Japanese Risks Everything to Save Jews

ChossidMom

Sun, Nov 02 2008, 4:12 pm

http://www.aish.com/holocaust/.....e.asp

When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, Polish Jewry was trapped between two beasts, the Nazis to the West and the Communists to the East. On one side was certain death, on the other was spiritual destruction. There was nowhere to turn. As darkness set upon the European continent, the sun began to dawn in a far away land, where no one ever would have expected -- Japan, the land of the rising sun.

Polish and Lithuanian Jews sought to escape across the barren Soviet wasteland to the Far East. Underneath the Nazis' very nose, thousands of Jews took refuge in Japan, amongst the Nazis' own allies. How did they make it through the iron curtain to safety? As many as 10,000 Jews owe their salvation to the actions of one man and his wife, who defied everything but their own morals to save lives.

Rebel with a Cause

Chiune Sugihara was born on January 1, 1900, in Yaotsu, a rural area in Japan, into a middle class samurai family. Although the samurai clans put great emphasis on honor and tradition, Chiune was a rebel for most of his life. Instead of following in his father's footsteps and becoming a doctor, he deliberately failed the medical school entrance examination and instead pursued a degree in English literature with a hope to someday travel abroad. The Japanese Foreign Ministry eventually recruited him to serve as Foreign Minister in Manchuria in 1918 where he met with great success. While in Manchuria, Chiune became fluent in Russian and German and ended up converting to Orthodox Christianity. Despite his success, Chiune quit his post in Manchuria in protest over Japanese mistreatment of Chinese locals. In 1935, he returned to Japan, where he married Yukiko Kikuchi and together they had four sons.

In 1939, he became a vice-consul of the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania. When Russia took over Lithuania in 1940, annexing it to the Soviet Union, thousands of Jewish refugees attempted to obtain exit visas to escape the iron grip of Communism; they knew full well that if they remained behind, they would either be forced to give up their Torah lifestyle or be shipped off to the dreaded Siberia. Furthermore, everyone knew that it was just a matter of time before Hitler broke his pact with Stalin and began his conquest of the Soviet Union. The refugees included several of the most prestigious yeshivas of Europe as well as many of the leading Rabbis of the time.

Leaving the Soviet grasp was not easy. The Soviets would only issue an exit visa to people possessing an entrance visa to a foreign country however it was almost impossible to find a foreign consulate who would grant such a visa. It was now Chiune Sugihara's moment to enter the stage.
He refused to take breaks to eat, knowing that every moment was a chance to save another life.

Saving Lives Every Moment

Despite the refusal of the Japanese government in Tokyo to grant visas to anyone lacking the proper funds, Sugihara chose to defy official orders. From July 31 to August 28, 1940, Sugihara began to grant visas on his own initiative. During this time, he would spend 18 hours a day hand writing over 300 visas daily, more than one month's regular quota. He refused to take breaks to eat, knowing that every moment was a chance to save another life. At the end of each day, his wife recalled massaging his swollen hands.

He promised the crowds of refugees gathered outside the walls of the consulate that he would not abandon them. He would keep writing until every single person had a visa. "It is the kind of sentiments anyone would have when he actually sees refugees face to face, begging with tears in their eyes," he said. "He cannot just 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."(Levine, Hillel. [1996]. In Search of Sugihara: The Elusive Japanese Diplomat Who Risked His Life to Rescue 10,000 Jews from the Holocaust, p259).

Sugihara continued to issue visas until he was forced to leave his post on September 4 when his consulate was dissolved due to the impending Nazi invasion. He continued to write visas while in transit, throwing them into the crowd of desperate refugees while he boarded his train. When the train began to depart from the station, he allegedly threw his visa stamp into the crowd, enabling the Jews to continue to write their own visas. If he was humanly capable of doing more he would have. He was forced to leave so many behind, and it broke his heart that he was unable to save more.

From Obscurity to Honor
Between 6000-10,000 Jews were rescued by his heroic efforts, second only in numbers to the Jews saved by Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg.

Between 6000-10,000 Jews were rescued by his heroic efforts, second only in numbers to the Jews saved by Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg. Many of the refugees made it safely to Japan with no intention of continuing to another destination. Some 20,000 Jews survived the war in the Shanghai ghetto despite German pressure for the Japanese government to liquidate the Jewish refugees. In a legendary meeting between the Amshinover Rebbe and several Japanese generals, the question was posed as to why the German's hated the Jews so much. Without missing a beat the Amshinover Rebbe responded, "Because we are not Aryan like them, we are Asians."

In 1945, the Japanese government unceremoniously dismissed Sugihara from his diplomatic service and to this day they deny that it was related to his behavior in Lithuania. From then on, he lived a low key existence for the rest of his life, working hard to make a living to support his family. He lived a quiet, humble life, and his story remained virtually unknown. He felt no need to talk about his accomplishments because he saw nothing extraordinary about them.

In 1968, Sugihara was discovered by one of his beneficiaries, a diplomat to the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo. He was granted the honor of Righteous among the Nations by the State of Israel in 1985. He passed away one year later and only when a large delegation of Jews from around the world appeared at his funeral, did his story become known to the Japanese people.

