22 | sun lakes lIfestyles | nOVeMBeR 2014 | sOCIal CluBs & gROups
Yiddish Culture Club
Please join us at 7 pm on Wed., Nov. 12, in the Main Clubhouse
Ballroom where we will view the film Sugihara: Conspiracy Of
Kindness by Diane E. Vicari and Robert Kirk. In the fall of 1939 Hitler's
murderous wave was sweeping through Eastern Europe. In the face of
the Nazi onslaught, Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara began saving
thousands of lives. His struggle was not fought on the battlefields.
Risking his career, disgrace, his life, and the lives of his family he
defied Tokyo.
Using his diplomatic power as Japan's consul to Lithuania, he wrote
transit visas 16 hours a day for fleeing Jewish refugees desperate to
escape persecution until Soviet occupied Lithuania forced the final
shutdown of the country's last remaining consulates. More than 2,000
Sugihara-stamped passports allowed hundreds of families to flee
Europe through Russia to safe havens abroad.
The film is a definitive telling of this moving story and a monument
to a true hero — a man who, with no possible hope of reward and
every likelihood of suffering, had the courage to act on his innermost
beliefs to save the lives of thousands. His extraordinary acts of
kindness continue to reverberate the world over. Today it is estimated
that more than 40,000 people owe their very existence to Sugihara's
heroic acts of humanitarianism.
All are welcome. As usual, refreshments will be served. There is no
charge to members but there is a guest charge of $3 pp. Info., Diane,
769-0130
