"Flight and Rescue": The Story of a Dutch businessman, a Japanese diplomat and 2100 Polish-Jewish Refugees

After browsing through the various exhibitions available online through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum I chose to explore the exhibit titled “Flight and Rescue” under the category of “Rescue and Resistance”. A more positive story than most to emerge from the dark days of the Holocaust, “Flight and Rescue” is about the journey of 2100 Polish-Jews from war torn Europe to the Far East. What proved to be the intriguing part of this story for me was the fact that these efforts were spear headed in the beginning by two very different men: Jan Zwartendijk and Chiune Sugihara.  Just from reading their names it is possible to discern that these two men were not of the same nationality, however it came as a surprise to me just how opposite in their stances during World War II those nations were:  Mr. Zwartendijk was a Dutch businessman and Mr. Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat. Given that the Netherlands was an Axis occupied country almost from the beginning, and Japan was a major Axis power, it would not seem plausible for these two men to work together to save Jewish refugees. However despite never having met and the various opinions their governments may have had, they were able to save 2100 Polish-Jews from annihilation during the Holocaust by arranging travel visas for them to reach the relative safety of the Far East.

This story of the Dutch businessman and Japanese diplomat banding together to facilitate the flight of a group of Jewish refugees is just one contradiction of many to emerge from the horror of the Holocaust. Most of what is taught in history classes about the Japanese role in World War II focuses around the attack on Pearl Harbor; before viewing this exhibit I had never been exposed to a story about the Japanese at this time which painted the Japanese government in a favorable light. We also tend to be taught that the United States was the ultimate pinnacle/ perpetrator of freedom however, several times throughout the exhibit the refugee quotas for the United States were lower than those of other countries, such as states under the jurisdiction of the British government. This exhibition not only chronicles the struggle of Polish-Jewish refugees to find sanctuary outside of Europe but it also demonstrates how even states allied with Germany were want to adhere to that country’s (Germany’s) systematic destruction of groups of peoples.

Beyond the Holocaust the exhibition also briefly touches upon modern-day refugees and the plight many displaced peoples still face today. A section at the end of the exhibition explains how the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum makes it its mission to ensure that the legacy of the Holocaust is not forgotten by acting to prevent or bring attention to genocides in the modern era, such as those which have recently occurred in Darfur. I found it interesting that much of the international legislation regarding the treatment and rights of refugees was written and adopted following revelations regarding the treatment of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.