The Timeline
July 1885
Birth of Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches and his twin brother César.
César was the older twin, born on July 18. Aristides was the younger twin, born on July 19. Photo taken during Carnaval, 1892.
January 1895
Birth of José de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches, younger brother of the twins.
January 1907
Aristides de Sousa Mendes and César de Sousa Mendes graduate from Coimbra University with degrees in law. Both choose foreign service as their profession.
November 1908
Wedding of Aristides and Angelina de Sousa Mendes.
January 1909
Birth of first child Aristides César in Beijós, Portugal.
January 1911
Birth of second child Manuel Silvério in Beijós, Portugal.
January 1911
Aristides de Sousa Mendes is appointed Portuguese Consul in Zanzibar.
January 1912
Birth of third child José António in Zanzibar.
January 1913
Birth of fourth child Clotilde Augusta in Zanzibar.
August 1914
World War I begins.
January 1915
Birth of fifth child Isabel Maria in Zanzibar.
January 1917
Birth of sixth child Feliciano Artur Geraldo in Zanzibar. Sultan Khalifa bin Harub of Zanzibar is named as the child's godfather.
January 1917
Aristides de Sousa Mendes is appointed Portuguese Consul in Curitiba, Brazil.
January 1918
Birth of seventh child Elisa Joana in Curitiba, Brazil.
January 1920
Birth of eighth child Pedro Nuno in Coimbra, Portugal.
January 1921
Aristides de Sousa Mendes is appointed Portuguese Consul-General in San Francisco, CA.
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January 1922
Birth of ninth child Carlos Francisco Fernando in Berkeley, CA.
January 1923
Birth of tenth child Sebastião Miguel Duarte in Berkeley, CA.
January 1923
Aristides de Sousa Mendes is appointed Portuguese Consul-General in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
January 1925
Birth of eleventh child Teresinha do Menino Jesus in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
January 1925
Aristides de Sousa Mendes is appointed Portuguese Consul-General in Vigo, Spain.
January 1928
Birth of twelfth child Luís Filipe in Tuy, Spain.
January 1928
Aristides de Sousa Mendes is appointed Portuguese Consul-General in Antwerp, Belgium, where he is also Dean of the Consular Corps.
January 1931
Birth of thirteenth child João Paulo in Louvain, Belgium.
February 1933
Birth of fourteenth child Raquel Hermínia in Louvain, Belgium.
January 1934
A double tragedy hits the Sousa Mendes family.
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January 1938
Aristides de Sousa Mendes is appointed Portuguese Consul-General in Bordeaux, France.
November 1939
The government of António de Oliveira Salazar, Dictator of Portugal, issues a directive, CIRCULAR 14, forbidding consular officials from issuing Portuguese visas to refugees from Nazism.
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November 1939
Under Salazar's dictatorship, Portuguese youth were taught to give the fascist salute.
May 1940
Nazi Germany invades Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, followed quickly by Northern France.
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June 1940
After several days of seclusion, Aristides de Sousa Mendes decides to act. He consults with Angelina, who completely supports his decision.
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June 1940
Aristides de Sousa Mendes begins issuing visas on an assembly line basis to all comers, including those specifically mentioned in Circular 14: Jews unable to return to their countries of origin, stateless refugees and Russians.
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June 1940
Border between France and Spain at Hendaye/Irun is sealed by order of the Portuguese Ambassador to Spain, and bearers of Portuguese visas issued in Bordeaux or Bayonne are forbidden to pass. The New York Times estimates 10,000 people to be stranded in Nazi-occupied France by this new order. Aristides de Sousa Mendes is recalled to Portugal to face disciplinary action.
July 1940
Court deposition against Aristides de Sousa Mendes by Pedro Teotónio Pereira, Portuguese Ambassador to Spain, presented as evidence in Sousa Mendes's trial in October of that year.
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October 1940
Aristides de Sousa Mendes gives a statement at his trial explaining his motivations.
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October 1940
Aristides de Sousa Mendes is found guilty of disobedience against his government, and is stripped of his position and livelihood.
October 1940
Birth of fifteenth child, Marie-Rose, in Lisbon. Her mother Andrée Cibial is a musician Sousa Mendes had met in France. Marie-Rose is raised by her maternal uncle and aunt in France.
January 1941
Aristides de Sousa Mendes writes a letter to his lawyer describing his action.
