Aristides de Sousa Mendes

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Portrait of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Postmodernism, Splash Painting

1. Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese diplomat who served as the Consul General of Portugal in Bordeaux, France during World War II.
2. He is best known for issuing thousands of visas to Jewish and other persecuted refugees attempting to escape Nazi-occupied Europe, defying orders from his superiors and risking his own career and life in the process.
3. Despite his heroic actions, Sousa Mendes was initially dismissed from his position, stripped of his title, and banned from public office. It wasn’t until after his death that he was recognized for his bravery by both Portugal and Israel.
4. In 1966, Yad Vashem honored him as a Righteous Gentile among the Nations, one of only five Portuguese citizens to receive this distinction.
5. Sousa Mendes’s actions saved an estimated 30,000 lives during the Holocaust and continue to be remembered and celebrated for their moral courage in the face of evil.

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