The Jewish community of Los Angeles is honoring the late diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes with a series of memorial events.
Sousa Mendes served as Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France, where in 1940 he issued thousands of visas to refugees of Nazi Germany, many of them Jews.
In all, Sousa Mendes issued some 30,000 visas, including about 10,000 to Jews, over the period of a few days. This feat was characterized by the Israeli Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer as “the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust.”
The diplomat did so in defiance of his government and paid for his “disobedience” by losing his position. Sousa Mendes died in poverty in 1954.
Descendants of those saved by Sousa Mendes will attend a series of special events organized by the Sousa Mendes Foundation and timed to coincide with International Holocaust Memorial Day.
Until 1 March the Los Angeles Museum Holocaust Museum will present the exhibition 'Visas to Freedom: Aristides de Sousa Mendes and the Refugees of World War II'
On Sunday, 24 January, the American Jewish University in Los Angeles will host the world premiere of the oratorio “Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides,” composed by Neely Bruce and produced by Marilyn Ziering. “Circular 14” refers to an order issued by Portuguese wartime dictator Antonio Salazar to deny visas to all refugees seeking to escape Nazi-occupied Europe by way of Portugal.
2016 also marks the 50th anniversary of Sousa Mendes being recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem. He was rehabilitated posthumously by Portugal in 1986.
