Lisbon revisited (excerpt)

Lisbon revisited – Mosaic of the Portuguese Capital

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Urban Charm by the river Chapter 2 - Olisipo - Memories of Roman Lisbon Chapter 3 - The legend of St. Vincent Chapter 4 - Reinvented City Chapter 5 - Lisbon’s street art: Calçada portuguesa Chapter 6 - Green Oasis in the City Chapter 7 - 007 and Co. Chapter 8 - The Portuguese Riviera Chapter 9 - "Whoever saves one life, saves the world" Chapter 10 - Cascais bitter-sweet Memories Chapter 11 - The Mountain of the Moon Chapter 12 - The Legend of Seteais

Lisbon revisited – Mosaic of the Portuguese Capital

(this is an excerpt for preview)

Lisbon revisited – Mosaic of the Portuguese Capital

9

"Whoever saves one life, saves the world" Portuguese memories of the exile

The museum space ‘Memories of the Exile’ is our local homage to all those on the run or exiled during World War II, who chose Lisbon’s seaside, the so-called “Portuguese Riviera', as shelter. It was inaugurated 1999 in the center of Estoril. Dated of 1942, the building that lodges the space is of the authorship of contemporary architect Adelino Nunes. It is situated in the upper floor of the Estoril Post office, right in front of the Estoril railway Station.

The museum space recreates the environment of those decades, through a permanent exposition of archive documentation, photographs, objects related to those war times and other materials of reference. This space was created on the basis of extensive documentary archives belonging to the Municipal Historical Archive of Cascais. It consists of 64914 files such as hotel registrations and photo graphs, related to famous personalities such as

Antoine de Saint Exupéry, author of the Little Prin ce, or the Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxemburg, who, with a visa issued by the Portuguese consul to Bordeaux, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, found shelter in the residence of the Espirito Santo family, before her departure for the exile in the United States of America.

From 5 of July to 30 of September 2010 took place in this museum space a photographic exhibition entitled “Aristides de Sousa Mendes - Act of Conscience”. In honour of the Portuguese consul Aristides de Sousa Mendes, called by many `The Angel of Bordeaux'.

In 1940, given the advance of the German troops from North to South and East to West, thousands of persons had no other alternative than to run for their lives and search for shelter in other countries.

Portugal was a safe destination and strategically placed as gate of exit. Some expected to take the ship for England, while others aimed to cross Spain and Portugal, in order to leave for other destinies, as far away as possible from Hitler, in other continents.

To make this come true, however, was necessary to get a visa. For this reason, multitudes of refugees of different nationalities and credos, mainly Jewish, gathered in the Portuguese Consulate of Bordeaux, France, hoping for their chance to come. From the 13th of November, 1939, onwards, however, Salazar

officially forbid all Portuguese diplomats from granting more visas to any person on the run.

The consulate was completely crowded with hundreds of desperate people,waiting and despairing: sleeping on the floor and even on the stairs, without food. Given the dramatical situation, the Portuguese consul kept contacting the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Lisbon insistently, asking for authorization to grant visas to those already gathered there, waiting. The reply, however, was always the same: PERMISSION DENIED! Sousa Mendes fell ill and remained locked during three days in his room. He struggled with himself and took the time to make a deep reflection. His hair had become completely white when he left his room on the 16th of June, 1940, and addressed the multitude of refugees with these words: “I am aware that many of you are Jewish and many

others are opponents to the Nazi regime. The Portuguese constitution establishes that no one should discriminated alleging religious or political reasons. At such a dramatical moment as the one we are experiencing now, I cannot just close my eyes and ignore your faith.�

Hereafter he granted visas to all those who requested one. When the visa forms went out of stock, blank paper sleeves, later small pieces of paper were used; what mattered was the seal of the

consulate and the signature of Sousa Mendes on them.

On the 8th of July 1940, when he returned to Portugal, he had saved 30.000 lives, by signing visas day after day, night after night, until his complete exhaustion.

Nothing in the biography of Aristides, until then, would foresee such an act of disobedience. With 55 years to the date of the events, married and father of 14 children, he served the Salazar regime, as he had served the 1st Republic before. Of Monarchic origin and Catholic, he argued in self-defense “I could not remain indifferent before the suffering of all those people”, during his trial in August of 1940, “and had to act according to my conscience”. Aristides de Sousa Mendes was considered guilty and immediately lost his job. Salazar would have him compulsory retired with a minimum pension. Very difficult times came across Sousa Mendes and his family, who ended up in complete poverty.

Without money, Aristides was helped by relatives and the Portuguese Jewish community.

The furniture of Aristides family mansion near Viseu and all remaining goods had to be sold. Some of his children were not able to get work, and had to leave.

His wife Angelina died in 1948. He married later again.

On April 3, 1954, Aristides died of a stroke and pneumonia at the Hospital of the Third Order in Lisbon. Although the epitaph on his gravestone recognizes the merits of Aristides with the words "Whoever saves one life, saves the world", his death did not deserve a single comment or new in the Portuguese press! It would be thus completely ignored by his own country.

It took 34 years for the name of Aristides Sousa Mendes to be praised and officially rehabilitated in Portugal. In 1988 at the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament), the depute Dr. Jaime Gama suggested the posthumous rehabilitation and reintegration of Aristides in the diplomatic corps, which was granted unanimously by the parties represented at the time.

The Jewish people, however, would not forget him.

Since 1967 Aristides de Sousa Mendes is listed as "Righteous Among the Nations" at the Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel. This is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis. He is the only Portuguese mentioned there.

His previous family house “Casa do Passal� in Cabanas de Viriato (North of Portugal), almost fell in ruins.

Only now, in 2014, it is finally being repaired by initiative of the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Foundation, and should be transformed into a memorial museum to perpetuate the memory of Aristides de Sousa Mendes and the lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis. He is the only Portuguese mentioned there.

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About the author

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, where she studied foreign languages, Ana da Silva lived and worked for a long period in Northern Europe, where she also built a family.

Back in Portugal, side by side with a fulltime job, she started as independent author, photographer and illustrator (autodidact). Both writings and pictures reflect her simple, harmonious and spiritual live path.

She finds her inspiration in NATURE, ANIMALS, MULTICULTURALITY, URBAN CHARM (especially Lisbon/Portugal), LOCAL HISTORY AND LEGENDS, SPIRITUALITY and SELF-HELP /MOTIVATION.

More info on AUTHOR CENTRAL:

http://www.amazon.com/Ana-da-Silva/e/B00LU2DPPE

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