MONTREAL/March 8, 2005—
Holocaust survivor and the grandsons of the diplomat who saved him speak
Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University (CFTAU), and the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS), a recognized research institute in Concordia University's Faculty of Arts and Science, today inaugurated Visas for Life: The Righteous & Honourable Diplomats, which will be presented at Concordia in the atrium of the J.W. McConnell Building (1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West) from March 8 to 27, and in the atrium of the Richard J. Renaud Science Complex on the Loyola Campus (7141 Sherbrooke St. West), from March 30 to April 11.
According to Concordia history professor Frank Chalk, co-founder and co-director of MIGS (http://migs.concordia.ca/), ìThe individual courage of those diplomats who sacrificed their careers and often risked their lives to grant visas rescuing Jewish and anti-fascist refugees from Hitler's grip inspires us to present a conference examining the courage to care today. Individual courage is a starting point, but it is not sufficient.î
CFTAU and exhibit curator Eric Saul brought the exhibit Visas for Life to Canada, premiering it at Concordia University. ìWe hope to inspire students and visitors to learn from these courageous diplomats how one person can make a difference and that we each individually have the power to make the world a better place,î they said.
During today's press conference, Montreal businessman and philanthropist Thomas Hecht related his personal experience as the recipient of a ìVisa for Lifeî. His visa was issued by Dr. Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Catholic Portuguese aristocrat and career diplomat who was posted to Bordeaux, France, as Portuguese Consul General. His grandsons, GÈrard and Louis-Philippe Mendes live in Montreal, and shared their grandfather's story at the press conference.
As part of the Visas for Life project, MIGS and CFTAU will also co-host the conference Democratic Discourse in a Multicultural Society on Sunday, April 3, 2005, in Room SPS-110, of the Richard J. Renaud Science Complex (7141 Sherbrooke St. West). It will explore guidelines for democratic discourse in our multicultural Canadian society and ìwill remind everyone in the aftermath of the Rwanda genocide and the looming shadow of Darfur of the responsibility of powerful members of the United Nations today to shoulder their responsibility to protect defenseless citizens suffering crimes against humanity and possible genocide at the hands of their ownî, said Chalk.
Visas for Life is a remarkable exhibit telling the story of heroic diplomats who served in Nazi occupied countries during the chaotic days of WWII. The diplomats were embassy and consular personnel, who risked their lives and careers to help save the lives of innocent men, women and children who were targets of Nazi persecution and genocide. Research today suggests that these extraordinary men and women are credited with rescuing more than 250,000 people from the Holocaust.
See the video of the March 8 press conference.
Visas For Life: Background Information On Exhibit
- 30 -
Source :
Tanya Churchmuch
Senior Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University
