Honoring Bravery during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Chiune Sugihara sits in his office in China (1933–34). Later, as the vice-consul for Japan in Lithuania, he issued more than 2,000 transit visas to Japan, which permitted Jewish Europeans to flee the Nazi threat.—Courtesy Mr. Nobuki Sugihara

Polish-born Leo Melamed was only eight years old when he landed in Kobe, Japan. After traversing Siberia by train, it was a paradise. In August 1940, Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara had issued Leo’s family a visa that helped them escape Soviet occupation and the Nazi threat.

Just a year later, following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were sent to “relocation camps” in the United States. Even as their family members were imprisoned, some joined the American military and helped liberate Nazi camps. In this digital program, learn about these unexpected rescuers and the impact one man’s lifesaving act has had on Leo 80 years since he survived the Holocaust.