A Fork in the Road Can Lead to Courage

During the Holocaust, there were certain people who showed incredible courage in saving the lives of Jews throughout Europe. These courageous people were collectively labeled as “Righteous Gentiles.”

If you saw the movie, “Schindler’s List,” it told about one of these heroes. The story was based on a Nazi businessman who employed many Jewish laborers in his Polish factory during World War II. Oskar Schindler witnessed the Holocaust horrors and, in an unlikely change from profiteer to humanitarian, saved the lives of more than 1,000 Jews from almost certain demise in Nazi death camps.

Another one of these courageous heroes was born in Yaotsu, Japan, on January 1, 1900. His name was Chiune Sugihara and, until recent years, his heroics were not well known because he did not want notoriety.

Sugihara, as a young man in junior high school, was good in English and wanted to be an English teacher. Raised in the strict Japanese code of ethics in a samurai family, he was later interested in foreign ideas, religion, philosophy and language. He married a Caucasian woman named Yukiko. She would eventually be instrumental in helping him save Jews.

Although his father wanted him to be a doctor, Chiune’s dream was to study literature and live abroad. He attended the prestigious Waseda University in Tokyo to study English, paying for his education by working as a longshoreman and tutor.

A newspaper ad led him to apply for a position with the Japanese Foreign Ministry. Attending the Japanese language institute in Harbin, China, he studied Russian, converted to Greek Orthodox Christianity, and became aware of how diverse and interesting the world was.

A number of diplomatic assignments followed for Chiune, including posts in Manchuria and then in Finland. It was in 1939 that he was sent to Lithuania to open a one-man Japanese consulate and report on Soviet and German war plans. Six months later war broke out and the Soviet Union annexed Lithuania. The Soviets ordered all consulates to be closed. It was in this atmosphere that Sugihara was confronted with an opportunity to show his courage.

A humble and understated man, Sugihara was raised in the strict Japanese code of ethics. He ingrained the cardinal values of love of family, care for the children, duty and responsibility, internal strength and resourcefulness, and honor to the family.

It was on a summer morning in July, 1940, that Consul Sugihara and his family awakened to a crowd of Polish Jewish refugees outside the consulate. As the Nazis were approaching, the refugees wanted to escape to the east. Japanese transit visas, which Consul Sugihara could issue, would be their ticket to Soviet exit visas and to a possible race for freedom.

Sugihara did not have the authority to issue such visas. Thus, he wired his government several times to ask permission to do so. He was denied all three times. The return wire stated: “No exceptions. No further inquiries expected.”

The Consul, who was raised in the strict and traditional discipline of the Japanese, met with his wife and children to discuss the dilemma. He was a career diplomat, bound by the traditional obedience that had been taught all his life. Most everyone faces a fork in the road from time to time. It’s how we respond at such a moment that defines the level of courage in our souls.

Sugihara knew that issuing the visas, and going against his government’s orders, might get him fired and disgraced, keep him from ever holding a government job again, financial hardship, and possible danger for the lives of his family. Although bound by tradition and duty, he was also a samurai and taught to help those who were in need.

The family’s consciences were followed and the decision to sign the visas was made. For 29 days, in August of 1940, Sugihara and his wife worked day and night as they wrote and signed over 300 visas a day. This would normally be a month’s work for the Consul. As his wife Yukiko helped him register the visas, and massage his fatigued hands, Sugihara continued to work and did not even stop for meals.

The line for visas, outside the consulate day and night, grew from hundreds to thousands of applicants. He would come out periodically and reassure them that he was working as quickly as possible. By September 1, 1940, the Japanese government forced Sugihara to close the consulate and leave Lithuania. Even at the train station, before the family’s departure, Sugihara continued issuing documents from the train window.

Most of the refugees who received visas from Sugihara made their way across Russia, to Japan, and then to China for the duration or the war. At least six thousand Polish Jews with Sugihara visas survived.

How can you and I show more courage in our daily lives and, thus, possibly affect the lives of many people? Part of the Japanese code of ethics that Chiune Sugihara was taught included internal strength and resourcefulness. He found a large measure of it within himself. Perhaps you can find the same.

A Daily Affirmation of Courage

I have internal strength and am resourceful. I show great courage when needed.