Other Forces

A Tribute to "the Angel of Bordeux"

Aristides de Sousa Mendes was the portuguese consul in Bordeux between 1939-1940. Against the will of the portuguese governament (pro-nazi) he isued thousands of visas (using every bit of paper found in the consulate) to jews, allowing them safe passage to Portugal and from there to the U.S and other neutral countries. By best estimates at least 10000 of the people he saved were jews. Confronted with the first warnings from Lisbon he said "If I have to desobey, I prefer to desobey an order from men then an order from God". Put aside by the government, he died in extreme poverty in 1954 in the franciscan hospital in Lisbon. Not owing even a suit he was buried in a franciscan tunic.