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The Japanese diplomat who saved 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust
- German industrialist Oskar Schindler is credited with saving the lives of around 1,200 Jews. While this is by no means a small feat, there are other WWII unsung heroes who also saved thousands of lives from the Holocaust. One of these individuals was Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara. He issued thousands of visas that allowed large numbers of Jewish refugees to flee Nazi-occupied territories and live to tell the story. In this gallery, we travel back in history and bring you the story of Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese man who saved 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust. Click on to learn all about him.
© Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
Roots
- Chiune Sugihara was born into a middle-class family on January 1, 1900, in Kozuchi Town, Empire of Japan (now Mino, Gifu Prefecture, Japan).
© Shutterstock
1 / 29 Fotos
Early years
- Chiune Sugihara excelled in school, but while his father wanted him to become a doctor, Sugihara had other plans. He deliberately failed his admission exam to get into medical school and took up an English major instead.
© Getty Images
2 / 29 Fotos
Foreign Ministry
- In 1919, Chiune Sugihara passed the Japanese government’s Foreign Ministry Scholarship exams. He then had to spend two years in the army, but in 1922 Sugihara managed to pass the Foreign Ministry’s language qualification exams.
© Public Domain
3 / 29 Fotos
Languages
- Chiune Sugihara was then assigned to Harbin, China, where he became fluent in Russian and German. He eventually joined Japan's training center Harbin Gakuin, where he became an expert on the Soviet Union.
© Public Domain
4 / 29 Fotos
Move to Lithuania
- In November 1939, Sugihara was assigned as vice consul to the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania.
© Getty Images
5 / 29 Fotos
Primary task
- The Japanese government had an interest in staying on top of what the USSR was doing. One of the goals was to provide the Japanese government with intelligence on German and Soviet troop movement in the Baltic region, as well as any information on German attacks against the USSR.
© Getty Images
6 / 29 Fotos
USSR occupation
- Then, in the summer of 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania, along with Latvia and Estonia, with the aim of annexing the territories into the USSR.
© Getty Images
7 / 29 Fotos
Chiune Sugihara starts helping those in need
- The NKVD (Soviet secret police) started repressing and abusing the inhabitants of those Baltic states. Chiune Sugihara then realized he could use his diplomatic authority to save these people.
© Getty Images
8 / 29 Fotos
First visas
- He did so by granting them visas to flee Europe, eastwards through the Soviet Union en-route to Japan.
© Getty Images
9 / 29 Fotos
Visas
- Sugihara issued members of the Polish underground (Polish resistance during WWII) transit visas to travel through Soviet territory into Japan, and then to Curaçao and Dutch territories in the Americas.
© Getty Images
10 / 29 Fotos
Jewish refugees
- Jewish refugees, mostly from Poland and Lithuania, started queuing outside the Japanese consulate in Kovno, in hopes of getting a visa to escape the Nazis.
© Getty Images
11 / 29 Fotos
Sempo
- Chiune Sugihara started using the Sino-Japanese reading of his name, "Sempo," in Lithuania. This was because it was easier to pronounce than his given name. Many refugees knew him as Sempo.
© Getty Images
12 / 29 Fotos
Alarm bells
- After about 1800 visas had been granted, the Japanese Foreign Ministry sent Sugihara a cable that read: “You must make sure that they [refugees] have finished their procedure for their entry visas and also they must possess the travel money or the money that they need during their stay in Japan. Otherwise, you should not give them the transit visa."
© Getty Images
13 / 29 Fotos
Rail travel
- Despite the warning from Tokyo, Sugihara kept granting visas to refugees. Sugihara managed to convince Soviet officials to let Jewish refugees travel across the USSR on the Trans Siberian Railway. Refugees did, however, pay five times the normal ticket price.
© Getty Images
14 / 29 Fotos
The end of visas
- Chiune Sugihara left the country on September 4, 1940, as the consulate was about to close its doors. Sugihara continued to issue visas until he left.
© Getty Images
15 / 29 Fotos
The last goodbye
- Sugihara even issued visas from his hotel room. Later, he is said to have thrown blank sheets out the train window. These had his signature and the consulate’s seal, so they could be filled out and turned into visas.
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
Final words
- The story goes that Chiune Sugihara’s final words to the refugees were, "Please forgive me. I cannot write anymore. I wish you the best."
© Getty Images
17 / 29 Fotos
POW
- Sugihara was reassigned to other locations, including Bucharest, Romania. He was there from 1942 to 1944. When the Soviets invaded the country, Sempo and his family were sent to a POW camp, where they stayed until 1946.
© Getty Images
18 / 29 Fotos
Destinations
- Thousands of refugees managed to cross the USSR and make it to Kobe, Japan, where there was a Jewish community.
