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This Portuguese Diplomat Was Disgraced For Saving Jews. Now, He's Getting His Due.

JL;DR SUMMARY Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat, saved 30,000 people, including 10,000 Jews, during World War II by issuing visas against his government's orders. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HolocaustWorld War IiYad VashemJewish RefugeesAdas Israel CongregationVisasAristides De Sousa MendesPortuguese DiplomatRescuerLegacy Restoration

Places mentioned

Washington, Washington DC, United States
"But on April 19, he was honored by Washington, D.C.s Adas Israel Congregation and inducted into that power shuls Garden of the Righteous memorial."
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
"I think my grandfather would be very proud and happy, said Linda Mendes, who now lives in Montreal."
Lisbon, Portugal
"by issuing thousands of visas within several days before being ordered back to Lisbon, Portugal by the countrys dictator, Antonio Salazar."
Bordeaux, Gironde, France
"before his final post as consul general in Bordeaux, France, in 1939."
California, United States
"said granddaughter Sheila Abranches-Pierce, who lives in California."
Cabanas de Viriato, Viseu, Portugal
"The Foundations next goal is to restore the Sousa Mendes family house in the village of Cabanas de Viriato in central Portugal and to turn it into a museum."
Paris, Île-de-France, France
"Gerald Mendes, who now lives in Paris, said his father died a few months before the parliament officially rehabilitated Sousa Mendes."

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This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 83343
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2026-05-26 05:31:14 UTC
Curated 2026-05-26 08:31:06 UTC