Remembering the Awe-Inspiring Faith of Aristides de Sousa Mendes
As the might of Hitler’s Wehrmacht steamrolled the French into submission, millions of civilians packed what little they could carry, and fled in search of safe passage abroad.
Fearing a massive flood of refugees, Portuguese dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar, strengthened a previous diktat, forbidding his diplomats from granting visas to “Jews expelled from their countries of origin".
While for most, escape was thus a tragic impossibility, many more would have been trapped – with nowhere to flee – had it not been for Aristides de Sousa Mendes, and his defiant bravery…
Chosen by Salazar to serve as his Consul-General in Bordeaux, Aristides began rubber-stamping transit visas, almost immediately after "Circular 14" was enacted.
Sternly reprimanded for his “brazen disobedience”, the browbeaten Consul reluctantly agreed to follow the directives of his superiors, who, untrusting of his acquiescence, threatened “robust disciplinary action”, if he dared disobey any further.
For several months, Aristides complied with their demands, submitting all visa applications for the unforgiving scrutiny of Lisbon.
When, however, he was awoken by the destructive arrival of Blitzkrieg in France, Aristedes experienced a “momentous change of heart…”
Opening the doors of his consulate, he not only transformed it into a place of refuge for all who flocked there but, as the Allied armies crumbled, and the Germans advanced, he resolved that he’d give visas to everyone who arrived.
Within hours of issuing the first, on this day in 1940, Aristides soon discovered that he’d never have enough for all who needed them…
Rather than turn the “applicants” away, though, he decided to “innovate” by turning scraps of paper into visas of his own.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facadb6a7-185d-4090-bc1e-e0682a423337_512x351.jpeg)
Working around the clock to handwrite and distribute his lifesaving documents, Aristides continued with the utmost dedication; only for Herman Göring’s Luftwaffe to bring a devastating halt to his operation…
Bombed, strafed, and forced to evacuate to nearby Bayonne, it was there, Aristides resumed his “visa marathon”, compiling, signing, and delivering countless numbers; until Salazar – angered by his “reckless transgression” – dispatched an official to stop him.
Although ordered to return to Portugal – where he was stripped of his position – Aristides decided to take a detour along the way…
Traveling to a remote coastal town on the Spanish border, he didn’t just convince the Spanish gendarmes to admit all Jews they found carrying papers with his signature; but, he even doubled back to escort those without across the frontier himself.
Later honored as a posthumous Righteous Gentile, in October 1966, for saving no less than 10,000 Jewish lives, Aristides’ youngest son, João Paulo, told Yad Vashem that his beloved “Papa could never have acted otherwise…”
“Our father was a devout Christian man,” João expressed at the time.
“His faith made it clear to him: He couldn’t leave the innocent behind.”
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6794d7f8-f87e-4469-ad5b-63f504a3eb44_368x465.jpeg)
Addendum 1: -
A formation of Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111 twin-engine bombers on their way to bombard Bordeaux.
Mere days before the German Army entered Paris, on June 14th, 1940, the French Government of Prime Minister Paul Reynaud fled the capital, first, for the city of Tours, and then onward to Bordeaux.
There, Reynaud resigned his premiership, leaving it to his suggested successor – Marshal Henri Phillipe Pétain.
Upon hearing the “Lion of Verdun” speak “of the need to stop the fighting”, General Charles de Gaulle took to the airwaves to declare that, rather than request the armistice Pétain was seeking with Hitler’s Germany, “The Bordeaux Government” would “act in the interests of the alliance” it shared with Great Britain.
When Hitler heard de Gaulle’s declaration, he entrusted the head of his air force – Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring – to launch a bombing operation designed to “encourage” the Bordeaux Government to come around to Pétain’s way of thinking…
Thus, on the night of June 19th, 1940, Göring’s Luftwaffe began the first of several devastating raids, which, by June 22nd, concluded when the armistice was signed.
Addendum 2: -
The official António de Oliveira Salazar dispatched to stop Aristides from issuing his lifesaving visas – Portugal’s then-Ambassador to Spain, Pedro Teotónio Pereira.
