Language:
English
Year of publication:
2001
Titel der Quelle:
Polin; Studies in Polish Jewry
Angaben zur Quelle:
14 (2001) 249-255
Keywords:
Zwartendijk, Jan,
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Rescue
Abstract:
By May 1940 at least 10,000 Jews had fled from occupied Poland into Lithuania; in summer 1940, when Lithuania was annexed by the USSR, many of these Jews felt vulnerable. The acting consul of the Netherlands in Kaunas, Jan Zwartendijk, helped many Jews by writing in their passports or other documents that a visa was not required to enter Curacao, Suriname, or other Dutch possessions. At least 2,345 of these permits were issued; although they did not actually allow their bearers entry to Curacao, they did help them obtain transit visas through the USSR and Japan. In 1997, Zwartendijk was recognized as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem. In 1999 three stone monuments were dedicated in his memory in Vilnius.
Note:
Appeared also in "Eshkolot" (2002) 128-133.
URL:
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