9 ms·

The Schindler of Japan, Chihune Sugihara

239 points by se4u 5y ago

FlyingSnake 5y ago
This is a great and unheard story, and truly inspiring. When I heard a "Japanese Schindler" I was expecting a Japanese person saving Chinese people during the Nanking and other massacres. Are there any examples of Japanese people going against the Japanese govt to save innocent Chinese people?
duxup 5y ago
I'm surprised to read that despite persecution, Russia allowed them to transit through their country.
- redis_mlc 5y ago
  I believe early in WW2, Japan had a treaty with Russia. So Japan did not torpedo US Liberty ships headed to Russia, and various other surprising things. (Japan obeyed international treaties to the letter, but did not follow any human rights conventions.) Of course, at the end of WW2, Russia turned their vast army and artillery eastward, and annihiliated the Japanese army. Source: I study WW2.
  - metters 5y ago
    > and various other surprising things. This makes me curious. What other things?
    - redis_mlc 5y ago
      Although the Axis countries did not cooperate to the extent of the US and Britain, there was some effort: - Japan sent a military observer to Berlin. Unfortunately for Hitler, he made daily extensive notes, then sent them via a broken code - Japan received a Bf109 and a light German bomber, and evaluated them against the Zero and a Japanese bomber - Japan also received a couple of tanks and some nuclear technology, usually via submarine.
  - skhr0680 5y ago
    The Soviets would have needed friends if the Allies accepted German's surrender then immediately took control of the German military to destroy the USSR, and Japan was in a natural position to be that friend. Stalin only agreed to break the non-aggression pact once it became clear that no invasion from the west was coming, which was fairly late in the war (Yalta).
    - enriquto 5y ago
      it is interesting to note that at no point during the war both sides fought simultaneously against the other side. E.g., the USSR was on Germany's side during the battle of Britain (supplying fuel for german bombers). The Japan non-aggression pact was kept until after the defeat of Germany. The many European countries that fought on both sides along the course of the war, etc.
    - LatteLazy 5y ago
      Actually the Soviets already defeated the Germans. 80% of German forces were on the Eastern front and Russia was cutting through them like a hot knife through butter before d-day even occurred. They took Berlin despite the German high command basically trying to give it to the Western allies. The turning point of WW2 was Stalingrad, not D-day.
      - hef19898 5y ago
        One could also make the case for the Germans failure to take Moscow to be the turning point, followed by the US entry into the war. After that it was just a question of when the Axis would be crushed by the Allies industrial capacity. Not if.
  - miles 5y ago
    > Of course, at the end of WW2, Russia turned their vast army and artillery eastward, and annihiliated the Japanese army. Of the ~1,092,400 Japanese soldiers facing Russia, only 22,300-23,600 were killed according to Japan (Russia places the figure at 83,737): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_War#Summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_War#Summary
    - LatteLazy 5y ago
      Because Japan surrendered almost as soon as Russia declared war. They were more afraid of the red army than 2 nuclear bombings...
      - hef19898 5y ago
        I think we will never know what the reasoning behind the two bombs really was. I could imagine that after using large scale carpet and fire bombing against civilian targets, a nuclear bomb with a similar effect doesn't make much of a difference.
        redis_mlc 5y ago
