José Castellanos Contreras


José Castellanos Contreras
Born23 December 1893
San Vicente, El Salvador
Died18 June 1977(1977-06-18) (aged 83)
San Salvador, El Salvador
Allegiance El Salvador
Service / branch Salvadoran Army
Years of service1910–1936
RankColonel
Alma materEscuela Politécnica Militar
Spouse(s)Maria Schürmann
Children3

José Arturo Castellanos Contreras (23 December 1893 — 18 June 1977) was a Salvadoran Army colonel and diplomat who, while working as El Salvador's Consul General for Geneva during World War II, and in conjunction with Jewish-Romanian businessman György Mandl, helped save up to 40,000 Central European Jews, most of them from Hungary, from Nazi persecution by providing them with fake Salvadoran citizenship certificates.