CHIUNE SUGIHARA: A HERO TO REMEMBER

CHIUNE
SUGIHARA:
A HERO TO
REMEMBER
Lithuanian Jewish (Litvak)
Community,
Tokyo, 2015
杉原 千畝
"If you save the life of one person, it is as if you saved the world entire." Jewish tradition teaches that we need to look at each individual as if he/she
were the entire population of the world.
Therefore, when you save one life it is as if you saved the entire world.
In the West, most people at least heard of Oskar Schindler, the
German businessman who saved more than 1,200 lives during the
Holocaust by hiring Jews to work in his factories and fought Nazi
efforts to remove them.
However in Lithuania, very few people do not know about Chiune
Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat whose courgeous efforts allowed
6,000 Jews to escape from Nazi-occupied territories via Japan. His
reasons were solely humanitarian.
Chiune Sugihara meets with Zerah Warhaftig, one of the survivors, after the war
Fake visas - real purpose:
the role of Dutch businessman-turned diplomat
Jan Zwartendijk
Jan Zwartendijk (1896–1976) was a Dutch
businessman, Philips’ director of Lithuanian
operations. In June 1940, during the turmoil
resulting from the German invasion of the
Netherlands and the Soviet occupation of
Lithuania, Zwartendijk became acting Dutch
Consul in Kaunas.
Many Jews looked for ways to escape to the
free world, however no European country was
safe for the Jews nor willing to accept them. The
only other possible destination was the Far East.
The obstacle was getting exit visas from the
USSR, and getting an entrance visa to
another country.
Some Jewish people came to Zwartendijk,
asking to write only the first sentence in their
passports. Zwartendijk agreed and entered
“Curacao End-Visas”, despite not having an
authority to do so.
Jan Zwartendijk, Dutch Consul in
Kaunas who was issuing visas to
Curaçao, in league with a Chiune
Sugihara who would grant rights of
transit
People who already had Zwartendijk’s “revised” visas, came
to Chiune Sugihara asked for transit visa through Japan. He
agreed to issue them transit visas valid for ten days in Japan.
Fake visas - real purpose:
Life-saving decisions
In November 1939, Chiune Sugihara, a
Japanese career diplomat, was sent to
Kaunas, then the capital of Lithuania, to
serve as Japan's Consul. As part of his job,
he was an intelligence agent, sent to
monitor the maneuvers of the German
Army across the border, so that Japanese
headquarters would know in advance of
the anticipated German attack on the
Soviet Union.
Having both Dutch and Japanese visas, people were able
to obtain Soviet exit visas. This allowed them to travel to
Vladivostok via the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and from
there, by boat to Japan.
Then, Zwartendijk continued to issue these visas, he
highest-numbered Zwartendijk’s visa known to date is No.
2,345.
The Japanese Consul knew the visas weren’t real, but he
issued transit visas to the Jews anyway. People who
arrived in Japan sent their visas back to relatives still in
Vilnius to be reused. Sugihara issued close to 2,000.
He was soon thrown into an incredible
situation. As matters in Europe got worse,
some Jews turned to Sugihara seeking for
help.
For a while, Sugihara repeatedly asked
permission from the Japanese government
to write these refugees’ visas. After being
turned down three times, Sugihara
decided to take matters into his own
hands.
Jews waiting for visas in front of the Japanese
Consulate in Kaunas
Fake visas - real purpose:
Chiune Sugihara’s noble dedication
It might have been easier to simply walk away and
do nothing but instead, in July of 1940, against
orders, Sugihara started issuing visas and even
directly negotiated with officials of the Soviet
Union to allow the refugees to pass through
Russia on their way to Japan.
He continued to write visas, reportedly spending
18-20 hours a day until September 4th when the
Consulate was closed.
During the night prior to the closing, Chiune and
Yukiko Sugihara spent the entire night writing
visas, and he was reportedly even preparing them
en route to the train station where he threw them
out the window of the train to waiting refugees as
it left the station.
In a final act of desperation Sugihara resorted to
throwing blank pages with the Consulate seal and
his signature, which could be filled out later.
Travel document stamped with a visa by
Chiune Sugihara
Mrs. Yukiko Sugihara:
“The Jews who passed through
Kaunas … shouted when we
were leaving Kaunas station:
“We will never forget you...”
I’ve heard that, as a people, the
Jews never forget a promise.”
"What I did as a diplomat who disobeyed his country's orders while
serving his government may have been wrong, but I could not, in good
conscience, ignore the pleas of thousands of people who sought my
help. Therefore, I conclude that I did the only right thing, as any
decent human being would have done. In the end history will be the
true judge."- Chiune Sugihara
"Most people have this idea that you can't really help the whole world, so what's the point?" said Mark
Salomon, grandson of Bernard Solomon, one of the Sugihara’s survivors. But Sugihara showed that
"whatever you are doing with yourself, you are having a much broader impact. Sometimes it's hard
to see the forest through the trees, but it's important in every aspect of your life to
remember you are having an effect and make it a positive effect.