        We know exactly: - 5 Japanese cities were set aside from B-29 carpet bombing for possible nuclear bombing - US generals debated whether using these bombs was immoral or not. They were on the fence. - Truman's civil administrator pushed for using them - 2 were dropped. I believe 3-ship formations were used: bomber, meteorology plane, photo plane. A customized Lancaster wing was initially created, but Americans preferred to use their own B-29. You are correct that it didn't matter whether an atomic bomb or 1000 bombers with napalm were sent. Also, "civilian targets" is incorrect - Hiroshima was a naval base, and also built submarines or torpedos. This was downplayed by peaceniks for several decades, but it turned out that Hiroshima was a military target. There's even an interview with a worker from one of the military factories online. The Japanese military's goal after Midway was to win a crushing defeat over the US in a battle, so that there could be a favorable peace treaty with the US. That's one of the reasons for their refusal to surrender.
      - 5y ago
  - protomyth 5y ago
    The ships headed to Russia were Russian flagged. They were the reason US submarines had to be very careful in their target selection in certain waters. Thunder Below has a lot of commentary on the subject.
  - himinlomax 5y ago
    > but did not follow any human rights conventions If I'm not mistaken, they hadn't signed any.
- ssijak 5y ago
  Russia did not have a plan to exterminate them, you are thinking from a Nazi POV. They were probably just interested in not having them in Russia because of the religion.
  - vmception 5y ago
    The Nazi solutions weren’t all extermination either, until the final solution. There were several solutions/plans that were thwarted due to poor calculation. The Madagascar Plan makes so much more since for longevity than the Jewish Nationalist plan on the Mediterranean.
    - yawaworht1978 5y ago
      Sorry, but this is a very naive point of view. The Nazi solution was to kill as many of everything as fast they can, the t4 programme and hands on killings were already daily business. The only thing holding the Nazis back was a functional USSR, as soon they anticipated the fall of Moscow, the termination camps have been built in no time. They also maintained many concentration camps long before the decisive conference at Wannsee. The systematic killings started in June 41. The construction and initial glassings via gas vans started before the Wannsee conference, they couldn't wait long enough to get started. Hitler stated as early as 1922 to a journalist that his first and foremost task will be the annihilation of Jews. He simply had to keep a bit of international reputation and was not sure if the army and other lackeys would be ready to commit mass genocide on civilians. After the cowardly operation Barbarossa, there were no doubts any more. There are no ifs or whatever about this, the German population will forever be marked as the biggest suckers in mankind for allowing this man to power and have him and his rich buddies stay in power. There were heroic people who had seen the painting on the wall and died for the cause, then there were the complicit, active clogs in the machine and the most cowardly, the "neutral/passive" parts of the population who accepted the state of affairs and hoped it might either away without consequences for them. And then there's people like you, to this day believing the Jewish solution would have seriously been a peaceful relocation, which would have killed many as well. Ask yourself in which of the 3 aforementioned groups you would most likely be.
- metters 5y ago
  Maybe because it was such a bureaucratic system.
nobody0 5y ago
The Schindler of Germany, John Rabe > John Rabe was an ordinary German businessman in China when the Japanese invaded Nanking in 1937. Nearly 70 years later, a memorial was dedicated to the "Good German" who saved thousands of Chinese lives. https://www.dw.com/en/memorial-dedicated-to-the-oskar-schindler-of-china/a-2226993 https://www.dw.com/en/memorial-dedicated-to-the-oskar-schind...
- durnygbur 5y ago
  Jews were so lucky that German industrialists stood behind them, otherwise "the Nazis" would almost completely eradicate them.
  - singlow 5y ago
    I believe you have a kernel of good intent but very poor wording.
    - durnygbur 5y ago
      German industry was a meatgrinder of slave labour. I don't understand why so much attention is paid to the few neutral actors (read on Schindler, he was an asshole) and used to whitewash German population which was passive at best.
      - emj 5y ago
