SOUSA MENDES 2013 symposium, San Leandro, Calif, 5-June

HONORING ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES

 5-June

A symposium and exhibit on the life of this Portuguese diplomat will be taking place on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 starting at 7 PM at the headquarters of the Portuguese Fraternal Society of America (PFSA) and J.A. Freitas Library located at 1120 East 14th Street, San Leandro, CA. The symposium is part of the celebrations of the Day of Portugal in California.

The symposium speakers include visa recipient Pierre Hahn, Sousa Mendes activist and founding member of the International Committee to Commemorate Dr. Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Anne Treseder, and former president and founding director of the Sousa Mendes Foundation, Miguel Ávila. A Porto de Honra reception will follow the symposium.

Admission is free, but due to the limited seats available for the symposium, PFSA requests that 

RSVPs be made by 

Friday, May 31, 2013, by calling 1.866.687.7372.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Washington, DC, 19-April

Sousa Mendes no Jardins dos Justos, Washington, DC 

Garden of the Righteous 2015 Honoring the Memory of Aristides de Sousa Mendes from Portugal Featuring Live Musical Oratorio Presentation with Cantor Brown Sunday, April 19 @ 10am For this year's annual Garden of the Righteous program, Adas Israel is proud to honor  Mr. Aristides de Sousa Mendes. Mendes was the Portuguese Consul-General in Bordeaux, France, when the Germans invaded in 1940. When Sousa Mendes received a delegation of refugees at the consulate, Mendes decided to disobey his government’s explicit instruction and promised transit visas to everyone in need. In June 1940, Mendes issued some 30,000 visas, including about 10,000 to Jews. This heroic feat was characterized by renowned Israeli Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer as “perhaps the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust.” The Adas Israel Garden of the Righteous is a beautiful reminder of numerous acts of decency and daring performed by many non-Jews in the midst of one of the most tragic moments in human history.  The entire community is cordially invited to join us for this moving event.  The Sousa Mendes Foundation is participating actively in this important event, as well as various descendents of Aristides de Sousa Mendes and of the refugees he saved.  A new musical composition or Oratorio by Neely Bruce will be premiered.  Source:   http://www.wizevents.com/system/showmail.php?clientid=1022&batchnum=2015-03-1710:00:12&emailid=166172  Garden of the Rightteous  http://adasisrael.org/garden-of-righteous/

Honoring the Righteous among the Nations: Portugal’s Aristides de Sousa Mendes.

A Directora do Instituto Diplomático, Manuela Franco, participa hoje em Washington no encontro Honoring the Righteous among the Nations: Portugal’s Aristides de Sousa Mendes.

Manuela Franco vai falar sobre a vida de Aristides de Sousa Mendes e a sua actuação enquanto cônsul-geral em Bordéus durante a segunda guerra mundial.

O encontro tem lugar na Universidade de Georgetown e é apoiado pela Embaixada de Portugal e pelo Departamento de Espanhol e Português.

Sources:  http://diplomacia-pt.blogspot.pt/2014/04/honoring-righteous-among-nations.html

and  http://pjc.georgetown.edu/story/1242749122098.html

HONORING THE RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS: PORTUGAL'S ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES

Hal Israel Endowed Lectureship on Jewish-Catholic Relations

This special event, co-sponsored by the Embassy of Portugal and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, featured remarks by His Excellency Nuno Brito, Ambassador to the United States, and Ms. Manuela Franco, Director of the Diplomatic Institute in Lisbon.

Ms. Franco discussed the life of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who served as Portugal's consul-general in Bordeaux, France, during the mid-twentieth century. In 1966, Yad Vashem recognized Aristides de Sousa Mendes as Righteous Among the Nations for aiding in the safe escape of over 30,000 refugees during World War II. Sousa Mendes deliberately disobeyed his own government in granting visas and other legal documents to thousands of refugees seeking to escape Nazi persecution. Ms. Franco also discussed how the legacy of Sousa Mendes has been upheld through an online exhibit titled "Spared Lives." This exhibit includes photographs, documents, and information on Jewish refugees, in addition to highlighting the courageous actions of Sousa Mendes.

With an expert background in international relations, Ms. Franco has authored three books and numerous research articles including "The Twentieth-Century Portuguese Jews of Salonika: 'Oriental Jews of Portuguese Origin'" in Borders and Boundaries in and around Dutch Jewish History (Amsterdam University Press 2011). She is currently the Director of the Diplomatic Institute in Lisbon, Portugal.

The lecture was held on Wednesday, April 23rd at 6:30pm in the Kennedy Bioethics Research Library, Healy Hall.

The online exhibit, "Spared Lives," can be found here:

vidaspoupadas.idiplomatico.pt/en/

PROGRAM FOR JEWISH CIVILIZATION,Georgetown University