After escorting Aristides back to Lisbon, in July 1940, Pereira testified in the trial that resulted in his dismissal.
When recalling his “encounter with Consul Aristides de Sousa Mendes in Bayonne”, Pereira told the judge:
"I asked him to explain his extraordinary behavior. Everything I heard led me to believe that this man was disturbed and not in his right mind…”
“In fact,” Pereira continued, “the behavior implied such confusion, I had no doubt in stating said Consul had lost the use of his faculties."
Taking to the stand thereafter, Aristides “explained” his “actions” by articulating:
“In truth, I disobeyed, but my disobedience does not dishonor me. I chose to defy an order that, to me, represented the persecution of true castaways, who sought with all their strength to be saved from Hitler's wrath…”
“Above the order, for me,” Aristides concluded, “was God's law – the one I have always sought to adhere to without hesitation – the true lesson of Christianity: to love one's neighbor."
Addendum 3: -
Portuguese dictator – António de Oliveira Salazar.
Within a year of becoming Prime Minister, in 1933, Salazar’s Christian Corporatism had not only revived Portugal’s flailing economy but, of equal importance to him, had “restored the traditional values of family.”
Although vehemently opposed to the “pagan politics” of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialists, his neutral stance during the Second World War is not believed to have been motivated by revulsion…
Driven instead by his astute understanding of realpolitik, Salazar believed that, while Great Britain had been “dealt a serious injury” by Hitler’s Germany, ultimately, the British Empire would prevail.
Contrary to Allied expectations, Salazar didn’t just remain in power at the war’s end but, he held onto it until 1968, when a debilitating stroke forced the 79-year-old to retire.
Just under two years later, in July 1970, the “quiet autocrat” passed away, convinced that the “New State” he founded would flounder…
Less than four years thereafter, his premonition came to pass when, in late April 1974, a military-led coup d’etat replaced his “Estado Novo” with a short-lived Socialist Junta.
Addendum 4: -
Aristides while serving as Consul-General in Bordeaux.
Appointed Consul-General in January 1938, it was in October of that year, Portuguese dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar, issued “Circular 10”, forbidding his diplomats from “granting settlement to Jews [in Portugal]”.
Just over a year later, in November 1939, Salazar strengthened the diktat by issuing “Circular 14” that, in addition to forbidding “Jews expelled from their countries of origin from settling [in Portugal]”, forbade “Foreigners of indefinite or contested nationality, Russian Citizens”, and “Holders of a Nansen [stateless persons] passport.”
Given Salazar’s vocal criticism of the anti-Semitic racial laws that defined National Socialist Germany, some assert that his life-damning immigration policies were not rooted in anti-Semitism; but, instead, were motivated by his stated fear that a “flood of Jews” would “jeopardize Portuguese neutrality”.
Whatever Salazar’s motivation, his actions were not dissimilar to those of other Western leaders at the time.
Indeed, with both his American and British counterparts introducing their own measures to curtail the number of Jews fleeing Hitler’s Reich, Salazar’s decrees are widely viewed as being “no less hostile”.
Addendum 5: -
When Aristides left Bayonne for the Spanish border, he traveled to the then-remote coastal town of Hendaye. There, he arrived at what he later christened, “The Freedom Bridge” (seen here), where he convinced the patrolling Spanish gendarmes to allow all Jews carrying papers with his signature to cross it.
Addendum 6: -
One page of many from Aristides’ visa registry, documenting the thousands of Jews and other “undesirables” he issued lifesaving documents to while working from his consulate in Bordeaux.
Addendum 7: -
Born into a Portuguese aristocratic family, on July 19th, 1885, Aristides was one of three siblings.
Seen here with his beloved twin brother, César, at their university graduation ceremony, both twins graduated with First Class Honors in Law, and both embarked upon careers with Portugal’s Foreign Ministry.
As for their younger brother, José Paulo, he enjoyed a distinguished career as an officer in the Portuguese Navy, where he served for several decades.
Addendum 8: -
Aristides on one of his earliest diplomatic postings in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
In addition to serving in Zanzibar, Aristides also served in Brazil, Spain, the United States, and Belgium.
While based in San Fransisco, he established a Portuguese Studies program at the University of California, Berkley, that is still being taught today.