        Because one guy saving 100s if not thousands is more noteworthy than the thousands of people who saved ten each. The underground networks that smuggled people during the third reich is documented, but many of the active people were jews and did not want to talk about that time. I've seen dairies about the time showing up now, hidden away by traumatized grandparents who didn't want anything to do with Germany.
      - DaedPsyker 5y ago
        I really don't know how you can see Germany as whitewashing the Holocaust. It is pretty evident that they ensure every generation knows the horrors that were caused. Although I can understand why the modern generation might get annoyed at the sense they are supposed to take ownership of something they can't change.
mokarma 5y ago
My grandfather was saved by Sugihara together with the rest of the Mir Yeshiva (Rabbinical College). I am forever grateful to him.
- jbay808 5y ago
  Mine too. It's quite a surprise to see him show up on HN. Such a simple deed with such huge significance. It reminds me to think about what I might be able to do that could end up being life-changing for others someday. It's a shame that he lost his career over it. I'm glad to see him finally getting the recognition he deserves.
- endtime 5y ago
  My wife's grandfather and his family as well. Sugihara is an honored name in our home.
  - Abishek_Muthian 5y ago
    What a great man he is, When a niche site like this gets multiple accounts from people whose lives were positively impacted by him especially on a slow day(HN visits are low during weekends).
VHRanger 5y ago
Absolute badass. People like him, Raoul Wallenberg and Schindler put everything at risk because they understood their sacrifice had 1000x leverage on others lives. We should all aspire to be as courageous if the opportunity presents itself.
- yboris 5y ago
  The opportunity to help others at 1000x leverage is already here for all of us. The most cost-effective [0] charities are a thousand times more effective at helping people as regular charities. For example, for ~$0.5 you can cure a child of parasitic worms in their stomach. For ~$3 you can protect someone form malaria for ~4 years. You can join thousands of others who choose to give at least 10% of their income to the mot cost-effective charities they can find [1] And join the Effective Altruism movement to be involved in helping others effectively [2] [0] https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities [1] https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ [2] https://www.effectivealtruism.org/ https://www.effectivealtruism.org/
  - cik 5y ago
    Also importantly, validate annually that the charity you chose is still on the list. Too many charities scale, and frankly become poor at efficiency and distribution. A shocking number of larger charities are effectively marketing, and subcontract to smaller organizations.
- pjc50 5y ago
  There's still an estimated eighty million refugees and displaced persons in the world: https://www.unhcr.org/uk/figures-at-a-glance.html https://www.unhcr.org/uk/figures-at-a-glance.html Every now and again, the opportunity comes by you to tick a box that determines how your country treats them, an act which can make a difference while costing you nothing and incurring no personal risk.
  - hef19898 5y ago
    And it seems we didn't learn a thing.
ajarmst 5y ago
I always liked the way he responded when asked (many years later) why he did it. Paraphrased, it was along the lines of "It was so obviously the right thing to do, but it would have been nearly impossible to push through the bureaucracy, so I just went ahead and did it myself." He did something so profoundly good that we are compelled to wish we could live up to such an example, and the reason he did it? He didn't really have one. It just never occurred to him not to do it. Which is as good a definition of "hero" as you're likely to run across. "Righteous among nations" indeed.
- duxup 5y ago
  And it was as simple as just doing it and not being limited to just what someone would or wouldn't allow.
- DicIfTEx 5y ago
  Anton Schmid [0] said something similar: ‘We all must die. But if I can choose whether to die as a murderer or a helper, I choose death as a helper.’ [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Schmid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Schmid
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
fnordprefect 5y ago
