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Who is Chiune Sugihara?
Chiune Sugihara served as the Japanese Consul to Lithuania in 1939 and 1940. It was in this role that Sugihara made a difficult moral decision that ultimately saved Jewish lives from the treacherous claws of Hitler's Nazis. As Germany's forces pressed deeper into Eastern Europe, Sugihara defied the Japanese government and issued transit visas to Jews fleeing Europe. In less than one month, Ambassador Sugihara worked ceaselessly to issue 2,000 transit visas, thereby ensuring safe passage of 6,000 Jews from the dangers of Europe. (One visa enabled travel for an entire family.) After World War II ended, Sugihara was summoned back to Japan where he was stripped of his diplomatic position. He and his family lived in relative obscurity until 1969 when a Sugihara survivor tracked down his benefactor. In 1985, the Yad Vashem Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority conferred Chiune Sugihara as a Righteous Gentile and the State of Israel granted him honorary citizenship.
The ADL Sugihara Fellowship Program
As part of the ADL Grosfeld Family National Youth Leadership Mission, the Sugihara Fellowship Program helps students honor the legacy of Holocaust rescuer Chiune Sugihara by delivering his message of moral courage to audiences both at home and in Japan. Sponsored by the Eileen and Mel Ludwig Family Foundation, the program selects one student from each of the eleven Mission delegations to serve as Sugihara Fellows. The eleven selected Sugihara Fellows complete an essay about the lessons of Sugihara and his legacy's impact on their own moral decision making, and also conduct presentations about the Mission and Sugihara to their respective schools. In addition, five Fellows are chosen, on the basis of their essays, to represent ADL on a one-week fully funded tour of Japan, where they speak to schools, government agencies and community based organizations.
Upon returning to their home communities, a variety of structured and informal follow-up activities are scheduled throughout the year to build upon and reinforce the enduring messages of the Mission. These programs are designed to support the students as they bring these lessons to their schools and communities.
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