Aristides de Sousa Mendes - Lifesaving Diplomat

Born: July 19, 1885, Cabanas de Viriato, Portugal
Died: April 3, 1954, Lisbon, Portugal

Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a courageous diplomat who risked everything to save tens of thousands of lives during the Holocaust.

In May 1940, German Nazi forces invaded France, forcing civilians to flee their homes. The streets of Paris were crowded with refugees, with one reporter calling it the “greatest civilian refugee problem in French history.” Farther south, in Bordeaux, thousands of refugees went to the Portuguese consulate, hoping Portugal, a neutral country, would give them safety. But they had been misled. Portugal’s dictator, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, had issued Circular 14, which ordered his diplomats not to give visas to most refugees. What Salazar did not know was that one consul would ignore his orders and help thousands of people escape.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes was born on July 19, 1885, in Cabanas de Viriato, Viseu, Portugal, along with his twin brother, Cesar. His father worked in politics and law, serving as a judge and briefly as Portugal’s Foreign Minister under Salazar. Sousa Mendes followed in his father’s footsteps, studying law at the University of Coimbra. After finishing his studies, he began working in the Portuguese consular service.

A career in the consulate gave Sousa Mendes the chance to travel. He worked in Zanzibar, Spain, Brazil, and the United States. In San Francisco, he argued publicly that a religious group should contribute to a Brazilian charity and respect people of Portuguese descent. The Portuguese Foreign Office told him to stop, but Sousa Mendes refused. His defiance led the U.S. government to ask Portugal to remove him from his post.

In 1926, a military dictatorship took over Portugal. Sousa Mendes supported it at first but later criticized its policies. He faced only minor consequences. By 1938, just a year before World War II began, Sousa Mendes was posted as Consul-General in Bordeaux, France, overseeing most of southwestern France. In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting the war, and France declared war on Germany.

After the war began, Salazar issued Circular 14, restricting visas for Jews, Russians, and other stateless people. He claimed Portugal’s resources were limited and wanted to avoid angering Hitler and Franco. Sousa Mendes saw desperate refugees in Bordeaux and met a Polish rabbi, Chaim Kruger, his wife, and five children. Sousa Mendes invited them to the consulate and requested permission to give them visas. The Portuguese government refused. Sousa Mendes ignored the orders and said, “I am going to issue a visa to anyone who asks for it.”

As the Nazis moved farther into France, Sousa Mendes continued issuing thousands of visas. His family helped prepare the paperwork and care for refugees. After the Nazis bombed Bordeaux on June 19, 1940, refugees fled further south. Sousa Mendes stayed behind, issuing visas and instructing other consuls to do the same.

On June 24, Sousa Mendes received a telegram from Salazar: “You are strictly forbidden to grant anyone a visa for entry to Portugal.” Sousa Mendes ignored it. Even after the Nazis entered Bordeaux on June 27, he continued helping refugees. He slowly returned to Portugal in early July, still issuing visas along the way. By July 8, Sousa Mendes had helped approximately 30,000 people escape.

His actions cost him everything. Sousa Mendes was dismissed from his post, stripped of his rank, denied retirement benefits, and banned from working for Portugal again. His children were blacklisted and faced years of hardship. Sousa Mendes died in poverty in 1954.

Despite this, his courage was recognized later. Israel honored him as “Righteous Among the Nations,” and in 1988, Portugal granted him National Pantheon honors and cleared his name. Aristides de Sousa Mendes is remembered as a diplomat who risked everything to save tens of thousands of lives during one of history’s darkest times.

References:
“Aristides de Sousa Mendes.” The Righteous Among the Nations, yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/mendes.html .
“The Life of Aristides de Sousa Mendes: An Example for Us All | UN News.” United Nations, United Nations, news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1152291 .
“The Untold Story of the Portuguese Diplomat Who Saved Thousands from the Nazis.” Smithsonian Magazine, smithsonianmag.com/history/the-righteous-defiance-of-aristides-de-sousa-mendes-180978831.

Keywords:
Justice, Wartime, Courage, Conscience, Freedom, Selflessness, Take Risks for Others, Stand Up for Your Beliefs

View Discovery Award projects about this Unsung Hero:
‍Aristides de Sousa Mendes - Discovery Award 2023