There is a very interesting book about him that I read years ago: "In Search of Sugihara" by Hillel Levine https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1119369.In_Search_of_Sugihara https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1119369.In_Search_of_Sug... It seems to be readily available on kindle, but harder to find in print.
DicIfTEx 5y ago
As immortalised in song by David Rovics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcFAhFWyuP0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcFAhFWyuP0
fodmap 5y ago
Another not so well known hero is Angel Sanz Briz. https://jewishjournal.com/news/318809/spanish-schindler-who-reportedly-saved-over-5000-jews-during-wwii-finally-gets-tribute/ https://jewishjournal.com/news/318809/spanish-schindler-who-...
- DoingIsLearning 5y ago
  On the same note of WW2 unsong diplomats: Aristides de Sousa Mendes, was a portuguese diplomat in Bordeux France. He against explicit orders granted 30k visas of which 10k were jews. His diplomatic career was terminated. He was shunned back in Portugal, died in debt, feed by a Jewish soup kitchen. Holocaust scholar Yehuda Bauer characterized Sousa Mendes' deed as "perhaps the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust." In his own words: “From now on I’m giving everyone visas, there will be no more nationalities, races or religion. I cannot allow all you people to die...” [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_de_Sousa_Mendes https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_de_Sousa_Mendes
vmception 5y ago
> Though they didn’t face systematic murder, many were persecuted as Communist ideology was against all religions. Can we keep that part of the philosophy? I kind of like how it treats it as a mental disease, I fail to see any other explanation, they fit the actual definition of meme. Verbal virus. Not trying to be edgy, remarkably less edgy than Karl.
himinlomax 5y ago
> Sugihara was then asked to resign by the foreign office. The official line was downsizing, though many, including his wife Yukiko, believe it was because of what happened in Lithuania. It's important to note that, unlike Germany, Japan has never really admitted or apologized for what they did. See this shocking video by historian Mark Felton about what you can find today in a Japanese museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzesh6eN14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzesh6eN14 The Nazis were on a mission to annihilate the Jews, so in relative term they killed many, but in absolute terms the Japanese probably victimized a lot more people. It's just that there were a lot of Chinese people to victimize, so the magnitude of the crime is less apparent. Their cruelty was even worse in some ways, as it was officially sanctioned and encouraged by their institutions as such. The Nazis, while they did not hide their hate for the Jews, went to some lengths to hide what they were actually doing to them -- which is probably how the German population could claim to not know what was going on. (To quote Speer: "I didn't know, I could have known, I should have known." He's been vilified but I haven't seen anything to paint him as a liar as far as this is concerned.) Put simply, the Germans are ashamed of that past, even the Nazis had shown some signs that they knew it was shameful, but the Japanese have never demonstrated any shame.
- 0dayz 5y ago
  It is true that said government and institutions has never done so. However I think you're grossly building up Germans as ignorant goodmen. While painting the Japanese as complicit evil doers. The truth is the only reason Germans are ashamed of the past are due to 2 reasons: 1 the allies occupation of Germany spent lots of resources into exposing the crimes of the nazis. And even then the Germans were proud of the nazis up until the 1980s. And 2 every institution was torn down more or less after the nazis and rebuild from scratch with some having oversight built into it. This did not happen in the occupation of japan. And you can see the same "complicity" with the 3rd holocaust that was done in Croatia/ Bosnia against predominantly Serbs. Hell even Spain has the issue of the public still being proud of the fascists. Or lastly UK still has a sizable portion of its citizens that believes the Uk colonialism was ultimately good and righteous.
  - 5y ago

