Powerpoint presentation by Carol Harms, JSD 171 Orofino, ID

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Powerpoint presentation by Carol Harms, JSD 171
Orofino, ID
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In 1940, Hirokis father is a diplomat in
Lithuania, representing Japan. A group of Jewish
refugees from Poland seek help from Hirokis
father. They are trying to escape the Nazis and
want visas to travel to Japan.
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Hirokis father wants to help them, but he knows
he can only get a few visas. How will he be able
to help save the lives of hundreds of refugees?
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A visa is a paper that a government issues if a
person has permission to come to, or travel
through,their country. If you dont have a
visa, you are not allowed in.
This is a photo of an actual Japanese
transit visa that was given out by Chiune
Sugihara at the Kaunas, Lithuania counsulate in
1940
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The following information is quoted from the
Jewish Virtual Library http//www.jewishvirtuallib
rary.org/source/Holocaust/sugihara.htm.
On a summer morning in late July 1940, Consul
Sempo Sugihara and his family awakened to a
crowd of Polish Jewish refugees gathered outside
the consulate. Desperate to flee the approaching
Nazis, the refugees knew that their only path
lay to the east. If Consul Sugihara would grant
them Japanese transit visas, they could obtain
Soviet exit visas and race to possible freedom.
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Sempo Sugihara was moved by their plight, but he
did not have the authority to issue hundreds of
visas without permission from the Foreign
Ministry in Tokyo. Chiune Sugihara wired his
government three times for permission to issue
visas to the Jewish refugees. Three times he was
denied.
NO!!!
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The Consul discussed the situation with his wife
and children. Sugihara had a difficult decision
to make.He knew that if he defied the orders of
his superiors, he might be fired and disgraced,
and would probably never work for the Japanese
government again. This would result in extreme
financial hardship for his family in the future.
Chiune and his wife Yukiko even feared for their
lives and the lives of their children, but in
the end, could only follow their consciences. The
visas would be signed.
The Sugihara Family in front of the Consulate
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For 29 days, from July 31 to August 28, 1940,
Mr. and Mrs. Sugihara sat for endless hours
writing and signing visas by hand. Hour after
hour, day after day, for these three weeks, they
wrote and signed visas. They wrote over 300
visas a day, which would normally be one month's
worth of work for the consul. Yukiko also helped
him register these visas.
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After receiving their visas, the refugees lost
no time in getting on trains that took them to
Moscow, and then by trans-Siberian railroad to
Vladivostok. From there, most of them continued
to Kobe, Japan. They were allowed to stay in
Kobe for several months, and were then sent to
Shanghai, China. Thousands of Polish Jews with
Sugihara visas survived in safety under the
benign protection of the Japanese government in
Shanghai. As many as six thousand refugees made
their way to Japan, China and other countries in
the following months. They had escaped the
Holocaust.
The Sugihara family leaving Lithuania
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Today, more than 50 years after those 29 fateful
days in July and August of 1940, there may be
more than 40,000 who owe their lives to Chiune
and Yukiko Sugihara. Two generations have come
after the original Sugihara survivors, all owing
their existence to one modest man and his
family. In 1985 he received Israel's highest
honor. He was recognized as "Righteous Among the
Nations" by the Yad Vashem Martyrs Remembrance
Authority in Jerusalem. The information from
these six slides is quoted from the Jewish
Virtual Library http//www.jewishvirtuallibrary.or
g/source/Holocaust/sugihara.htm
Memorial and tree planted to honor Sugihara in
Israel
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(Russia)
This map shows Europe at the time of this story.
Germany, where Jews were persecuted and killed,
had invaded and taken control of Poland. The
Polish Jews in the story fled north to Lithuania.
Their only escape route was to the East, through
Russia (USSR). They needed a Japanese transit
visa in order for Russia to let them enter and
travel through the country.
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Lithuania
Japan
Find Lithuania and Japan on this map. Can you see
how people would travel across Russia to get to
Japan?
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clung to hold tightly, as by grasping or
embracing.
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superior people who are higher in status, rank
or office.
This army general on the left is the superior of
the private on the right. The general is higher
in rank
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insisted to declare firmly and strongly
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appreciation the act of recognizing value or
quality
What are other ways that people show
appreciation? (clapping, kind words, gifts,
saying thank you)
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internment the act of confining or restricting
to a particular place, especially during war.
An internment camp, where people are held against
their will. They are prisoners.