Sugihara:                (USA: 200, 103 mins.)
Conspiracy of Kindness
Thursday February 1, 2007, 5:30pm & 7:30pm
Written & Directed by Robert Kirk

In the fall of 1939, Hitler's murderous wave was sweeping through Eastern Europe. In the face of the Nazi onslaught, Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara set about saving thousands of lives. But his struggle was not fought on the battlefields or in war rooms. He used his power as a diplomat to rescue fleeing Jewish refugees. Sugihara is a story of what one can accomplish without weapons, even in the face of fascism.

As Japan's consul to Lithuania, Sugihara risked career, disgrace, his life, and the lives of his family defying Tokyo by writing transit visas for refugees desperate to escape persecution. In August 1940, Sugihara spent upwards of sixteen hours a day issuing visas, until Soviet-occupied Lithuania forced the final shutdown of the country's last remaining consulates. In the end, more than 2,000 Sugihara-stamped passports allowed hundreds of families to flee Europe through Russia to safe havens abroad. Today it is estimated that more than 40,000 people owe their very existence to Sugihara's heroic acts of humanitarianism.

Discussions to Follow Each Screening. Please join us.

Special Guest: Dr. Charles Exley, Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies will lead the discussion after the 5:30 screening

Producer's Web Site: www.PBS.org/Sugihara