Community Magazine April 2012

had tables and chairs set up in the city’s plaza to accommodate the multitudes of people. The consular staff, together with Rabbi Kruger, took their places at the tables and then the real work proceeded in the manner of an assembly-line. Day after day, and also at night, the work of issuing visas continued. There was always a line of cars filled with refugees, extending from the plaza to the French-Spanish frontier, the first point on the road to Portugal and freedom. On June 20, after three days of intensive work, thousands of refugees were able to leave Bordeaux to safety. Seeing that his main task was fulfilled, Sousa Mendes proceeded southward, narrowly missing a cable sent from Lisbon on June 22 demanding that he stop issuing visas. In Toulouse, Bayonne and Hendaye, where thousands of other refugees were still searching for ways and means to flee France, Sousa Mendes helped the consuls issue visas and further assisted refugees. Meanwhile, Salazar heard of the thousands of refugees with Portuguese visas coming from Bordeaux, and issued orders not to recognize visas issued by Sousa Mendes. Some 10,000 persons were turned away from crossing the border by force of this order. In an article printed in 1996, Mendes’ son, John Paul de Abranches, recounted one such case: As his diplomatic car reached the French border town of Hendaye, my father encountered a large group of stranded refugees for whom he had previously issued visas. Those people had been turned away because the Portuguese government had phoned the guards, commanding, “Do not honor Mendes’s signature on visas.” Ordering his driver to slow down, Father waved the group to follow him to a border checkpoint that had no telephones. In the official black limousine with its diplomatic license tags, Father led those refugees across the border toward freedom. The Sousa Mendes family returned to Portugal on July 8, 1940, but before his return, Aristides issued Portuguese passports to refugees trapped in occupied France, thereby preventing their deportation to concentration camps. Mendes’ return to Portugal marked the first stage of the tragic consequences of his heroism. Salazar did not care in the least for the large number of lives saved by his consul. He only saw the personal affront and infringement on his authority, and set out to destroy Sousa Mendes. To this end, he did everything in his power to make it impossible for Sousa Mendes to earn a living. Mendes was eventually forced to sell the furniture of his home in Cabanas do Viriato in order to buy food. Unfortunately, his health deteriorated as steadily as his finances. In 1945, he suffered his first stroke, which paralyzed an arm. His wife, Angelina, also suffered a stroke and died in 1948. Alone and destitute, Sousa Mendes was forced to eat his meals in a Jewish soup kitchen. Sousa Mendes died on April 3, 1954 in a Franciscan hospice in Lisbon. Only a niece was present at his bedside. Yad Vashem issued a medal in his memory with the following inscription from the Gemara: “ Whosoever saves one life, it is as if he has saved an entire world. ” Rabbi Haim Kruger was present at the ceremony of homage. The Jewish National Fund planted a forest to commemorate Sousa Mendes whose heroic deeds saved the lives of 30,000 people. In 1988, Portugal recognized his work by giving his name to a school in a suburb of Lisbon, and naming eight streets throughout the country after him. Meanwhile, it took almost 50 years for the city of Bordeaux to honor him. Finally, in 1994, in a ceremony attended by Israeli ambassadors and authorities of Bordeaux, a commemorative bust of Sousa Mendes was unveiled in the city by the President of Portugal, Mario Soares, and his wife. A plaque was placed in the Rue Quai Louis XVIII bearing the inscription: “In accordance with a Biblical principle, a man has the right to disobey an unethical order.” Artistic works produced about him include a Franco- Portuguese film entitled O Consul Injusticado , and a 1996 play in Porto Alegre written by the consul’s grandson, Antonio de Moncada de Sousa Mendes. The Holocaust not only eradicated one- third of the Jewish people, it also exposed the darkest side of humanity. But the inspiring stories of these heroes, and those of many others who were ready to sacrifice everything they had to save lives, stand as a testament to the incredible potential for goodness in mankind. These courageous life-saving efforts remind us that even during humanity’s darkest periods, there are those who stubbornly maintain their hold on the basic values of compassion and respect for human life. Their memory lives on as a vital and inspirational reminder of the ultimate goodness. May the memory of these great men be blessed and continue to inspire all men for generations to come. Mendes' "Table in the Square" as he issued visas to thousands of refugees Artist: Chana Galitzer 34 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE