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Roots -

Chiune Sugihara was born into a middle-class family on January 1, 1900, in Kozuchi Town, Empire of Japan (now Mino, Gifu Prefecture, Japan).

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Early years -

Chiune Sugihara excelled in school, but while his father wanted him to become a doctor, Sugihara had other plans. He deliberately failed his admission exam to get into medical school and took up an English major instead.

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Foreign Ministry -

In 1919, Chiune Sugihara passed the Japanese government’s Foreign Ministry Scholarship exams. He then had to spend two years in the army, but in 1922 Sugihara managed to pass the Foreign Ministry’s language qualification exams.

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Languages -

Chiune Sugihara was then assigned to Harbin, China, where he became fluent in Russian and German. He eventually joined Japan's training center Harbin Gakuin, where he became an expert on the Soviet Union.

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Move to Lithuania -

In November 1939, Sugihara was assigned as vice consul to the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania.

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Primary task -

The Japanese government had an interest in staying on top of what the USSR was doing. One of the goals was to provide the Japanese government with intelligence on German and Soviet troop movement in the Baltic region, as well as any information on German attacks against the USSR.

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USSR occupation -

Then, in the summer of 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania, along with Latvia and Estonia, with the aim of annexing the territories into the USSR.

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Chiune Sugihara starts helping those in need -

The NKVD (Soviet secret police) started repressing and abusing the inhabitants of those Baltic states. Chiune Sugihara then realized he could use his diplomatic authority to save these people.

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First visas -

He did so by granting them visas to flee Europe, eastwards through the Soviet Union en-route to Japan.

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Visas -

Sugihara issued members of the Polish underground (Polish resistance during WWII) transit visas to travel through Soviet territory into Japan, and then to Curaçao and Dutch territories in the Americas.

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Jewish refugees -

Jewish refugees, mostly from Poland and Lithuania, started queuing outside the Japanese consulate in Kovno, in hopes of getting a visa to escape the Germans.

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Sempo -

Chiune Sugihara started using the Sino-Japanese reading of his name, "Sempo," in Lithuania. This was because it was easier to pronounce than his given name. Many refugees knew him as Sempo.

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Alarm bells -

After about 1800 visas had been granted, the Japanese Foreign Ministry sent Sugihara a cable that read: “You must make sure that they [refugees] have finished their procedure for their entry visas and also they must possess the travel money or the money that they need during their stay in Japan. Otherwise, you should not give them the transit visa."

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Rail travel -

Despite the warning from Tokyo, Sugihara kept granting visas to refugees. Sugihara managed to convince Soviet officials to let Jewish refugees travel across the USSR on the Trans Siberian Railway. Refugees did, however, pay five times the normal ticket price.

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The end of visas -

Chiune Sugihara left the country on September 4, 1940, as the consulate was about to close its doors. Sugihara continued to issue visas until he left.

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The last goodbye -

Sugihara even issued visas from his hotel room. Later, he is said to have thrown blank sheets out the train window. These had his signature and the consulate’s seal, so they could be filled out and turned into visas.

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Final words -

The story goes that Chiune Sugihara’s final words to the refugees were, "Please forgive me. I cannot write anymore. I wish you the best."

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POW -

Sugihara was reassigned to other locations, including Bucharest, Romania. He was there from 1942 to 1944. When the Soviets invaded the country, Sempo and his family were sent to a POW camp, where they stayed until 1946.

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Destinations -

Thousands of refugees managed to cross the USSR and make it to Kobe, Japan, where there was a Jewish community.

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New homes -

From Japan, many of these Jewish refugees managed to get asylum visas to the US, Canada, Australia, Palestine, and Latin American countries.

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Thousands were saved -

It is estimated that Chiune Sugihara saved around 6,000 Jews. Pictured is Hanni Vogelweid, who was granted a visa by Sugihara.

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Legacy -

It’s believed that about 40,000 of these people’s descendants are alive today thanks to Sempo’s actions.

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Why Chiune Sugihara helped so many people -

When asked why he granted visas to thousands of Jews, Sugihara replied: “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.”

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Why Chiune Sugihara helped so many people -

“Also, I felt at that time, that the Japanese government did not have any uniform opinion in Tokyo. [...] 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," continued Sugihara.

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Why Chiune Sugihara helped so many people -

"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.”

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Righteous Among Nations -

In 1985, the Israeli government named Chiune Sugihara one of the Righteous Among Nations, which is an honorific to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews.

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Honor -

Chiune Sugihara is the only Japanese national to have ever received such an honor by the State of Israel.

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Death -

Chiune Sugihara passed away in July 1986 in Kamakura, Japan. Sempo was 86.

Sources: (History Collection) (The World Holocaust Remembrance Center) (University of Technology Sydney) (Times of Israel)

See also: Famous figures whose family members survived the Holocaust

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