As German tanks swept across France in the spring of 1940. Jews and others fleeing Nazism poured into Bordeaux. where the French Government had set up behind French lines. With German troops approaching the city. tens of thousands of refugees gathered at the consulate. seeking Portuguese visas for the only open escape route out of Francea trek over the Pyrenees to Spain and into neutral Portugal. They knew. correctly. that failure to get out of France would likely mean death. The military government of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar had issued strict orders against giving visas to those fleeing Nazism. especially Jews. But after searching his conscience. de Sousa Mendes decided that he must break orders. He announced to the waiting refugees that all who wanted visas would get them. free of charge. He then worked around the clock for 3 days. stopping only to eat. producing 30.000 visas that carried their bearers to freedom. When news of his actions reached Lisbon. de Sousa Mendes was dismissed from the diplomatic corps. Two diplomats were dispatched to Bordeaux to bring him home. Returning to Portugal by automobile. the party drove through the French border town of Bayonne. There they saw another large group of refugees at the Portuguese consulate. waiting in the desperate hope of being issued visas to cross the border. Over the objections of the officers accompanying him. de Sousa Mendes insisted on stopping and issuing visas to every refugee. Only then did he continue back to Portugal. Once home. de Sousa Mendes discovered how dearly he would pay for his actions.
Keywords matched
visas refugee refugees