A second ‘Japanese Schindler’ uncovered: how a diplomat helped Jews fleeing Nazi Germany

A faded travel document shows how Saburo Nei, a Japanese diplomat in Vladivostok, helped a Jewish family after they fled Eastern Europe in 1941

Another Japanese diplomat, Chiune Sugihara, was likened to Oskar Schindler for issuing visas to help Jews escape Lithuania during World War II

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Saburo Nei, a Japanese diplomat who was stationed in Vladivostok in 1941 and who issued visas to help Jews as they fled Eastern Europe. He is pictured in 1935. Photo courtesy of Akira Kitade

Published: 4:30pm, 7 Jun 2020Updated: 8:38pm, 7 Jun 2020

A faded and creased document that was the difference between life and death for a family of Polish Jews fleeing Nazi Germany has been discovered in the United States, shedding new light on the role that a Japanese diplomat played in ushering refugees to safety in Japan and beyond.

Much is already known about Chiune Sugihara, who was stationed in Lithuania and defied Tokyo’s orders to issue thousands of visas to Jews, later being dubbed the “Japanese Schindler”, after the German industrialist Oskar Schindler who saved hundreds of Jews during World War II. But the latest discovery highlights how more government officials helped Jews fleeing persecution some eight decades ago.

“When it comes to visas issued to Jews, Sugihara is widely known but only now are we discovering that more Japanese diplomats also provided travel documents to refugees when they should not have,” said researcher Akira Kitade.

“But very few people have heard of Saburo Nei,” he added. “So this document is an extremely important find that helps us to piece the puzzle together a little better.”

A visa issued by former diplomat Saburo Nei, dated February 28, 1941, and found in April 2020. Photo courtesy of Akira Kitade

Kitade specialises in the history of the Japan Travel Bureau, which was formed in 1912 as the forerunner of the travel firm JTB Corp., and discovered that a number of company employees also aided refugees trying to reach Japan.

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A second ‘Japanese Schindler’ uncovered: how a diplomat helped Jews fleeing Nazi Germany

A faded travel document shows how Saburo Nei, a Japanese diplomat in Vladivostok, helped a Jewish family after they fled Eastern Europe in 1941 Another Japanese diplomat, Chiune Sugihara, was likened to Oskar Schindler for issuing visas to help Jews escape Lithuania during World War II

A faded travel document shows how Saburo Nei, a Japanese diplomat in Vladivostok, helped a Jewish family after they fled Eastern Europe in 1941

Another Japanese diplomat, Chiune Sugihara, was likened to Oskar Schindler for issuing visas to help Jews escape Lithuania during World War II