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Ken Chapman & Assoc. |
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Article Righteous
Among the Nations
One morning in late July of 1940, Japanese Consul General, Chiune
Sugihara, awakened to find a throng of Jewish refugees outside the gate of
the Japanese Consulate in Lithuania.
Most of them had fled from Poland, barely escaping the grasp of the
Nazis during their invasion of that country.
But once again with the Nazis advancing, they were trapped.
On that morning, they were seeking the help of Sugihara because
word had spread among them that there was still one way out of Lithuania. They could travel through the Soviet Union into Japan and on
to freedom in the Caribbean. The
only thing they lacked was transit visas from the Japanese Government.
Sugihara, a 40-year old diplomat with a promising career,
immediately wired Tokyo to obtain permission to write the visas, but his
government refused to grant it. He
wired them again and again they refused.
He tried a third time and was not only refused, but was told to
stop inquiring. Sugihara
faced a dilemma. On the one
hand, he was a faithful Japanese taught from birth to respect and obey
authority. If he disregarded
his orders, his family would probably be disgraced and their lives would
be in jeopardy. On the other
hand, he was from a Samurai family, taught to help people in need. Further, he was also a Christian, having converted as a young
man.
His choice was clear. For
the next 29 days, he and his wife, Yukiko, spent every moment writing
transit visas. Normally a
consul might write 300 visas in a month.
Sugihara wrote more than that many each day.
He didn’t stop to eat, instead snacking on sandwiches as he wrote
and he barely slept. On
August 28, 1940, he was forced to close the consulate and depart for
Tokyo. But still he refused
to stop writing, even to the last second.
As his train prepared to pull out of the station, he continued
signing visas and when he could do no more, his train gaining speed as it
left the station, he tossed his consult visa stamp to a refugee so it
could be used in his absence.
For a few more years, Sugihara managed to stay in the diplomatic
corps, but was then dismissed. His
days in government leadership were over.
Back in Japan, he found part-time work as an interpreter.
Later his knowledge of Russian helped him land a job as a manager
for an export company and he lived in relative obscurity.
Some people lead for a lifetime, others receive only a moment to
show the way. Chiune Sugihara
made the most of his brief opportunity.
It is estimated that more than 6,000 people were saved from German
concentration camps as a result of his leadership, the second largest
number of Jews ever rescued from the Nazis.
In 1985, Sugihara was awarded Israel’s highest honor, recognition
as “Righteous Among the Nations.”
Chiune Sugihara made his leadership count.
He did the right thing at the right time in the right way.
For
more information about Ken Chapman and Associates’ Leadership
Development Programs, contact Ken Chapman at 205.366.0265 or email Ken at kchapman@leaderscode.com. <End> |
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