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January 1942
Without a means of earning an income, Aristides de Sousa Mendes and his family begin taking meals at the soup kitchen run by the Jewish community of Lisbon and financed by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
June 1943
Carlos and Sebastião de Sousa Mendes, born in Berkeley, CA, claim U.S. citizenship and enlist in the U.S. Army.
January 1944
Article published in a US-based Portuguese newspaper under the pseudonym Onix describes Sousa Mendes's action and the persecution he is suffering from the dictator Salazar.
January 1944
Aristides de Sousa Mendes suffers a stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed.
January 1946
Aristides de Sousa Mendes writes letter to Pope Pius XII begging for help from the Roman Catholic Church, but does not receive a reply.
October 1949
Aristides de Sousa Mendes marries Andrée Cibial.
January 1951
Sebastião de Sousa Mendes publishes a novella, Flight Through Hell, containing a description of his father's story, under the pseudonym Michael d'Avranches.
April 1954
Death of Aristides de Sousa Mendes at Franciscan Hospital for the Poor, Lisbon, Portugal.
September 1959
Joana de Sousa Mendes begins writing to Jewish leaders urging them to recognize her late father.
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February 1961
By order of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion of Israel, twenty trees are planted in memory of Aristides de Sousa Mendes by the Jewish National Fund.
October 1966
Yad Vashem recognizes Aristides de Sousa Mendes as Righteous Among the Nations.
October 1967
Ceremony in New York at the Israeli Consulate.
April 1974
Carnation Revolution in Portugal overthrows the Estado Novo regime of Salazar's successor Marcelo Caetano and establishes a democracy.
January 1976
Report by Portuguese diplomat Nuno Bessa Lopes establishes the facts of the Sousa Mendes case, including his persecution by the Salazar government, and recommends that his memory be
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January 1986
Establishment of International Committee to Honor Dr. Aristides de Sousa Mendes, headquartered in Oakland, CA, led by Robert Jacobvitz, John Paul Abranches and Joan Abranches.
October 1986
Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles holds memorial ceremony honoring Aristides de Sousa Mendes.
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October 1986
Tree planted for Aristides de Sousa Mendes in the Avenue of the Righteous, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, by Mordecai Paldiel, Director of the Department for the Righteous.
April 1987
Event in honor of Aristides de Sousa Mendes organized by Portuguese community of New Bedford, MA.
April 1987
US congressional bill sponsored by Rep. Tony Coelho and Rep. Henry Waxman urging Portugal to recognize Aristides de Sousa Mendes.
May 1987
Comité français en hommage à Aristides de Sousa Mendes is established in Bordeaux, France by Père Bernard Rivière and Manuel Dias Vaz.
May 1987
Ceremony at Portuguese Embassy in Washington, DC at which President Mario Soares apologizes to the Sousa Mendes family on behalf of the Portuguese government.
March 1988
Law passed unanimously by the Portuguese Parliament posthumously reinstating Aristides de Sousa Mendes into the diplomatic corps and offering reparations to his descendants.
January 1994
Portuguese President Mario Soares inaugurates bust of Aristides de Sousa Mendes on esplanade Charles de Gaulle in Bordeaux, France, in a ceremony organized by the Comité français.
March 1995
National homage to Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Cinema Tivoli, Lisbon, Portugal.
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January 1997
International homage to Aristides de Sousa Mendes organized by the European Union in Strasbourg, France.
January 1999
Sousa Mendes family meets in Cabanas de Viriato, Portugal, to establish Fundaçao Aristides de Sousa Mendes in Portugal.
April 2000
Sousa Mendes story included in Visas for Life exhibition at the United Nations, organized by Eric Saul.
April 2004
International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation and Angelo Roncalli Committee organize more than 80 commemorations of Aristides de Sousa Mendes on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death.
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January 2008
Launch of Sousa Mendes Virtual Museum website in Portugal, under the direction of architect Luisa Pacheco Marques.
September 2010
Sousa Mendes Foundation is established in the United States by the Sousa Mendes family, visa recipient families and supporters of the cause.
January 2011
There's a Mirror in My Heart: Memories of a Righteous Grandfather, an artistic exhibition by Sebastian Mendes, opens at the Yeshiva University Museum, New York.
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February 2011
Sousa Mendes Foundation organizes panel of visa recipients at Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, NY.
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March 2011
City of Philadelphia, PA honors Aristides de Sousa Mendes on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Olivia Mattis gives Keynote address.
January 2013
The United Nations honors diplomat rescuers of the Holocaust on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a screening of the documentary film The Rescuers by Michael W. King.