Bernard Salomon (back row, far left), his brother Abraham Salomon (also a
Sugihara Survivor; back row, far right) and other recipients of visas from Chiune
Sugihara when they arrived in Kobe, Japan in late 1940
Just a little bit about Lithuanian Jews
Lithuania is very well known for its long
and rich Jewish history. For its big, strong,
intellectual and influential Jewish
community, Lithuania once was called a
“Jerusalem of the North”.
Before the war, Lithuanian Jews made up
one third of Lithuania's
urban population and half of the residents
of every town as well.
Lithuanian Jews are called Litvaks.
However about 200,000 Lithuanian Jews
— more than 90 percent of the country’s
prewar Jewish population — died at the
hands of Nazis and local collaborators.
Today only about 5000 Jews live in
Lithuania
A monument for Romain Gary, a
famous French novelist and
diplomat of Litvak origin.
Vilnius, Lithuania
Learn more about Lithuanian
Jewish community :
http://www.lzb.lt/en/
Central premises of
Lithuanian Jewish
Community,
Vilnius, Lithuania
World Famous people of Litvak heritage
AND MANY
MORE....
Bob Dylan,
inspirational
musician
Sacha Baron Cohen,
actor, comedian,
screenwriter
Jascha Heifetz,
20th century
violin virtuoso
Benjamin Netanyahu,
Prime Minister of Israel
Aaron Klug,
biophysicist,
Nobel
laureate 1982
Kaunas, Lithuania
Kaunas,
Lithuania
Historical capital of Lithuania and
historical home of about 35,000 Jews.
Today only a few hundred Jews still
live in Kaunas. Most of the once
fluorishing and influential original
Kaunas Jewish Community perished
during the Holocaust.
Ch.Sugihara’s house in Kaunas
Then...
Sugihara family with local children next to their house in Kaunas
And now...
Sugihara House in
Kaunas currently
serves as a museum
Chiune Sugihara — “Righteous
Among the Nations” .
In 1985 Ch.Sugihara was given the State of
Israel’s highest honor, as Yad Vashem, the
Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem named
him Righteous Among the Nations. It is a
title given to non-Jews who risked their lives
to save Jews during the Holocaust.
Lithuania has around 800 rescuers of the
Jews who were awarded Righteous Among
the Nations title. Around 100 of them are
still alive.
Immortal Memory:
A Tribute to Hero
Lithuanian government, Japanese government as well as Lithuanian
Jewish Community and other NGOs have worked together on many
occasions to immortalize Ch. Sugiharas memory.
Chiune Sugihara’s Sakura Park
in Vilnius, Lithuania
Located in the urban heart of Vilnius, blooming sakuras at Sugihara’s
Park bring joy in every heart after long cold Lithuanian winter
Chiune Sugihara’s Sakura Park
in Vilnius, Lithuania
One of the favourite Vilnius
Spring locations, popular both
with Vilnius citizens and
visitors alike
Lithuanian Jewish girl and
beautiful cherry blossoms
Chiune Sugihara’s Sakura Park
in Vilnius, Lithuania
Ch.Sugihara’s
Memorial
monument
Both opera and film based on Ch. Sugihara’s story were
presented in Lithuania, gathering a lot of public attention
Poster from Charity opera
“Sempo Sugihara. Sakuras of
Hope”
Composer and conductor Yuki
ANDO
Poster of Cellin GLUCK’s
Japanese Period Drama
“Persona non Grata”
The Japanese Embassy in Lithuania together with Lithuanian Jewish
community commemorated the 75th Anniversary of Sugihara’s
Visas for Life in both Kaunas and Vilnius
Moments from commemoration
ceremony in Kaunas. June, 2015
75th Anniversary of Sugihara’s Visas for Life event at
Lithuanian Jewish community
June, 2015
Former Economic Advisor in the Israeli government Mrs. Nina Admoni and a
notable Australian writer and translator Mr. Macel Weyland were saved by Ch.
Sugihara’s visas as little children.
Lithuanian Jewish community rejoices in the Japanese
National UNESCO Committee decision to elect Sugihara’s
list, i.e. records regarding issued life-saving transitional visas,
as a candidate to UNESCO World heritage registry.
We regard this a very reasonable and necessary step to further
immortalize Ch. Sugihara’s memory.
One of many Ch. Sugihara’s
Visas for Life
Chiune Sugihara
A Japanese Hero
A Hero for the Jews
A Hero of the World
Let his memory be an everlasting source of humanely inspiration that will
never be forgotten