Abdol Hossein Sardari - The Consul Who Defied the Nazis

Abdol Hossein Sardari helped save the lives of thousands of Jewish people during World War II.

Abdol Hossein Sardari grew up in a wealthy and respected family in Iran. His mother, Afsar-Saltaneh, was a niece of Shah Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, one of Iran’s longest-ruling kings, and his father was Soleyman Adib-ol-Soltaneh. At just eight years old, Sardari was sent to boarding school in England, and later he studied law in Switzerland. He graduated from the University of Geneva in 1936 with a law degree. The next year, he moved to Paris to begin work as a junior diplomat for Iran.

In the 1920s and 1930s, many Jewish families from Iran, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan had moved to France to escape unrest caused by the Bolshevik Revolution. By 1940, Paris had a large and thriving Jewish community. But when Germany invaded France that year, Jewish people faced new dangers. Nazi laws required Jews to register with the police. Many Central Asian Jews in France told officials they were Jugutis, a group of Persian Jews who had been forced to convert to Islam in 1838 but still practiced Judaism in secret. Their passports listed them as Muslim, not Jewish, which gave them some protection.

When the German army took over Paris in 1940, most embassies moved south to the new French capital, Vichy. Only Sardari stayed behind to run consular affairs in occupied Paris. This was risky, but he felt a duty to remain. He worked to protect Iranian Jews by convincing German officials that they should not be treated under the same racial laws used against other Jews. Using his knowledge of law and history, Sardari argued that Jews from Iran and Central Asia were not Semitic but Aryan, a category the Nazis respected. While Berlin asked for further opinions, Sardari’s arguments bought valuable time and saved lives.

At the same time, Sardari secretly began issuing Iranian passports, even without approval from his government. These documents helped thousands of Jewish people escape Nazi persecution. At first, Sardari focused on helping Iranian Jews. But as the crisis grew, he issued passports for many others, including non-Iranians and even the French spouses of Jewish refugees. Entire families were given papers, and Sardari never asked for anything in return. Historians believe he may have saved between 2,000 and 3,000 lives.

In 1941, the situation grew more dangerous. The British and Soviets invaded Iran and forced the Shah into exile. Iran then declared war on Germany, which meant Sardari was now a diplomat of an enemy country. His government ordered him to return home, but Sardari refused. He lost his official position and salary, but he stayed in Paris to continue helping people in secret.

By 1942, the Nazis began their “Final Solution” in France. That July, more than 13,000 Jews were arrested in Paris and sent to concentration camps. Knowing the danger was growing, Sardari again appealed to German officials. With the support of Atchildi via Kraehling, the leader of the Jugutis in France, and several Swiss diplomats, Sardari convinced the Germans to exempt Jugutis from anti-Jewish laws. Because of these efforts, most Jugutis living in France survived the war.

Sardari’s work earned him the nickname “The Schindler of Iran,” comparing him to Oskar Schindler, who rescued more than 1,000 Jews in Poland. After the war ended, Sardari continued to serve in Iran’s foreign service and later worked at the National Iranian Oil Company. He lived a quiet life and never boasted about his wartime actions.

When Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, contacted him in 1978 to honor him, Sardari simply said: “I had the pleasure of being the Iranian consul in Paris during the German occupation of France, and as such, it was my duty to save all Iranians, including Iranian Jews.” He passed away in London in 1981, remembered by many as a brave man who risked everything to save others.

References:
“Abdol Hossein Sardari (1895–1981).” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/abdol-hossein-sardari-1895-1981.
“Abdol-Hossein Sardari.” History Learning, historylearning.com/world-war-two/holocaust-index/abdol-hossein-sardari/.

Key words:
Justice, Wartime, Courage, Generosity, Responsibility, Selflessness, Make a Difference, Take Risks for Others

Image Citation:
Public Domain

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