The Holocaust — Portugal and refugees

First we will visit the family house where lived one of the Righteous Among the Nations, the Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, who in 1940 issued about 20-30 thousand transit visas to refugees, among whom there were many Ashkenazi Jews from France, Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium, giving them all a precious opportunity to leave Portugal (to USA, Brasil, Argentina, etc.) or to stay in Portugal. The opportunity to survive. However, his own life went down the drain, because he issued visas against the orders of his superiors in the person of the dictator António Salazar. The rebellious consul's name was Aristides de Sousa Mendes. Aristides is often referred to as the Portuguese Schindler. Let us honor his Act of Conscience and Disobedience to authority in his homeland!

The house of Aristides de Sousa Mendes will open as a museum in July 2024.

The second half of the tour will take place 1 km from the Portuguese-Spanish border, in the village of Vilar Formoso. We will visit the museum, which occupies an old utility building at the train station, with the eloquent name "The Border of the Peace". It was through this town that refugees from central Europe, who managed to get visas to Portugal and further across the ocean, entered by rail and by car. Many of them had visas issued by Aristides de Sousa Mendes. This was their border of hope, the border of a peaceful new life. The true stories of refugees who escaped from the German Nazis will be told by the photos and stands of the exhibition. Where the refugees lived, how they lived, how the Portuguese treated them — these questions will be answered during this tour.

Do not plan this tour on a Monday, as the museums will be closed.