Film About ‘Japanese Schindler’ Premieres in the U.S.
Last Sunday,  Persona Non Grata  premiered at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. It’s a biopic about Chiune Sugihara, a man seldom discussed stateside, but has come to be known as the “Japanese Schindler.” Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat that worked at a consulate in Lithuania. In in the summer of 1940, he wrote 2,000 visas for Jewish refugees desperate to flee European persecution and create a new life in Japan. In total, Sugihara saved over 6,000 lives during World War II. In 1985, he and his wife, Yukiko, were honored as Righteous Gentiles at Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem. 

When asked why he wrote the visas, he gave this reply:

“People in Tokyo were not united. I felt it silly to deal with them. So, I made up my mind not to wait for their reply. I knew that somebody would surely complain about me in the future. But, I myself thought this would be the right thing to do. There is nothing wrong in saving many people’s lives….The spirit of humanity, philanthropy…neighborly friendship…with this spirit, I ventured to do what I did, confronting this most difficult situation—and because of this reason, I went ahead with redoubled courage.”

Persona Non Grata was directed by Cellin Gluck and stars Toshiaki Karasawa as Sugihara.

(H/T Dummy Frog )

February 3, 2016 at 08:31PM
via https://www.good.is/articles/everyone-should-know-the-name-chiune-sugihara