1939 Czechoslovak Mission Evacuation — Martha and Wallace Toronto

In late August 1939, during the chaotic evacuation of the Czechoslovak Mission as Nazi forces moved to close borders and seize control of transportation, mission president Wallace Toronto and his wife Martha Toronto Anderson orchestrated the hurried removal of Latter-day Saint missionaries from Czechoslovakia. Wallace remained in Prague searching for four missionaries near the border and was briefly detained by the Gestapo; after his release he located the men. Under extreme duress Martha managed the family's departure and mission logistics while Wallace secured passage on the very last transport permitted to leave the country before German forces took full control. The Toronto family and the missionaries successfully crossed into Denmark just hours before the frontiers were sealed and the official outbreak of World War II, thus avoiding being trapped behind enemy lines.

Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in Elayne Wells, 'European evacuation was a miracle,' Church News, August 19, 1989):

Czech Mission President Wallace F. Toronto and his family made it to Copenhagen on the last train out of Czechoslovakia the day before war was declared on Germany.