
Portugal finally recognises consul who saved thousands from Holocaust - Anon84
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53006790
======
miles
"As Portugal's consul in Bordeaux, Aristides de Sousa Mendes faced a moral
dilemma. Should he obey government orders or listen to his own conscience and
supply Jews with the visas that would allow them to escape from advancing
German forces? ... But his initiative also spelt the end of a diplomatic
career under Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, and the rest of
his life was spent in penury."

Sounds exactly like Chiune Sugihara's story:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiune_Sugihara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiune_Sugihara)

[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/04/chiune-
sugihar...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/04/chiune-sugihara-my-
father-japanese-schindler-saved-6000-jews-lithuania)

~~~
drocer88
From the wikipedia entry:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_de_Sousa_Mendes#Enco...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_de_Sousa_Mendes#Encounter_with_Rabbi_Chaim_Tzvi_Kruger)

"Sousa Mendes was listed in the Portuguese Consular and Diplomatic Yearbook
until 1954.[107][108] After the one year punishment with half-pay, he received
a monthly payment of 1,593 Portuguese escudos per month.[109][110][111]
According to Rui Afonso, "although it was not a salary of a prince, one should
not forget that at that time, in Portugal, the monthly salary of a school
teacher was only 500 Escudos".[109] When he died, in 1954 he was receiving a
monthly salary of 2,300 escudos."

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gregsadetsky
There is a bit more information on Aristides De Sousa Mendes on Yad Vashem's
site:

[https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/mendes.html](https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/mendes.html)

His Wikipedia page is fascinating:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_de_Sousa_Mendes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristides_de_Sousa_Mendes)

There is even a small park dedicated to him in my hometown of Montreal (not
far from where I used to live):

[https://goo.gl/maps/Xa1q7imrjT73Sf5M7](https://goo.gl/maps/Xa1q7imrjT73Sf5M7)

------
lcam84
The word "finally" makes it seem that Aristides Sousa Mendes work was not
recognized by Portugal. Maybe it hadn't been officially recognized until now,
but we are very proud of his actions.

~~~
jacobush
But not as proud as over Salazar.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Os_Grandes_Portugueses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Os_Grandes_Portugueses)

~~~
odshoifsdhfs
I don't think people should take much from this.

It was a poll, made by a public TV channel (RTP) where people phoned in. This
skews a lot to the older population (and idiots). While I am not in favour of
the dictatorship we had at all, many in the old generation weren't so against
it since their lives weren't affected by it so far (except the ones fighting
in the colonies, but they blame the 'blacks' more than Salazar on that.

My father (close to 70 now) says he felt safer during Salazar's time than now
(which may be true). For that generation, saying 'the only good cop is a dead
cop' in a march isn't important at all, it is even insulting and they will say
that he deserves a beating, so their values and wants are different than 20-30
years old with our freedom of speech and gay kissing.

------
brokenkebab
"No-one really knows what went through his mind in those two or three days"

Actually, it's kinda known. The consul was very religious, and he believed he
learned God's will during these days - to help people fleeing from Germans.

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CapitalistCartr
Those who are Righteous Among the Nations are a list of people who show how
great humans can be, when others are showing how monstrous. I find their
stories difficult reading, but intensely rewarding.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Righteous_Among_the_Nations](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Righteous_Among_the_Nations)

~~~
xeromal
This is lovely. I'm impressed that they can choose to live in Israel and
receive a pension if they so desire. That's a solid reward.

------
duxup
There are so many stories like this that played out with events such as wide
ranging as WWII, I had never heard this one before.

~~~
627467
Yes... Even in Portugal he wasn't that well known, not until he was voted 3rd
Greatest Portuguese(TM) some years ago: right after Portuguese 30+years
dictator Salazar (his nemesis) and Salazar's "nemesis" Communist Party leader
Alvaro Cunhal.

~~~
rumanator
> Even in Portugal he wasn't that well known, not until he was voted 3rd
> Greatest Portuguese(TM) some years ago

That doesn't sound coherent at all.

~~~
mhh__
Sarcasm often isn't (to the uninitiated?)