When asked about his motivations, Sugihara replied by quoting an old samurai saying, Even a hunter cannot kill a bird which flies to him for refuge. "I may have to disobey my government, but if I don't I would be disobeying God," he said. "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." (Levine, ibid)

Visas for Life

Chiune Sugihara's widow, Yukiko, passed away last month at 94. In her book, "Visas for Life," Yukiko describes her own feelings as she watched the crowds of Jews waiting outside the Japanese consulate in Lithuania: "We saw a little child standing behind his mother hiding himself in his mother's coat, and a girl with an expression of hunger and terror which made her look like an adult and some others crouching in fatigue." She had just given birth to her third child and recalled thinking that if those mothers loved their children as much as she loved hers, she must try to help them.
"I've heard that, as a people, the Jews never forget a promise."

She stood firmly behind her husband and was the driving force to keep him going despite all odds. "The Jews who passed through Kaunas still treasure the visas which my husband issued," she said. "They didn't forget what they shouted when we were leaving Kaunas station. 'We will never forget you. We will see you again.' I've heard that, as a people, the Jews never forget a promise."

Today, over half a century and two generations later, there are over 40,000 people who owe their lives to Chiune and Yukiko Sugihara. We will never forget.

Clarissa ↓

Sun, Nov 02 2008, 4:15 pm

Are you posted the right article, CM? No mention of you-know-who?

Really amazing story. Thanks for posting it.

ganizzy

Sun, Nov 02 2008, 10:16 pm

my grandfather was saved bec of him.

a few yrs ago the lubavitch yeshiva in montreal had a dinner honoring him (thru his son) . the truth is that chabad in montreal started from boys that came from shangai b/c of sugiharas visas.

also the mirrer yeshiva escaped with his visas

amother ↓

Sun, Nov 02 2008, 11:14 pm

What a beautiful story.

The pessimist in me wonders how many Jews would go out of their way to save unknown gentiles.

The optimist in me hopes we all would.

What do you think?

Raizle ↓

Sun, Nov 02 2008, 11:34 pm

amother wrote:

What a beautiful story.

The pessimist in me wonders how many Jews would go out of their way to save unknown gentiles.

The optimist in me hopes we all would.

What do you think?

Katrina

btw amother are you jewish?

↑ Clarissa ↓

Sun, Nov 02 2008, 11:38 pm

Raizle wrote:

amother wrote:

What a beautiful story.

The pessimist in me wonders how many Jews would go out of their way to save unknown gentiles.

The optimist in me hopes we all would.

What do you think?

Katrina

btw amother are you jewish?

Raizle, first of all, do you think there are non-Jews on this site? Is someone a non-Jew because they question something about the Jews? Here's a movie that asks the same question. I highly recommend it:

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005......html

↑ Raizle ↓

Sun, Nov 02 2008, 11:41 pm

Clarissa wrote:

Raizle wrote:

amother wrote:

What a beautiful story.

The pessimist in me wonders how many Jews would go out of their way to save unknown gentiles.

The optimist in me hopes we all would.

What do you think?

Katrina

btw amother are you jewish?

it was a combo of her being anonymous and asking such a question that made me wonder, that's all. If she doesn't have anything to hide then why anon. There is nothing even remotely personal in what she wrote.

↑ amother

Mon, Nov 03 2008, 12:38 pm

I am Jewish.

Anonymous because I didn't want to get yelled at for questioning.

In my experience, based on minor tragedies that have happened locally that have no affected the Jewish community ( like a power outage in the summer that only affects poor urban areas) the Orthodox never seem to volunteer to help (with one or two exceptions). They never seem to be proactive regarding the fates of those who don't share their religious beliefs.

maybe its just the place I live in.

↑ Clarissa ↓

Mon, Nov 03 2008, 12:41 pm

Raizel, I don't like the amother feature much of the time, but she did post a question that would have her pilloried on this site. I have to say I thought the same thing.

Ruchel

Mon, Nov 03 2008, 12:42 pm

amother wrote:

Okay, I'll tell you. Here they don't volunteer to help other Jews or other Orthodox or even necessarily other charedi either.
And in other places, they do.

Middos are individual.

↑ Raizle ↓

Mon, Nov 03 2008, 4:29 pm

amother wrote:

I think ruchel answered well when she said midos are individual.
I mentioned Katrina. Jewish aid was given to Jews and non-Jews alike. Israel has been involved in saving arab lives of all people. I'm sure there are many more examples and sure there are also examples of the other side. I think some of the time the Jews look uninvolved because the non Jewish population is so much bigger and they have their own organizations and aid, whereas there are times where a Jew has to be for himself otherwise no one else will be there for him.
Please excuse my ignorance but how exactly is a power outage a tragedy anyway and in what ways would you expect the Jewish community to help?

↑ Raizle

Mon, Nov 03 2008, 4:32 pm

Clarissa wrote:

Raizel, I don't like the amother feature much of the time, but she did post a question that would have her pilloried on this site. I have to say I thought the same thing.

I don't have a problem with people using the amother feature when posting anything personal. Isn't that what it's for?

↑ Clarissa

Mon, Nov 03 2008, 4:51 pm

Yes, and I often complain when it's abused, especially in order to attack posters anonymously. In this case, this amother feared she would be attacked because of her opinion. Having stated similar opinions, I understand her feeling.

soldat

Mon, Nov 03 2008, 7:22 pm

I work with lots of non-jews,
we all take care of each other, by each other presents, bring chicken soup over, say tehilim (you use the father's name for a [gentile]) for each other.
it makes no difference if it is a Jewish staff member or not.
ok, thats not risking everything, but there are some very positive good things happening in my little world.