- Captured by Son of Cowley on Flickr
The story of Chiune Sugihara is one of courage and compassion. Sugihara helped save 6,000 Jews trying to escape Nazi occupied Lithuania by issuing transit visas.
Sugihara and his wife wrote over three hundred visas a day to help desperate people get on trains and travel east away from the conflict in Europe. Without these visas they would have faced certain imprisonment and further persecution.
It is more than 68 years since Chiune Sugihara issued these visas, but it is a story that stands out as an example of a man who acted courageously and as a result had an enormous impact on many people’s lives. It is a great humanitarian story.
- House in Lithuania that Sugihara lived in
Below is a trailer for a film that won an Academy Award for best live action short movie in 1997. It is further testament to the determination of Chiune Sugihara to help those struggling to escape conflict.
“If you save the life of one person, it is as if you saved the world entire.”
– Jewish Proverb
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I was able to watch the one with Sorimachi Takashi (Visas for 6000 Lives), and it was pretty moving. Sempo Sugihara was indeed so compassionate, and yet, so professional; that there was even a system in issuing those visas. I recall the scene when Sempo was approached by a grade school teacher to approve visas for his (or her?) entire class. I suddenly felt bad for all those children who had to go through the holocaust, and wars and discord in general.
I must admit, though, that at the back of my head, I was thinking Sorimachi might suddenly transform into Onizuka-sensei.