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Sugihara house (read)



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Projekto parneris keitykla TOP EXCHANGE

Description

Introduction- What is Sugihara House?

Under Second World War, the former Japanese Consul Chiyune Sugihara issued Transit visas from humanitarian perspectives, which he issued contrary to the wishes of the Japanese government, saved the lives of 6000 Polish Jews fleeing from German-occupied Poland.Sugihara house exists in Kaunas (Lithuanian second biggest city) to praise Mr. Sugihara's courageous actions. The house was built byProf. Juozas Tonkunas (1894-1968), Minister of education of Lithuanian Republic and Rector of Dotnuva Agricultural Academy. The owner of the house, known as Sugihara House. The house was built in May 1939 and Sugihara rented on September 1939. After Mr. Sugihara left the house, the Soviets communist party sentenced Mr. Juozas Tonkunas to exile in Siberia and confiscated the house in 1954. In 1992, Dr. Rimantas Juozapas Tonkunas, son of Mr. Juozas Tonkunas, bought the house back. In 1998, however, as the maintenance of the house became difficult for him, it was sold to Mr. Ramunas Garbaravicius (the member of Kaunas city council). The house is now an important place which connects two countries Japan and Lithuania.
Current Situation of Sugihara House
Sugihara House is located at the same building as Kaunas Magnus University and its size is around 130 square meters. Seeing from the entrance, the first floor is Kaunas University, and the basement and the second floor are Sugihara House. It is necessary to reform especially the second floor since three rooms there has been a bad condition. Kaunas University has received financial support from Japan Foundation and been equipped with SONY and Toshiba. Sugihara House, however, does not have enough equipment and financial support.

Sugihara Foundation

The Sugihara Foundation settled in the former building of the Japanese Consulate. The Foundation aims to commemorate Sugihara; accumulate information about the Holocaust in Lithuania, activities of Sugihara, other diplomats and Lithuanian citizens in saving the lives of Jews and other nationality genocide victims; popularize the Japanese history, culture and language in Lithuania; and participate in developing many-sided communication between Lithuania and Japan. Avoidance to speak on the topics "embarrassing" to one or the other nation, twists the understanding of history and present realia of common life of these two nations, i.e. the Lithuanians and the Jews. The harmonization of relations among the fellow citizens of one state is possible through better knowledge of their history, cultural and religious heritage, customs and traditions. The Foundation has projected to develop the principles of tolerance, democracy and humanism by studying and analyzing traumatic events in the Lithuanian history, and familiarizing the public society with them. It is provided to implement the said principles in the society through the groups of people having influence on the formation of world outlook of young generation and public opinion, by encouraging "liberation" from old stereotypes and present phobias. In its activities, the Foundation is aided by the Center for the Study of Assistance to Genocide Victims and the Center for Japanese Studies of Vytautas Magnus University. To develop activities of the Foundation, we kindly ask for support for the coordination of administrative and educational projects.Mr. Ramunas Garbaravicius (Co- founder & the Chairman of the Sugihara foundation, the member of city council). E-mail:garbaravicius@hotmail.com
Mr. Sugihara's Biographical Data
Chiune Sugihara was born on 1 January 1900 in Gifu Prefecture of the Chubu Region. While a student at Waseda University, Sugihara was sent as a Russian language trainee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a language institute in Harbin, China, where he got good marks. During his career at the Ministry, Sugihara worked as an expert in Russian affairs. Subsequently, he served in the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japanese Legation in Finland before assuming the position of the Vice Consul at the newly established Japanese Consulate in Kaunas in August 1939 Chiune Sugihara passed away in July 1986, in Japan.
Chiune Sempo Sugihara-Japanese Angel
In July 1940 many Jewish refugees, came to the Japanese Consulate seeking transit visas. Still, considering that the lives of these Jews were threatened by Nazi persecution, Sugihara, acting out of humanitarian concern, issued visas to them in great numbers from 29 July until immediately prior to his departure from Lithuania on 4 September. More than 2,000 people were placed on the visa list alone. In those times, if the head of a family was granted a visa all family members listed in his passport were also granted entry, meaning that in fact the visas issued by Sugihara saved many thousands of Jewish lives. Furthermore, among those who received visas from Sugihara and went to Japan were many who stayed in Japan longer than the period allowed for through their visas. The Japanese visas became the last hope for those people.After the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas was closed as a result of Lithuania's annexation to the Soviet Union, Sugihara served at the Consulate General in Prague, the Consulate General in Koigsberg and the Legation in Romania, before he finally returned to Japan in 1947 and left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The acts of humanity performed by the courageous Sugihara have been honored in a variety of ways. In 1969 Israeli Minister of Religious Affairs Zorach Warhaftig, who himself was one of the persons to have his visa issued by Sugihara, directly bestowed a decoration upon him from the Israeli Government. In 1985, Sugihara became the first Japanese to be honored with the prize for being "Righteous Among the Nations (Yad Vashem Prize)," a prize bestowed by the Government of Israel upon foreigners who have saved the lives of Jews.

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