Aristides de Sousa Mendes
Aristides de Sousa Mendes | |
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Aristides de Sousa Mendes in 1940 | |
| Born | Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches July 19, 1885 Cabanas de Viriato, Viseu, Portugal |
| Died | April 3, 1954 (aged 68) Lisbon, Portugal |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Alma mater | University of Coimbra |
| Occupation | Consul |
| Known for | Saving the lives of thousands of refugees seeking to escape Nazi terror during World War II |
| Spouses | Maria Angelina Coelho de Sousa
(m. 1908; died 1948)Andrée Cibial (m. 1949) |
| Children | [with Marie Angelina Coelho de Sousa]
Aristides César, Manuel Silvério, José António, Clotilde Augusta, Isabel Maria, Feliciano Artur Geraldo, Elisa Joana, Pedro Nuno, Carlos Francisco Fernando, Sebastião Miguel Duarte, Teresinha Menino Jesus, Luís Filipe, João Paulo, Raquel Herminia [with Andrée Cibial] Marie-Rose |
| Parents |
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| Righteous Among the Nations |
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| By country |
Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches GCC OL (European Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐɾiʃˈtiðɨʒ ðɨ ˈsozɐ ˈmẽdɨʃ]; July 19, 1885 – April 3, 1954) was a Portuguese diplomat who is recognized in Portugal as a national hero for his actions during World War II. As the Portuguese consul-general in the French city of Bordeaux, he defied the orders of António de Oliveira Salazar's Estado Novo regime, issuing visas and passports to thousands of refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied France, including Jews.
As a result of his actions, Sousa Mendes was recalled to Portugal and stood trial for defying the regime. He was punished with demotion and forced retirement. He was unable to find other employment and died in poverty in 1954.
For his efforts to save Jewish refugees, Sousa Mendes was recognized by Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations in 1966, the first diplomat to be so honored. To many, Aristides de Sousa Mendes was one of the greatest heroes of World War II. Holocaust scholar Yehuda Bauer characterized Sousa Mendes' deeds as "perhaps the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust."
Sousa Mendes was only vindicated in 1987, more than a decade after the Carnation Revolution which toppled the Estado Novo. He was posthumously awarded the prestigious Order of Liberty (Ordem da Liberdade). In 1988, the Portuguese national assembly voted unanimously for his rehabilitation; charges were dismissed against him and he was reinstated in the diplomatic corps. In 1995, Portuguese President Mário Soares declared Sousa Mendes to be "Portugal's greatest hero of the twentieth century."
In 2007, the Portuguese TV program Os Grandes Portugueses voted Aristides de Sousa Mendes the third greatest Portuguese person of all time. On 9 June 2020, Sousa Mendes was inducted into the National Pantheon in Lisbon, with a ceremony held the following year, presided by the President of Portugal. On 19 July 2024, the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Museum was inaugurated in Cabanas de Viriato, his home town.