239 points by se4u 5y ago

This is a great and unheard story, and truly inspiring. When I heard a "Japanese Schindler" I was expecting a Japanese person saving Chinese people during the Nanking and other massacres. Are there any examples of Japanese people going against the Japanese govt to save innocent Chinese people?

duxup 5y ago

I'm surprised to read that despite persecution, Russia allowed them to transit through their country.

redis_mlc 5y ago
I believe early in WW2, Japan had a treaty with Russia. So Japan did not torpedo US Liberty ships headed to Russia, and various other surprising things. (Japan obeyed international treaties to the letter, but did not follow any human rights conventions.) Of course, at the end of WW2, Russia turned their vast army and artillery eastward, and annihiliated the Japanese army. Source: I study WW2.
- metters 5y ago
  > and various other surprising things. This makes me curious. What other things?
  - redis_mlc 5y ago
    Although the Axis countries did not cooperate to the extent of the US and Britain, there was some effort: - Japan sent a military observer to Berlin. Unfortunately for Hitler, he made daily extensive notes, then sent them via a broken code - Japan received a Bf109 and a light German bomber, and evaluated them against the Zero and a Japanese bomber - Japan also received a couple of tanks and some nuclear technology, usually via submarine.
- skhr0680 5y ago
  The Soviets would have needed friends if the Allies accepted German's surrender then immediately took control of the German military to destroy the USSR, and Japan was in a natural position to be that friend. Stalin only agreed to break the non-aggression pact once it became clear that no invasion from the west was coming, which was fairly late in the war (Yalta).
  - enriquto 5y ago
    it is interesting to note that at no point during the war both sides fought simultaneously against the other side. E.g., the USSR was on Germany's side during the battle of Britain (supplying fuel for german bombers). The Japan non-aggression pact was kept until after the defeat of Germany. The many European countries that fought on both sides along the course of the war, etc.
  - LatteLazy 5y ago
    Actually the Soviets already defeated the Germans. 80% of German forces were on the Eastern front and Russia was cutting through them like a hot knife through butter before d-day even occurred. They took Berlin despite the German high command basically trying to give it to the Western allies. The turning point of WW2 was Stalingrad, not D-day.
    - hef19898 5y ago
      One could also make the case for the Germans failure to take Moscow to be the turning point, followed by the US entry into the war. After that it was just a question of when the Axis would be crushed by the Allies industrial capacity. Not if.
- miles 5y ago
  > Of course, at the end of WW2, Russia turned their vast army and artillery eastward, and annihiliated the Japanese army. Of the ~1,092,400 Japanese soldiers facing Russia, only 22,300-23,600 were killed according to Japan (Russia places the figure at 83,737): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_War#Summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Japanese_War#Summary
  - LatteLazy 5y ago
    Because Japan surrendered almost as soon as Russia declared war. They were more afraid of the red army than 2 nuclear bombings...
    - hef19898 5y ago
      I think we will never know what the reasoning behind the two bombs really was. I could imagine that after using large scale carpet and fire bombing against civilian targets, a nuclear bomb with a similar effect doesn't make much of a difference.
      - redis_mlc 5y ago
        We know exactly: - 5 Japanese cities were set aside from B-29 carpet bombing for possible nuclear bombing - US generals debated whether using these bombs was immoral or not. They were on the fence. - Truman's civil administrator pushed for using them - 2 were dropped. I believe 3-ship formations were used: bomber, meteorology plane, photo plane. A customized Lancaster wing was initially created, but Americans preferred to use their own B-29. You are correct that it didn't matter whether an atomic bomb or 1000 bombers with napalm were sent. Also, "civilian targets" is incorrect - Hiroshima was a naval base, and also built submarines or torpedos. This was downplayed by peaceniks for several decades, but it turned out that Hiroshima was a military target. There's even an interview with a worker from one of the military factories online. The Japanese military's goal after Midway was to win a crushing defeat over the US in a battle, so that there could be a favorable peace treaty with the US. That's one of the reasons for their refusal to surrender.
    - 5y ago
- protomyth 5y ago
  The ships headed to Russia were Russian flagged. They were the reason US submarines had to be very careful in their target selection in certain waters. Thunder Below has a lot of commentary on the subject.
- himinlomax 5y ago
  > but did not follow any human rights conventions If I'm not mistaken, they hadn't signed any.
ssijak 5y ago
Russia did not have a plan to exterminate them, you are thinking from a Nazi POV. They were probably just interested in not having them in Russia because of the religion.
- vmception 5y ago
  The Nazi solutions weren’t all extermination either, until the final solution. There were several solutions/plans that were thwarted due to poor calculation. The Madagascar Plan makes so much more since for longevity than the Jewish Nationalist plan on the Mediterranean.
  - yawaworht1978 5y ago
    Sorry, but this is a very naive point of view. The Nazi solution was to kill as many of everything as fast they can, the t4 programme and hands on killings were already daily business. The only thing holding the Nazis back was a functional USSR, as soon they anticipated the fall of Moscow, the termination camps have been built in no time. They also maintained many concentration camps long before the decisive conference at Wannsee. The systematic killings started in June 41. The construction and initial glassings via gas vans started before the Wannsee conference, they couldn't wait long enough to get started. Hitler stated as early as 1922 to a journalist that his first and foremost task will be the annihilation of Jews. He simply had to keep a bit of international reputation and was not sure if the army and other lackeys would be ready to commit mass genocide on civilians. After the cowardly operation Barbarossa, there were no doubts any more. There are no ifs or whatever about this, the German population will forever be marked as the biggest suckers in mankind for allowing this man to power and have him and his rich buddies stay in power. There were heroic people who had seen the painting on the wall and died for the cause, then there were the complicit, active clogs in the machine and the most cowardly, the "neutral/passive" parts of the population who accepted the state of affairs and hoped it might either away without consequences for them. And then there's people like you, to this day believing the Jewish solution would have seriously been a peaceful relocation, which would have killed many as well. Ask yourself in which of the 3 aforementioned groups you would most likely be.
metters 5y ago
Maybe because it was such a bureaucratic system.