Upon arrival in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1929, he played host not only to King Alfonso XIII of Spain, but also, a “Jewish genius” he held “in the highest esteem” – German-born theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein.
Addendum 9: -
Aristides with his beloved wife, Maria Angelina, on their wedding day in November 1908. Together, they had fourteen children, born in the various countries in which he served.
Addendum 10: -
Aristides and his beloved wife, Maria Angelina, with six of their fourteen children, in 1917. Sadly, two of their children predeceased them – Manuel, their dearest son, who died from a ruptured spleen, and Raquel, their cherished daughter, who succumbed to meningitis.
Addendum 11: -
Aristides with his beloved wife, Maria Angelina, shortly before her sad and premature passing, aged 60, in 1948. Tragically, the final few years they shared were neither happy nor easy…
Indeed, when Aristides was stripped of his position for his “reckless transgression”, he was also denied his pension, and forbidden from earning a living.
Thus, condemned to live in abject poverty, it was only thanks to the support they received from “COMASSIS” – a Portuguese-Jewish aid organization – that Aristides and Maria were able to survive financially.
Addendum 12: -
Aristides posthumous Righteous Among the Nations Ceremony at the Israeli consulate in Manhattan, New York. The men in attendance, from left to right, comprise:
Aristides’ sons, Sebastião and Luis-Filipé; New York author, Harry Ezratty; Moïse Elias of Yad Vashem; Aristides’ nephew, César; Aristides’ close friend and confidant, Rabbi Chaim Kruger; Israeli Consul, Michael Aron; and Aristides’ youngest son, João Paulo.
Prior to his passing, aged 68, on April 3rd, 1954, Aristides’ expressed how it was “thanks to Rabbi Chaim Kruger” he experienced his “momentous change of heart…”
Indeed, soon after he was awoken by the destructive arrival of the German Blitzkrieg in France, Aristides met Rabbi Kruger by chance.
Upon learning Rabbi Kruger had escaped German-occupied Poland, Aristides offered him and his family life-saving transit visas; yet, instead of accepting, the good and noble Rabbi responded by saying:
“I can only agree if visas are issued to all my [Jewish] brothers and sisters.”
It was at that moment, Aristides decided:
“Rather than stand with man against God”, by complying with the demands of his government, he would “stand with God against man”, by issuing visas to everyone.
Addendum 13: -
Aristides with Rabbi Kruger in Bordeaux.
From the moment Aristides decided to issue visas to all who needed them, Rabbi Kruger volunteered to help in any way he could.
In his brave and selfless efforts, the good and noble Rabbi not only helped Aristides handwrite countless makeshift visas, but he also assumed the perilous role of courier, delivering the lifesaving documents to Jews and other "undesirables" across Bordeaux.
When Herman Göring’s Luftwaffe compelled Aristides to abandon the city for nearby Bayonne, Rabbi Kruger accompanied him.
There, they resumed their “visa marathon,” which, had it not been for the unexpected arrival of Salazar’s official – ordering the “unruly consul” to “return to Portugal” – Aristides later said, both he and his “Jewish friend would have continued.”
Addendum 14: -
In 1994, Bordeaux paid tribute to Aristides’ lifesaving heroism, not just by naming a school and thoroughfare in his honor, but also, by unveiling this magnificent statue in his blessed memory.
Nestled within the city’s Parc de l'Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, sadly, the memorial was recently defaced by degenerates chanting “from the river to the sea.”
Addendum 15: -
Aristides de Sousa Mendes memorial square in Jerusalem, Eretz Israel. Unveiled by Jerusalem’s mayor, Moshe Lion, in November 2022, the latter paid tribute to Aristides by saying:
“It’s a great honor for the capital city of the Jewish people to inaugurate the square today in the name of Mendes, a Righteous Among the Nations, who risked his life and saved many Jews from the terror of the Nazis.”
Addendum 16: -
On July 23rd, 2023, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa opened the doors of the Presidential Palace to surviving Jews saved by Aristides. Here, President Rebelo can be seen (suited, center) hosting a small group of them with their families in the Palácio Nacional de Belém.