Chiune Sugihara
Chiune Sugihara | |
|---|---|
杉原 千畝 | |
Sugihara, before 1945 | |
| Born | 1 January 1900 Kozuchi, Gifu, Japan |
| Died | 31 July 1986 (aged 86) Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Resting place | Kamakura Cemetery |
| Other names | "Sempo", Sergei Pavlovich Sugihara |
| Occupation | Vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania |
| Known for | Rescue of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 4 |
| Awards |
Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, 3rd Class (1996) Order of Polonia Restituta, 2nd Class (2007) |
Chiune Sugihara (杉原 千畝, Sugihara Chiune; 1 January 1900 – 31 July 1986) was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the Second World War, Sugihara helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so that they could travel through Japanese territory, risking his career and the lives of his family. The fleeing Jews were refugees from German-occupied Western Poland and Soviet-occupied Eastern Poland, as well as residents of Lithuania.
Lithuania declared the year 2020 as "The Year of Chiune Sugihara" in his honor. Today, the estimated number of descendants of those who received "Sugihara visas" ranges between 40,000 and 100,000.
In 2021 a street in Jerusalem was dedicated in his honor.