Portugal finally recognises consul who saved thousands from Holocaust

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Victoria33

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This is an amazing story, Sousa Mendes saved many but in the end, he was let go as a diplomat by the Portuguese government and spent the rest of his life in “penury”, I take it, in poverty. But he did the right thing. Heroic stories on the Holocaust come out frequently, I’d say even weekly.

Eighty years ago, a middle-aged, mid-ranking diplomat sank into deep depression and watched his hair turn grey in days, as he saw the streets of Bordeaux filling with Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis.

As Portugal’s consul in Bordeaux, Aristides de Sousa Mendes faced a moral dilemma. Should he obey government orders or listen to his own conscience and supply Jews with the visas that would allow them to escape from advancing German forces?

Sousa Mendes’ remarkable response means he is remembered as a hero by survivors and descendants of the thousands he helped to flee.
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