Sugihara Chiune: “They had nowhere to go”

In 1940, Sugihara Chiune, a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania, saved thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution by issuing them transit visas to Japan.

Fig. Sugihara Chiune

This is a schematic image. Interested readers may refer to the following sources for photographs and further readingThis is a schematic picture. Interested reader can visit the following sites:

 Wikipedia site:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sugihara_b.jpg

Times of Israel site:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/japans-schindler-a-genuine-hero-tangled-in-a-web-of-myth/

Waseda University site:

https://www.waseda.jp/top/news/6243

 

Interviewer: “Why did you defy your own government?”

Sugihara: “The Jewish people would be caught by Nazis and would be sent to gas chambers. They had nowhere to go.”

 [1] (translation by the author of this blog)

 

Fig. Lithuania and Neighbors, 1940

Amid the upheaval of 1939–1940, Sugihara found himself in a profound dilemma.

In July 1940, desperate Jewish refugees who had fled to Lithuania began appearing at the gates of the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania pleading for transit visas that would allow them to travel through the Soviet Union and Japan, ultimately reaching safe place in the West.

 

Sugihara was already a proven diplomat, as demonstrated by his success in Harbin, his previous posting.

Had he chosen to obey his government—which had issued strict instructions to refrain from granting visas without proper documentation—his diplomatic career would likely have flourished.

But to save the refugees, he would have to defy official orders, putting both his career and his family’s lives at risk.

On the other hand, obedience to his government would mean betraying the cultural values that had shaped his identity.

 

His success in what came to be known as the "Sugihara Scheme" was not just due to courage, but also to multiple of other qualities: swift action, sharp intelligence, and an unwavering moral compass. The outcome remains one of the most powerful humanitarian acts of the era.

 

Challenges Faced by Sugihara

The illustration Fig. The Challenges of Sugihara, 1940 speaks for itself—Sugihara was forced to navigate the threats posed by multiple dangerous dictators at the same time.

Fig. The Challenges of Sugihara, 1940.

a.    The Refugee Crisis.

Jewish refugees flooded into Lithuania from neighboring Poland, fleeing Nazi terror.

b.    Soviet Threats and the Siberian Route.

The only viable escape route led through the Soviet Union. Stalin's consent was crucial, while a looming Soviet takeover added urgency.

c.     Uncertain International Alignments.

Japan’s negotiations with Nazi Germany through the Tripartite Pact rendered Sugihara’s actions diplomatically risky. Tokyo remained ambiguous about Hitler’s intentions.

d.    A Strict Deadline.

The Soviets ordered him to shut the consulate and depart Lithuania by August 25. Sugihara managed to negotiate a brief extension until September 5, 1940.

 

What Enabled His Success?

 The Sugihara Scheme’s success stemmed from a convergence of rare personal qualities and favorable conditions:

 

1.     A Clear Moral Compass

Sugihara acted with clarity: "I did nothing special. I did what is right." He was acutely aware of the human stakes, as shown in his interactions with young refugee Solly Ganor [6].

 

2.    Deeply Rooted Values

Born in 1900, only 32 years after the feudal period ended, Sugihara grew up steeped in Japan's lingering traditional ethos: duty, honor, and loyalty. These values shaped his decisions.

Fig. Sugihara and His Wife in Kimono, Kaunas*Real image: *United States Holocaust Memorial site

 

3.    Decisive Action

Hundreds of refugees appeared on July 18, 1940. Sugihara began issuing visas on July 29 and wrote the final one—number 2139—on September 5, as his train departed for Berlin. This intense effort spanned just 47 days.

 

4.    Analytical Acumen

Though no record confirms he knew of Soviet’s July 27 (Friday) decision to allow the Siberian rout for the Jewish refugees, Sugihara seemed to intuit this shift, as he began issuing a large number of transit visas on July 29 (Monday). Soviet records suggest complex maneuvering involving multiple officials—but no mention of Sugihara, which likely spared his plan from interference. [2]

 

5.    Neutral Positioning

As a Japanese diplomat with no Jewish affiliations, Sugihara’s neutrality helped him navigate sensitive negotiations and offer protection without prejudice.

 

6.    Empathy and Integrity

Accounts like that of Solly Ganor [7] recall Sugihara’s kindness and dignity. Earlier, in 1935, he had resigned from a post in Manchuria, objecting to Japanese military brutality—further evidence of his humanistic core.

 

These elements did not function in isolation but combined to make Sugihara’s act possible. His limited formal power made the scale of his accomplishment all the more remarkable. Despite not being a high-ranking official, he saved thousands—proof that individual conviction can alter the course of history.

 

Those Who Stood With Him

Sugihara’s moral resolve inspired others—Jan Zwartendijk, Nei Saburo, Kotsuji Setsuzo, and his wife Kikuko—each of whom played a crucial role in making the scheme possible [8]-[11]. Their contributions will be explored in my other posts.

 

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Chiune+Sugihara+Doc.+1

Sugihara’s description in the interview is strikingly vivid. At 08:06, he first says “gas chamber,” but then quickly corrects himself to “gasu no heya” (“gas room”)—a phrase not typically used in Japanese. This shift suggests that his memories of those wartime days were originally formed in other languages. Indeed, Sugihara was known to be highly proficient in Russian, German, and English. It is likely that, decades later, he was mentally recalling events in one of those languages, and then translating them into Japanese as he spoke. This linguistic layering may explain the unusual phrasing and self-corrections in his account.

[2] Wolff, D., Phoney War, Phoney Peace: Sugihara’s Shifting Eurasian Context, in Altman, I., The Soviet Union and the Transit of Jewish Refugees, 1939–1941, Slavic-Eurasian Research Center, Hokkaido University, 2022

[3] Ishigo-oka, K., Sugihara Chiune and Stalin, Gogatsu Shobo Shinsha, Tokyo, 2022

[4] Watanabe, K., Ketsudan: Visas for Life, Taisho Shuppan, Tokyo, 2001

[5] Sugihara, Y., Visas for 6000 Lives, Taisho Shuppan,Tokyo, 1993

[6] PBS, Conspiracy of Kindness, 2005

Solly Ganor, a Jewish boy who encountered Sugihara in Kaunas recounted his story in the PBS documentary Conspiracy of Kindness. His father hesitated too long, and as a result, the family missed the opportunity to receive a Sugihara visa. They were later captured by the Nazis and deported to a concentration camp. Just before Solly was about to be killed in the Dachau camp, he was miraculously rescued by American liberation forces. As he lay collapsed in the snow, a soldier lifted him up. Seeing the man’s Asian features, Solly panicked, thinking the Japanese had come to kill him. But in fact, the soldier was a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team—an all-Nisei (second-generation Japanese American) unit of the U.S. Army.

[7] wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiune_Sugihara

[8] wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Zwartendijk

[9] wiki https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yukiko_Sugihara_May_2,_2000.jpg

[10] wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsuzo_Kotsuji

[11] wiki https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A0%B9%E4%BA%95%E4%B8%89%E9%83%8E

 

 

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