© Getty Images
19 / 29 Fotos
New homes
- From Japan, many of these Jewish refugees managed to get asylum visas to the US, Canada, Australia, Palestine, and Latin American countries.
© Public Domain
20 / 29 Fotos
Thousands were saved
- It is estimated that Chiune Sugihara saved around 6,000 Jews. Pictured is Hanni Vogelweid, who was granted a visa by Sugihara.
© Getty Images
21 / 29 Fotos
Legacy
- It’s believed that about 40,000 of these people’s descendants are alive today thanks to Sempo’s actions.
© Getty Images
22 / 29 Fotos
Why Chiune Sugihara helped so many people
- When asked why he granted visas to thousands of Jews, Sugihara replied: “It is the kind of sentiments anyone would have when he actually sees refugees face to face, begging with tears in their eyes. He just cannot help but sympathize with them. Among the refugees were the elderly and women. They were so desperate that they went so far as to kiss my shoes. Yes, I actually witnessed such scenes with my own eyes.”
© Public Domain
23 / 29 Fotos
Why Chiune Sugihara helped so many people
- “Also, I felt at that time, that the Japanese government did not have any uniform opinion in Tokyo. [...] I felt it silly to deal with them. So, I made up my mind not to wait for their reply. I knew that somebody would surely complain about me in the future. But, I myself thought this would be the right thing to do," continued Sugihara.
© Shutterstock
24 / 29 Fotos
Why Chiune Sugihara helped so many people
- "There is nothing wrong in saving many people's lives... The spirit of humanity, philanthropy... neighborly friendship... with this spirit, I ventured to do what I did, confronting this most difficult situation–and because of this reason, I went ahead with redoubled courage.”
© Shutterstock
25 / 29 Fotos
Righteous Among Nations
- In 1985, the Israeli government named Chiune Sugihara one of the Righteous Among Nations, which is an honorific to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews.
© Getty Images
26 / 29 Fotos
Honor
- Chiune Sugihara is the only Japanese national to have ever received such an honor by the State of Israel.
© Getty Images
27 / 29 Fotos
Death
- Chiune Sugihara passed away in July 1986 in Kamakura, Japan. Sempo was 86. Sources: (History Collection) (The World Holocaust Remembrance Center) (University of Technology Sydney) (Times of Israel) See also: Famous figures whose family members survived the Holocaust
© Shutterstock
28 / 29 Fotos
The Japanese diplomat who saved 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust
- German industrialist Oskar Schindler is credited with saving the lives of around 1,200 Jews. While this is by no means a small feat, there are other WWII unsung heroes who also saved thousands of lives from the Holocaust. One of these individuals was Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara. He issued thousands of visas that allowed large numbers of Jewish refugees to flee Nazi-occupied territories and live to tell the story. In this gallery, we travel back in history and bring you the story of Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese man who saved 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust. Click on to learn all about him.
© Getty Images
0 / 29 Fotos
Roots
- Chiune Sugihara was born into a middle-class family on January 1, 1900, in Kozuchi Town, Empire of Japan (now Mino, Gifu Prefecture, Japan).
© Shutterstock
1 / 29 Fotos
Early years
- Chiune Sugihara excelled in school, but while his father wanted him to become a doctor, Sugihara had other plans. He deliberately failed his admission exam to get into medical school and took up an English major instead.
© Getty Images
2 / 29 Fotos
Foreign Ministry
- In 1919, Chiune Sugihara passed the Japanese government’s Foreign Ministry Scholarship exams. He then had to spend two years in the army, but in 1922 Sugihara managed to pass the Foreign Ministry’s language qualification exams.
© Public Domain
3 / 29 Fotos
Languages
- Chiune Sugihara was then assigned to Harbin, China, where he became fluent in Russian and German. He eventually joined Japan's training center Harbin Gakuin, where he became an expert on the Soviet Union.
© Public Domain
4 / 29 Fotos
Move to Lithuania
- In November 1939, Sugihara was assigned as vice consul to the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania.
© Getty Images
5 / 29 Fotos
Primary task
- The Japanese government had an interest in staying on top of what the USSR was doing. One of the goals was to provide the Japanese government with intelligence on German and Soviet troop movement in the Baltic region, as well as any information on German attacks against the USSR.
© Getty Images
6 / 29 Fotos
USSR occupation
- Then, in the summer of 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania, along with Latvia and Estonia, with the aim of annexing the territories into the USSR.
© Getty Images
7 / 29 Fotos
Chiune Sugihara starts helping those in need
- The NKVD (Soviet secret police) started repressing and abusing the inhabitants of those Baltic states. Chiune Sugihara then realized he could use his diplomatic authority to save these people.
© Getty Images
8 / 29 Fotos
First visas
- He did so by granting them visas to flee Europe, eastwards through the Soviet Union en-route to Japan.
