Chiune Sugihara served as Vice-Consul at the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania, where many Jews found refuge in 1939. After the Nazis invaded Lithuania, thousands of Jews sought to acquire exit visas to safer ground rather than remain trapped in a hellish situation.

Putting his career and his life at risk, Sugihara disobeyed his government’s regulations which required appropriate immigration procedures and funds. Chiune Sugihara let his conscience guide him in the courageous humanitarian act of writing and stamping thousands of transit visas for the droves of desperate refugees who lined up at his consulate gate.  Sugihara felt the pain and saw the tears; he did what he knew he had to do.

Chiune Sugihara’s riveting and revealing story will be told by his son, Nobuki Sugihara. As the youngest son of Chiune Sugihara, Nobuki will explain what motivated his father to do what he did, how his family was affected by Chiune’s acts of kindness, and how we can continue his father’s legacy in our generation. He will be joined by Rabbi Moshe Bryski, son of one of the survivors, who will reflect on how ordinary people can change the world in extraordinary ways. Rabbi Bryski will share his father’s story of survival during and after WWII, thanks to the benevolence of Chiune Sugihara, and motivate the audience to follow Sugihara’s example of righteousness. One Person. One Kindness. One World Transformed.