nobody0 5y ago

The Schindler of Germany, John Rabe > John Rabe was an ordinary German businessman in China when the Japanese invaded Nanking in 1937. Nearly 70 years later, a memorial was dedicated to the "Good German" who saved thousands of Chinese lives. https://www.dw.com/en/memorial-dedicated-to-the-oskar-schindler-of-china/a-2226993 https://www.dw.com/en/memorial-dedicated-to-the-oskar-schind...

durnygbur 5y ago
Jews were so lucky that German industrialists stood behind them, otherwise "the Nazis" would almost completely eradicate them.
- singlow 5y ago
  I believe you have a kernel of good intent but very poor wording.
  - durnygbur 5y ago
    German industry was a meatgrinder of slave labour. I don't understand why so much attention is paid to the few neutral actors (read on Schindler, he was an asshole) and used to whitewash German population which was passive at best.
    - emj 5y ago
      Because one guy saving 100s if not thousands is more noteworthy than the thousands of people who saved ten each. The underground networks that smuggled people during the third reich is documented, but many of the active people were jews and did not want to talk about that time. I've seen dairies about the time showing up now, hidden away by traumatized grandparents who didn't want anything to do with Germany.
    - DaedPsyker 5y ago
      I really don't know how you can see Germany as whitewashing the Holocaust. It is pretty evident that they ensure every generation knows the horrors that were caused. Although I can understand why the modern generation might get annoyed at the sense they are supposed to take ownership of something they can't change.

mokarma 5y ago

My grandfather was saved by Sugihara together with the rest of the Mir Yeshiva (Rabbinical College). I am forever grateful to him.

jbay808 5y ago
Mine too. It's quite a surprise to see him show up on HN. Such a simple deed with such huge significance. It reminds me to think about what I might be able to do that could end up being life-changing for others someday. It's a shame that he lost his career over it. I'm glad to see him finally getting the recognition he deserves.
endtime 5y ago
My wife's grandfather and his family as well. Sugihara is an honored name in our home.
- Abishek_Muthian 5y ago
  What a great man he is, When a niche site like this gets multiple accounts from people whose lives were positively impacted by him especially on a slow day(HN visits are low during weekends).

VHRanger 5y ago

Absolute badass. People like him, Raoul Wallenberg and Schindler put everything at risk because they understood their sacrifice had 1000x leverage on others lives. We should all aspire to be as courageous if the opportunity presents itself.

yboris 5y ago
The opportunity to help others at 1000x leverage is already here for all of us. The most cost-effective [0] charities are a thousand times more effective at helping people as regular charities. For example, for ~$0.5 you can cure a child of parasitic worms in their stomach. For ~$3 you can protect someone form malaria for ~4 years. You can join thousands of others who choose to give at least 10% of their income to the mot cost-effective charities they can find [1] And join the Effective Altruism movement to be involved in helping others effectively [2] [0] https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities [1] https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ [2] https://www.effectivealtruism.org/ https://www.effectivealtruism.org/
- cik 5y ago
  Also importantly, validate annually that the charity you chose is still on the list. Too many charities scale, and frankly become poor at efficiency and distribution. A shocking number of larger charities are effectively marketing, and subcontract to smaller organizations.
pjc50 5y ago
There's still an estimated eighty million refugees and displaced persons in the world: https://www.unhcr.org/uk/figures-at-a-glance.html https://www.unhcr.org/uk/figures-at-a-glance.html Every now and again, the opportunity comes by you to tick a box that determines how your country treats them, an act which can make a difference while costing you nothing and incurring no personal risk.
- hef19898 5y ago
  And it seems we didn't learn a thing.

ajarmst 5y ago

I always liked the way he responded when asked (many years later) why he did it. Paraphrased, it was along the lines of "It was so obviously the right thing to do, but it would have been nearly impossible to push through the bureaucracy, so I just went ahead and did it myself." He did something so profoundly good that we are compelled to wish we could live up to such an example, and the reason he did it? He didn't really have one. It just never occurred to him not to do it. Which is as good a definition of "hero" as you're likely to run across. "Righteous among nations" indeed.

