|
Sempo
Sugihara
Sempo Sugihara (also known as Chiune) was the Japanese
consul in Kovno, Lithuania. Against his government's
orders, Sugihara issued 6000 Jews with Japanese visas,
within a period of 19 days. These visas allowed the
refugees to enter Japan, from whence they continued
on to Shanghai and later to Canada, Australia or South
America. Sugihara's actions saved about 10 000 Jews
in total.
Sugihara
was a great humanitarian who risked demotion or
worse for his actions. He had never seen Jews
before, but he kept in mind at all times the Samurai
maxim that "even a hunter cannot kill a bird that
flies to him for refuge". Even at the train station
on his way to Berlin in 1940, he was stamping
papers for a crowd of desperate Jews. In 1945
Sempo Sugihara was dismissed from the Japanese
Foreign Ministry.
|
Sempo Sugihara
|
However, his courage was recognised posthumously when
Japan apologised for this dismissal and applauded his
deeds. He was also honoured as Japan's first Righteous
Among the Nations. When asked what reward he would choose,
Sugihara chose to have his son educated in Israel. Two
members of the Sydney Jewish community who were saved
by Sugihara are Henry Roth and Dora
Grynberg.
Mitsugi
Shibata
The story of Mitsugi Shibata's bravery took place
in Japanese-occupied China. In 1942, as the Japanese
Vice-Consul in Shanghai, Shibata warned Jewish leaders
that Meisinger, the infamous antisemitic
"Butcher of Warsaw", was coming to China.
| In the end,
Tokyo did not allow Meisinger's visit, but because
Shibata and the Jewish leaders had acted precipitously,
they were arrested and severely beaten. After
weeks of imprisonment, they were deported to Tokyo
in disgrace. Afterwards, believing he had harmed
the Jews in some way, Shibata was too ashamed
to contact any of them. But his attempt to save
Jewish lives was recognised and in 1976, a year
before his death, he was honoured by the Jewish
Centre in Tokyo. |
Mitsugi Shibata
|
|