June 2013
Journey on the Road to Freedom tour in the footsteps of Aristides de Sousa Mendes and the refugees of 1940.
June 2013
Work Towards Fairness architectural installation at Sousa Mendes home Casa do Passal by Eric Moed.
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October 2013
City of Toronto, Canada honors Aristides de Sousa Mendes and his love of children by inaugurating a playground in his name.
April 2014
City of Rochester, NY honors Aristides de Sousa Mendes on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Louis-Philippe Mendes and Olivia Mattis give Keynote addresses.
June 2014
Construction begins on the Sousa Mendes home, Casa do Passal, with €316,000 allocated jointly by the European Union and the Portuguese Government.
September 2014
TAP Portuguese Airlines names one of its fleet, an Airbus A319, after Aristides de Sousa Mendes.
September 2014
Plaque installed at Portuguese Consulate in Bordeaux where Aristides de Sousa Mendes distributed visas in 1940.
April 2014
Congregation Adas Israel in Washington, DC inducts Aristides de Sousa Mendes into its Garden of the Righteous.
August 2015
Portuguese Secretary of State for Culture Jorge Barreto Xavier announces that the European Union has allocated a further €800,000 to the Casa do Passal museum project.
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January 2016
January 2016 Los Angeles Events
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 24, 2015HOLOCAUST RESCUER ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES HONORED AT AMERICAN JEWISH UNIVERSITY AND LOS ANGELES MUSEUM OF THE HOLOCAUST; WORLD PREMIERE OF DRAMATIC ORATORIO “CIRCULAR 14: THE APOTHEOSIS OF ARISTIDES”
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March 2016
April-December 2016 New York Exhibition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 14, 2016 AMERICAN SEPHARDI FEDERATION HOSTS EXHIBITION AND PUBLIC PROGRAM “PORTUGAL, THE LAST HOPE: SOUSA MENDES’ VISAS TO FREEDOM” AT THE CENTER FOR JEWISH HISTORYRead more
May 2016
June-July 2016 European Journey
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 31, 2016 HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL JOURNEY FROM FRANCE TO PORTUGAL MARKS ESCAPE ROUTE FROM NAZI-OCCUPIED EUROPERead more
July 2016
September 7, 2016 Connecticut Film Screening
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 24, 2016 HOLOCAUST RESCUER ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES TO BE HONORED IN STAMFORD, CTRead more
December 2016
Holocaust Organizations, Scholars and Educators Sound Alarm on Surge in Hate Crimes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDecember 5, 2016
Call to Action to Lawmakers and Citizens
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January 2017
January-February 2017 Texas Events
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 3, 2017
HOUSTON HONORS ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES
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March 2017
Holocaust Organizations and Historians Urge Action to Preserve US Government Agency that Monitors Anti-Semitism
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 3, 2017
Call to Action to Lawmakers and Citizens
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April 2017
Posthumous Honor for Sousa Mendes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 3, 2017
PORTUGAL HONORS ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES
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April 2017
April 24, 2017 Kentucky Film Screening
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 17, 2017 HOLOCAUST RESCUER ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES TO BE HONORED IN LEXINGTON, KY ON THE OCCASION OF HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAYRead more
April 2017
May-August 2017 Maine Exhibition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19, 2017 EXHIBITION ON RESCUERS AT THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER OF MAINERead more
June 2017
Sousa Mendes Foundation Launches Archival Management Project to Document and Preserve the Sousa Mendes Legacy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 13, 2017 PRESERVING HISTORY FOR THE FUTURERead more
August 2017
Refugee Advocate Maggie Favretti to be Honored
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 9, 2017 SOUSA MENDES FOUNDATION GALA "A TOAST TO FREEDOM!" AT THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2017Read more
August 2017
Holocaust Authority Dr. Eva Fogelman to be Honored
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 9, 2017 SOUSA MENDES FOUNDATION GALA "A TOAST TO FREEDOM!" AT THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2017Read more
August 2017
Congressman Jerrold Nadler to be Honored
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 9, 2017 SOUSA MENDES FOUNDATION GALA "A TOAST TO FREEDOM!" AT THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2017Read more
December 2017
January 2018 Utah Performance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 10, 2017 THE SOUSA MENDES STORY PRESENTED IN THE MORMON TABERNACLE ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY, SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 2018Read more
February 2018
Girl Scouts of Utah Receive Holocaust Education Through Performance of Sousa Mendes Oratorio
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 6, 2018 GSU INITIATED UNPRECEDENTED EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN OF SUPPORTRead more