© Getty Images
9 / 29 Fotos
Visas
- Sugihara issued members of the Polish underground (Polish resistance during WWII) transit visas to travel through Soviet territory into Japan, and then to Curaçao and Dutch territories in the Americas.
© Getty Images
10 / 29 Fotos
Jewish refugees
- Jewish refugees, mostly from Poland and Lithuania, started queuing outside the Japanese consulate in Kovno, in hopes of getting a visa to escape the Nazis.
© Getty Images
11 / 29 Fotos
Sempo
- Chiune Sugihara started using the Sino-Japanese reading of his name, "Sempo," in Lithuania. This was because it was easier to pronounce than his given name. Many refugees knew him as Sempo.
© Getty Images
12 / 29 Fotos
Alarm bells
- After about 1800 visas had been granted, the Japanese Foreign Ministry sent Sugihara a cable that read: “You must make sure that they [refugees] have finished their procedure for their entry visas and also they must possess the travel money or the money that they need during their stay in Japan. Otherwise, you should not give them the transit visa."
© Getty Images
13 / 29 Fotos
Rail travel
- Despite the warning from Tokyo, Sugihara kept granting visas to refugees. Sugihara managed to convince Soviet officials to let Jewish refugees travel across the USSR on the Trans Siberian Railway. Refugees did, however, pay five times the normal ticket price.
© Getty Images
14 / 29 Fotos
The end of visas
- Chiune Sugihara left the country on September 4, 1940, as the consulate was about to close its doors. Sugihara continued to issue visas until he left.
© Getty Images
15 / 29 Fotos
The last goodbye
- Sugihara even issued visas from his hotel room. Later, he is said to have thrown blank sheets out the train window. These had his signature and the consulate’s seal, so they could be filled out and turned into visas.
© Getty Images
16 / 29 Fotos
Final words
- The story goes that Chiune Sugihara’s final words to the refugees were, "Please forgive me. I cannot write anymore. I wish you the best."
© Getty Images
17 / 29 Fotos
POW
- Sugihara was reassigned to other locations, including Bucharest, Romania. He was there from 1942 to 1944. When the Soviets invaded the country, Sempo and his family were sent to a POW camp, where they stayed until 1946.
© Getty Images
18 / 29 Fotos
Destinations
- Thousands of refugees managed to cross the USSR and make it to Kobe, Japan, where there was a Jewish community.
© Getty Images
19 / 29 Fotos
New homes
- From Japan, many of these Jewish refugees managed to get asylum visas to the US, Canada, Australia, Palestine, and Latin American countries.
© Public Domain
20 / 29 Fotos
Thousands were saved
- It is estimated that Chiune Sugihara saved around 6,000 Jews. Pictured is Hanni Vogelweid, who was granted a visa by Sugihara.
© Getty Images
21 / 29 Fotos
Legacy
- It’s believed that about 40,000 of these people’s descendants are alive today thanks to Sempo’s actions.
© Getty Images
22 / 29 Fotos
Why Chiune Sugihara helped so many people
- When asked why he granted visas to thousands of Jews, Sugihara replied: “It is the kind of sentiments anyone would have when he actually sees refugees face to face, begging with tears in their eyes. He just cannot help but sympathize with them. Among the refugees were the elderly and women. They were so desperate that they went so far as to kiss my shoes. Yes, I actually witnessed such scenes with my own eyes.”
© Public Domain
23 / 29 Fotos
Why Chiune Sugihara helped so many people
- “Also, I felt at that time, that the Japanese government did not have any uniform opinion in Tokyo. [...] I felt it silly to deal with them. So, I made up my mind not to wait for their reply. I knew that somebody would surely complain about me in the future. But, I myself thought this would be the right thing to do," continued Sugihara.
© Shutterstock
24 / 29 Fotos
Why Chiune Sugihara helped so many people
- "There is nothing wrong in saving many people's lives... The spirit of humanity, philanthropy... neighborly friendship... with this spirit, I ventured to do what I did, confronting this most difficult situation–and because of this reason, I went ahead with redoubled courage.”
© Shutterstock
25 / 29 Fotos
Righteous Among Nations
- In 1985, the Israeli government named Chiune Sugihara one of the Righteous Among Nations, which is an honorific to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews.
© Getty Images
26 / 29 Fotos
Honor
- Chiune Sugihara is the only Japanese national to have ever received such an honor by the State of Israel.
© Getty Images
27 / 29 Fotos
Death
- Chiune Sugihara passed away in July 1986 in Kamakura, Japan. Sempo was 86. Sources: (History Collection) (The World Holocaust Remembrance Center) (University of Technology Sydney) (Times of Israel) See also: Famous figures whose family members survived the Holocaust
© Shutterstock
28 / 29 Fotos
The Japanese diplomat who saved 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust
© Getty Images
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