Swedish architect and diplomat Raoul Wallenberg issued and distributed countless illegal “protective passports” to Hungarian Jews awaiting to be deported to Auschwitz, often defying orders from Nazi officials and risking his own life. A witness recounted a relevant incident as follows:
[Wallenberg] climbed up on the roof of the train and began handing in protective passes through the doors which were not yet sealed. He ignored orders from the Germans for him to get down, then the Arrow Cross men began shooting and shouting at him to go away. He ignored them and calmly continued handing out passports to the hands that were reaching out for them. I believe the Arrow Cross men deliberately aimed over his head, as not one shot hit him, which would have been impossible otherwise. I think this is what they did because they were so impressed by his courage. After Wallenberg had handed over the last of the passports he ordered all those who had one to leave the train and walk to the caravan of cars parked nearby, all marked in Swedish colours. I don’t remember exactly how many, but he saved dozens off that train, and the Germans and Arrow Cross were so dumbfounded they let him get away with it.
Estimates vary, but Wallenberg may have saved between 4,500 and tens of thousands of Jews toward the end of World War 2.
You want to know about my motivation, don’t you? Well. It is the kind of sentiments anyone would have when he actually sees refugees face to face, begging with tears in their eyes. He just cannot 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. Also, I felt at that time, that the Japanese government did not have any uniform opinion in Tokyo. Some Japanese military leaders were just scared because of the pressure from the Nazis; while other officials in the Home Ministry were simply ambivalent. People in Tokyo were not united. I felt it silly to deal with them. So, I made up my mind not to wait for their reply. I knew that somebody would surely complain about me in the future. But, I myself thought this would be the right thing to do. 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
Thank you, I was not familiar with Sugihara’s story. Relevant section from the Wikipedia article:
At the time, the Japanese government required that visas be issued only to those who had gone through appropriate immigration procedures and had enough funds. Most of the refugees did not fulfill these criteria. Sugihara dutifully contacted the Japanese Foreign Ministry three times for instructions. Each time, the Ministry responded that anybody granted a visa should have a visa to a third destination to exit Japan, with no exceptions.
Being aware that applicants were in danger if they stayed behind, Sugihara decided to ignore his orders and, from 18 July to 28 August 1940, issued ten-day visas to Jews for transit through Japan. Given his inferior post and the culture of the Japanese Foreign Service bureaucracy, this was an unusual act of disobedience. He spoke to Soviet officials who agreed to let the Jews travel through the country via the Trans-Siberian Railway at five times the standard ticket price.
Sugihara continued to hand-write visas, reportedly spending 18 to 20 hours a day on them, producing a normal month’s worth of visas each day, until 4 September, when he had to leave his post before the consulate was closed. By that time, he had granted thousands of visas to Jews, many of whom were heads of households and thus permitted to take their families with them. It is claimed that before he left, he handed the official consulate stamp to a refugee so that more visas could be forged. His son, Nobuki Sugihara, adamantly insisted in an interview with Ann Curry that his father never gave the stamp to anyone. According to witnesses, he was still writing visas while in transit from his hotel and after boarding the train at the Kaunas Railway Station, throwing visas into the crowd of desperate refugees out of the train’s window even as the train pulled out.
In final desperation, blank sheets of paper with only the consulate seal and his signature (that could be later written over into a visa) were hurriedly prepared and flung out from the train. As he prepared to depart, he said, “Please forgive me. I cannot write anymore. I wish you the best.” When he bowed deeply to the people before him, someone exclaimed, “Sugihara. We’ll never forget you. I’ll surely see you again!”
Two more figures who shielded thousands of Jews from Nazi persecution by issuing visas: Angel San Briz and Giorgio Perlasca. The latter apparently kept quiet about his actions until he was found decades later by some of those he had saved.
Swedish architect and diplomat Raoul Wallenberg issued and distributed countless illegal “protective passports” to Hungarian Jews awaiting to be deported to Auschwitz, often defying orders from Nazi officials and risking his own life. A witness recounted a relevant incident as follows:
Estimates vary, but Wallenberg may have saved between 4,500 and tens of thousands of Jews toward the end of World War 2.
Chiune Sugihara is another person in the same vein, a Japanese diplomat who issued visas to help Jews flee the Holocaust.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/01/27/chiune-sugihara-jews-holocaust-japanese-schindler/
This quote from Wikipedia is also a good lesson in heroic responsibility:
Thank you, I was not familiar with Sugihara’s story. Relevant section from the Wikipedia article:
Two more figures who shielded thousands of Jews from Nazi persecution by issuing visas: Angel San Briz and Giorgio Perlasca. The latter apparently kept quiet about his actions until he was found decades later by some of those he had saved.