awarded by the German and French embassies in Mexico (2013).

- Gilberto Bosques Saldívar Historical Cultural Museum (2001).

It has also been the inspiration for some cultural manifestations such as books, plays (As many as you can, 2014), documentaries (Visa to paradise, 2010), and a Google doodle for the 125th anniversary of his birth.

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Gilberto Bosques Saldívar. Available at: wikipedia.org.
2. Drafting Gatopardo. (2017). Gilberto Bosques Saldívar, the Mexican “Schindler” - Gatopardo. Gatopardo. Available at: gatopardo.com.
3. The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. (2019). Biography of Gilberto Bosques. Available at: raoulwallenberg.net.
4. Gilberto Bosques Center. (2019). Gilberto Bosques.. Available at: centrogilbertobosques.senado.gob.mx.
5. Espinoza Rodríguez, F. Essay - Life and Work of Gilberto Bosques Saldívar. Chiautla, Puebla: Legislature of the Congress of the State of Puebla.
6. Senate of the Republic of Mexico (2019). Profile of Ambassador Gilberto Bosques, a heroic man during the Holocaust. National Council to Prevent Discrimination. Available at: conapred.org.mx.