duxup 5y ago
And it was as simple as just doing it and not being limited to just what someone would or wouldn't allow.
DicIfTEx 5y ago
Anton Schmid [0] said something similar: ‘We all must die. But if I can choose whether to die as a murderer or a helper, I choose death as a helper.’ [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Schmid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Schmid

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

fnordprefect 5y ago

There is a very interesting book about him that I read years ago: "In Search of Sugihara" by Hillel Levine https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1119369.In_Search_of_Sugihara https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1119369.In_Search_of_Sug... It seems to be readily available on kindle, but harder to find in print.

DicIfTEx 5y ago

As immortalised in song by David Rovics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcFAhFWyuP0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcFAhFWyuP0

fodmap 5y ago

Another not so well known hero is Angel Sanz Briz. https://jewishjournal.com/news/318809/spanish-schindler-who-reportedly-saved-over-5000-jews-during-wwii-finally-gets-tribute/ https://jewishjournal.com/news/318809/spanish-schindler-who-...

DoingIsLearning 5y ago
On the same note of WW2 unsong diplomats: Aristides de Sousa Mendes, was a portuguese diplomat in Bordeux France. He against explicit orders granted 30k visas of which 10k were jews. His diplomatic career was terminated. He was shunned back in Portugal, died in debt, feed by a Jewish soup kitchen. Holocaust scholar Yehuda Bauer characterized Sousa Mendes' deed as "perhaps the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust." In his own words: “From now on I’m giving everyone visas, there will be no more nationalities, races or religion. I cannot allow all you people to die...” [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_de_Sousa_Mendes https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_de_Sousa_Mendes

vmception 5y ago

> Though they didn’t face systematic murder, many were persecuted as Communist ideology was against all religions. Can we keep that part of the philosophy? I kind of like how it treats it as a mental disease, I fail to see any other explanation, they fit the actual definition of meme. Verbal virus. Not trying to be edgy, remarkably less edgy than Karl.

himinlomax 5y ago

> Sugihara was then asked to resign by the foreign office. The official line was downsizing, though many, including his wife Yukiko, believe it was because of what happened in Lithuania. It's important to note that, unlike Germany, Japan has never really admitted or apologized for what they did. See this shocking video by historian Mark Felton about what you can find today in a Japanese museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzesh6eN14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzesh6eN14 The Nazis were on a mission to annihilate the Jews, so in relative term they killed many, but in absolute terms the Japanese probably victimized a lot more people. It's just that there were a lot of Chinese people to victimize, so the magnitude of the crime is less apparent. Their cruelty was even worse in some ways, as it was officially sanctioned and encouraged by their institutions as such. The Nazis, while they did not hide their hate for the Jews, went to some lengths to hide what they were actually doing to them -- which is probably how the German population could claim to not know what was going on. (To quote Speer: "I didn't know, I could have known, I should have known." He's been vilified but I haven't seen anything to paint him as a liar as far as this is concerned.) Put simply, the Germans are ashamed of that past, even the Nazis had shown some signs that they knew it was shameful, but the Japanese have never demonstrated any shame.

0dayz 5y ago
It is true that said government and institutions has never done so. However I think you're grossly building up Germans as ignorant goodmen. While painting the Japanese as complicit evil doers. The truth is the only reason Germans are ashamed of the past are due to 2 reasons: 1 the allies occupation of Germany spent lots of resources into exposing the crimes of the nazis. And even then the Germans were proud of the nazis up until the 1980s. And 2 every institution was torn down more or less after the nazis and rebuild from scratch with some having oversight built into it. This did not happen in the occupation of japan. And you can see the same "complicity" with the 3rd holocaust that was done in Croatia/ Bosnia against predominantly Serbs. Hell even Spain has the issue of the public still being proud of the fascists. Or lastly UK still has a sizable portion of its citizens that believes the Uk colonialism was ultimately good and righteous.
- 5y ago