Chune Sugihara Character Analysis

Chiune Sugihara was a man that saved thousands of Jews in Lithuania. Sugihara was a man that did the right thing even when he was commanded not to by his own government. He is a person who would put everything on the line to save people. This is the story of Chiune Sugihara. Chiune Sugihara was born January 1, 1900 in the rural town of Yaotsu. He was born into a traditional samurai family. His mother hailed from a long line of samurai. Sugihara grew up under the Bushido Code, which was a tradition in Yaotsu. The Bushido code means to be strong and have the spirit to die, but to also live and die bravely. When Chiune was young he had a strong samurai spirit and he was a excellent student who was extremely bright. When Sugihara Graduated

He would often disappear for multiple hours each time they went on a picnic and no one would know where he was. He used these picnics as perfect getaways to spy on German soldiers. Every time he recovered some information he quickly sent it to the Japanese government. In 1939 Chiune and his wife were invited to a diner party where they heard the misadventures of a Jewish refugee from Germany. These tales touched Chiune deeply and he felt great sympathy for the Jewish man who shared his story. I believe these stories must have reminded him of the events he had witnessed in Manchuria. In 1940 the country of Lithuania was annexed by the soviets. The reason the annexed
Lithuania is it was soon to become a war zone for the Germans and Russians where casualties would be large for both soldiers and civilians. The Russians locked up all the refugee Jews and shut down all the schools, business, and foreign government buildings. The civilian population knew that soon all escape options would be extinguished and they would be stuck in Lithuania. To escape or even leave a country a civilian needed a passport, a visa to leave the country, a visa for transit, and a visa from the country you wished to enter. Chiune was both