During WWII, thousands of Jewish refugees from Poland and Lithuania escaped the Holocaust thanks to transit visas issued by Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania.
For these individuals, having a transit visa in hand was only the start of a harrowing journey.
Join us for a special public presentation by Akira Kitade, author of Visas of Life and the Epic Journey: How the Sugihara Survivors Reached Japan and Emerging Heroes: WWII‐Era Diplomats, Jewish Refugees and Escape to Japan. He will share the stories of Jewish refugees who survived the cross‐Asia escape to Japan — and what happened next.
After these refugees reached Japan, civilians of Tsuruga and Kobe helped them survive. The refugees were also helped by employees of the Japan Tourist Bureau, which later became the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO), where Mr. Kitade worked for decades.
The research took Mr. Kitade on an epic journey of his own as he followed the path of the refugees. He will share the poignant story of locating one of the seven people whose personal items were left with his former boss at the JNTO some 73 years earlier.
This event is offered in partnership with the Consul‐General of Japan in Calgary, the Japanese Cultural Association of Manitoba, and the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada.
In 1984, Chiune Sugihara was honoured as “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre.
