“Aristides de Sousa Mendes is a beacon of courage, compassion and faith in a world that has completely collapsed morally,” Mr. Guterres said in a video message to inaugurate the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Museum in the town of Carregal do Sal.
Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese diplomat based in Bordeaux, France, who defied his country’s government’s orders to stamp passports and visas, allowing thousands to flee to Portugal.
Safe passage
Portuguese visas allowed them safe passage through Spain, which was officially neutral. However, Portugal’s infamous ‘Circular 14’ directive instructed diplomats to deny safe haven to refugees, particularly Jews, Russians and other stateless people who could not return home.
As the Nazis rapidly closed in on the Bordeaux consulate where Mendes was working, he was faced with a stark choice between following orders or saving lives. He chose the latter, declaring, “I would rather side with God against Man than with Man against God.”
‘Lives saved and lives lived’
Working day and night, Mendes set up a rapid passport stamping and signing system and issued thousands of life-saving visas by June 1940.
“His legacy is lives saved and lives lived – including a young girl who, many years later, became the mother of my Spokesperson at the United Nations,” said the UN chief, who was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.
Mendes was forced to pay a price for his heroics. Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar – who ruled the country for forty years until 1968 – expelled him from the diplomatic corps without any pension, leaving him to die in poverty.
Fortunately, in the decades that followed, the stature and courage of his actions have gradually been recognized, the Secretary-General said.
“This museum – in his homeland – is an important part of those efforts,” Mr. Guterres stressed.
Memories of Mendes
The museum’s inauguration comes at a “critical moment” when the number of people forced to flee their homes has reached record highs and “hatred and intolerance are spreading,” Mr. Guterres noted.
“We are in danger of forgetting our common humanity,” he stressed.
In this context, Mr. Guterres called on people everywhere to follow the memory of Mr. Mendes and take inspiration from his courage.
“Let us recommit ourselves to defending human rights and dignity for all. And to combating discrimination, intolerance and hatred whenever and wherever they appear,” said the Secretary-General.
