Chiune Sugihara: Courage In A World Of Depravity.
"Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." (Talmud).
When I was a young Marine, a Sargent who served two tours in Nam gave me this piece of wisdom:
Stay away from those who claim to be brave. A brave person doesn’t fear death and the only ones who say they don’t fear death are liars and the insane. Both of whom will get you killed. Hang with those who are courageous - the ones who know fear, but set that fear aside and do what has to be done. Those are the ones who will have your back, and if need be, save your life.
Today I’m going to tell you about a courageous person - a Japanese diplomat named Chiune Sugihara - who defied the Imperial Japanese government and risked his life to save those he never met. Don’t know if he saved the world, but he did save between 6,000 and 10,000 Jews.
Sugihara was born in Japan into a middle-class rural samurai family on the first day of a new century (January 1, 1900) . He turned out to be a bright kid and graduated from high school in the top of his class. His father wanted him to be a doctor, but Sugihara had other planes and attended Waseda University to study English, which he paid for by working part-time as a longshoreman. He is currently listed as number 7 of the top 100 alumni of Waseda. He should be listed among the top three, and arguably as number one.
After graduating college he entered the Imperial Japanese diplomatic corps and was sent to the Japanese language institute in Harbin, China where he studied Russian. Of course he graduated with honors. He was then assigned to the Japanese-controlled government in Manchuria where he quickly rose to become the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and by 1934 was in line to become the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Manchuria. An impressive start for a 34 year old guy who worked his way through college as a longshoreman. But here’s where he hit his first speed bump - in 1934 he criticized the Japanese Imperial Army and resigned his position in protest over Japanese treatment of the Chinese.
After resigning his position in Manchuria he was sent back to Japan where he met and married Yukiko. In 1938, Sugihara and his young family were sent to the Japanese diplomatic office in Helsinki, Finland, and in 1939 he was ordered to open a one-man Consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania. His mission wasn’t very diplomatic, to the contrary, his mission was to gather intelligence on Soviet and German war plans and troop movements. From all reports he excelled at his job.
Prior to WW II, Kaunas was a haven for Jews fleeing persecution in Stalin’s USSR. With Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 Kaunas again became a haven for Jews fleeing persecution, this time from the Nazis.
Though the Nazis had not yet implemented the “Final Solution,” their persecution of Jews was getting progressively worse since Hitler came to power in 1933. By the summer of 1940 it was clear to Jews in Lithuania that darker days under Hitler were coming, and their only hope of escape was to the west - through the Soviet Union to Japan.
By late July 1940, crowds of Jews, mostly Polish, were gathering outside Sugihara’s one-man Consulate seeking Japanese transit visas so they could travel through the USSR to Japan. Just one problem - the Japanese government denied Sugihara’s request to allow him to issue transit visas not once, not twice, but three times. The third time he was told not to ask again.
So what did Sugihara do? He talked it over with his wife and not only issued the transit visas in defiance of the Imperial Japanese government, but also coordinated with the Soviets to honor those visas. He did this knowing he was not only risking his career, but also his life.
He issued the first visa on July 31 and continued issuing them through August 28, 1940 when the Soviets forced him and his family to leave Lithuania. In those 29 days he issued 2,139 visas - all hand written - that allowed Jewish people, including families, to escape the advancing Germans and the soon to be horrors of the Nazi extermination camps.
With their visas in hand these people traveled across the USSR to Kobe, Japan and then most were sent to Japanese occupied Shanghai, China where they stayed until the end of WW II. Today it’s estimated that their descendants number over 100,000 - most of whom, if not all, would not have been born without Sugihara and his visas.
After the war, the Japanese Foreign Ministry forced Sugihara to resign due to that “incident in Lithuania.” After that he worked as a part time interpreter and other odd jobs until he found employment in the Moscow office of an import-export company. Not once did he speak of the incredible feat he did in saving so many. Not once did he seek compensation for the career he lost. Not once did he seek reward for his acts. He just went about putting his life back together as best he could for himself, his wife, and his family.
It wasn’t until 1969 that one of those Sugihara helped found him and started telling the story. Soon hundreds came forward and provided testimony to Yad Vashem (Holocaust Memorial) in Israel. Finally, in 1985, he was named as one of the Righteous Among the Nations - Israel’s highest honor. Unfortunately, Sugihara was too old and ill to travel to Israel to receive this honor, instead his wife and son did so on his behalf.
When asked why he risked his life and career by defying the Imperial Japanese government, Sugihara simply replied “They were human beings and they needed help. I’m glad I found the strength to make the decision to give it to them.”
Consul Chiune Sugihara died on July 31, 1986 at the age of 86. Yukiko Sugihara lived to the age of 94 and joined her husband on October 8, 2008.
Why did I choose to write about Chiune Sugihara? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because the world needs more people like Sugihara who will risk everything and defy their government in order to do what’s right. Or maybe it’s because the courageous should never be forgotten. Or maybe it’s just because it proves that Sargent right:
Hang with those who are courageous - the ones who know fear but set that fear aside and do what has to be done. Those are the ones who will have your back, and if need be, save your life.
Much Respect to Consul Chiune Sugihara and his wife Yukiko.
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