The Rescuers

According to the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival Guide, this entry from the U.S. is a person-by-person retelling of the Holocaust, but this time it highlights the various (heroic!) diplomats from different countries and cultures who defied their superiors, broke many rules and saved countless desperate lives. Many paid a heavy price for their heroism up to and including their own lives and careers.

A young Rwandan human rights activist Stephanie Nyombayire is escorted around Europe by British writer Martin Gilbert and is introduced not only to Holocaust survivors, but also to family members of both the diplomats and the rescued families from WWII. One cannot fail to see the HUGE diplomatic failure with today's human rights catastrophes in both Rwanda and Darfur. This is only a half-hearted call to action; more should have been made of these egregious failures to help humankind.

When they broach the topic of diplomatic involvement in contemporary genocidal wars, one European diplomat waves his hands in a helpless fashion and says it is "simply against the rules." In my opinion they didn't come down hard enough on the diplomatic corps. They watch people die and "file a report." Shame on them!