Aristides de sousa mendes biography of donald
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Aristides de Sousa Mendes Saved Thousands From Holocaust, But Lost All
Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches was born in the town of Cabanas de Viriato, Portugal in 1885. After graduating from Portugal's centuries-old University of Coimbra with a law degree, Sousa Mendes was deployed to Portuguese consulates throughout the world: Zanzibar, Brazil, San Francisco, Spain, Belgium. In January 1938, he was assigned to the Portuguese consulate in Bordeaux, France.
Under Adolf Hitler, Germany invaded Poland the next year, prompting Portugal — trying to remain neutral in the burgeoning conflict that would become World War II — to distribute what was known as Circular 14. The order decreed that Portuguese consuls deny travel into Portugal for refugees fleeing the Nazi-occupied countries in Europe, including Jews.
By June 1940, throughout Europe, millions of people were on the move, trying to stay ahead of the Nazis (who had walked into Paris on June 14, 1940). The streets of Bor
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Aristides de Sousa Mendes
Portuguese diplomat recipient of the Righteous among the Nations award (1885–1954)
Aristides de Sousa Mendes | |
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Aristides de Sousa Mendes in 1940 | |
| Born | Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches (1885-07-19)July 19, 1885 Cabanas de Viriato, Viseu, Portugal |
| Died | April 3, 1954(1954-04-03) (aged 68) Lisbon, Portugal |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Alma mater | University of Coimbra |
| Occupation | Consul |
| Known for | Saving the lives of thousands of refugees seeking to escape Nazi terror during World War II |
| Spouses | Maria Angelina Coelho de Sousa (m. 1908; died 1948)Andrée Cibial (m. 1949; died 1954) |
| Children | [with Marie Angelina Coelho de Sousa] Aristides César, Manuel Silvério, José António, Clotilde Augusta, Isabel Maria, Feliciano Artur Geraldo, Elisa Joana, Pedro Nuno, Carlos Francisco Fer • Sousa MendesIn the summer of 1940, Aristides de Sousa Mendes was living in Bordeaux. The strict Portuguese regulations did not leave him much room for manoeuvring. Now and then he made an undantag, granting a visa here and there. But Sousa Mendes was careful as he had no ambition of getting caught. Soon, the situation became even more desperate, however. Large groups of refugees camped on the consulate’s doorstep. He had to make a choice. From 17 June 1940 onwards, he gave a visa to anyone who asked for it. He even set up an assembly line, with the help of consular staff and his family, signing framträda en masse with people lining up by the thousands into the street. By the time the Portuguese Ministry of utländsk Affairs finally cottoned on to what he was doing, it declared any documents issued by Sousa Mendes null and void. On 24 June 1940, the authoritarian Portuguese president António Salazar recalled his consul to Portugal. Aristides dem Sousa Mendes took his time, finally arr |