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Disobedience: The Sousa Mendes Story

Wednesday, April 16, 2014 at 7:30pm to 10:00pm

Ives Hall, 105
B07 Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

In June 1940, when Nazi troops invaded France, the Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, then the consul in Bordeaux, enjoyed and could have continued an aristocrat’s life if he had merely followed the written orders of the Portuguese dictator Salazar to deny visas to all refugees trying to escape the Nazis via Portugal, an officially neutral country. Instead, moved and aided by a refugee rabbi and inspired by his own Catholic faith, Sousa Mendes chose to issue an estimated 38,000 visas (over just one week!) to Jews and other refugees, enabling them to escape the Nazis. He did not set out to be a hero, merely to follow his conscience. Ultimately, Sousa Mendes risked, and lost, his and his family’s position and privilege to aid those in need. This remarkable, true story has been described by historians as "the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust."

This immensely moving motion picture (in French, but with very good English subtitles) illustrates the power of one person’s courageous and conscientious leadership to transform the lives of others, as well as the potential of ecumenism. Don’t miss this wonderful, important movie.

The film will be followed by Q&A with Profs. Chris Barrett (Dyson) and Paul Velleman (ILR), sons of Sousa Mendes visa recipients.

 

Free and open to the public.

For more information, visit: http://sousamendesfilm.com/

Trailer available at: http://www.cinemaartscentre.org/event/disobedience-the-sousa-mendes-story/

 

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