Chiune Sugihara

The Liberator of Lithuania

It was a hot summer day in Lithuania, in the year 1940. Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese vice consul stationed in Lithuania, was sitting in his office when he decided to open his bedroom window. Outside of his office were about 200 Jewish refugees, many of the faces of the people were contorted in pain or hunger. Sugihara met with five of these refugees who served as representatives for the masses. Each of these people had come to Lithuania using only a few correct legal documents with many writing false papers to get there. These people asked Sugihara to provide them with safe and secure transportation into places safe for Jews, as they had come from war-torn Poland.

Sugihara was faced with great and impending moral dilemmas, he wants to save these people, but he puts not only himself but his whole family at risk. “There were about two hundred of them I guess, surrounding the house. We had no idea who they were.” (Sugihara)  When he decides to shoulder this burden for the evacuees, he is showing his vast reserves of selflessness. Sugihara is putting many things at stake as he could easily be imprisoned for life or killed in the antisemitic times which he is in during World War Two, but he knows that these people need to be saved, even though he has not met any of them. After hearing the statements made by five refugees, he understands what he needs to do. Without any reason which he would benefit from, he decides to help provide these people with the opportunity to flee dangerous territory and be safe from the horrors of war. Sugihara himself begins to write the visas and cement himself as one of history's great heroes through this act of selflessness. All heroes should have selflessness, people today believe that the world is all theirs and that they are the only thing that matters. This narcissistic attitude which the general populous possesses has led directly to wars, starvation, and also the destruction of the environment. The world is not ours and we are all visitors stuck in it forever, so we should make the best of it that we can. The sacrifices which Sugihara has made are done without self-gain and have been borne from the compassion which is in his heart.

Handwritten Visa(Neil)As Sugihara looks out on these masses and feels his heart ache for them, the starving men, women, and children who hung about his fences like a lifeless mass, he understands that he is their last hope. Sugihara talks about the immense sorrow that he felt for these people, and at first it tore him apart as he had no idea how to help the migrants. The compassion which Sugihara has for these people he does not know should be strived for by all people today, and a hero is not just the brains or brawn which someone has, but the kindness in their heart to do what is right. Sugihara not only demonstrates this compassion, but he does so with a humble heart, and this is a great show of his humanity, another important trait which is severely lacking today. We all should just see each other as a little more than faces, and more as other people. If we all felt the sympathy which Sugihara has, then we can rest assured that the world would be a much better place for everyone. As Sugihara prepares to write as many visas as possible, he first realizes that he needs to get the permission to write the documents from the Japanese government.

When Sugihara has finally received a telegram back from the government, he does not receive any clear form of direction, but the general understanding is that he is not given the permission he needs. After much thought and deliberation between him and his wife, he finally garners the courage to tell the people that he will grant the travel visas despite his risk of losing his position, or possibly his life. In his flurry of writing close to 2200 legal documents in about two weeks, which is about three months of work, the people around him realize the heroism of the intrepid politician. This not only secures his place among the great protagonists of history but establishes his impressive traits of bravery and courage. Sugihara has the courage to do what is right, and his justification is simply “I may have disobeyed my government but if I didn't I would be disobeying God.” This courage to do the right thing is something which we all need in society, whether it be something small such as standing up for someone at school or something larger like standing up for positive change in a greater community, we all should strive to have the bravery displayed by Sugihara and his wife.

Statue of Sugihara(Ramon)Sugihara has displayed boundless bravery, compassion, and selflessness: all this should show him to be great her, whose values would make the people of today's society much happier and healthier. While Sugihara is not often talked about out of the context of World War Two, we all should strive to achieve these heroic traits in both simple and trying times. A hero, which we should all remember, is one who does something selfless for the greater good and all other positive traits which follow should be accepted. Sugihara and his wife, Yukiko, show to us what exactly it means to be a hero and much more.

 Works Cited

“Chiune (Sempo) Sugihara.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005594#.

“Chiune Sugihara.” Chiune Sugihara, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/chiune-sugihara .

“Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 2005, www.pbs.org/wgbh/sugihara/readings/excerpt.html.  

Ramon. “Chiune Sugihara Memorial – Hero of the Holocaust.” PUBLIC ART NETWORK YEAR IN REVIEW DATABASE,www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/networks-and-councils/public-art-network/public-art-year-in-review-database/chiune-sugihara-memorial-%E2%80%93-hero-of-the-holocaust.

Neil. “RETURNING BACK TO HARBIN.” Our Passports, ourpassports.com/category/passports/wwii/.