January 27th is the anniversary of the international Holocaust set by the United Nations. On this special day, the Israeli Consulate General in Chengdu, in association with the Sichuan Provincial Library, hold the theme history exhibition of ‘Beyond Duty, Diplomats of the International Righteous’. The exhibition displays the story of 36 righteous diplomats from 21 countries in memory of this special history.
"During the Holocaust, in the face of the nonhuman suffering of the Jews, many countries remain conservative immigration policies, unwilling to accept Jewish refugees, and most diplomats only followed national policies and standard procedures. However, there were a few brave diplomats who believe that extraordinary actions need to be taken in the extraordinary period. They were brave enough to defy orders from their superiors, issuing visas to Jews and opening the door for their lives.
Amir Lati, Consul General of the Consulate General of Israel in Chengdu, said that 36 diplomats the exhibition pay tribute to were representatives of this group. Among them, there is a very familiar name to Chinese people-He Fengshan.
After the merger of Germany and Austria in March 1938, the Nazi's persecution and terrorized rule on Jews deteriorated seriously. My father, then the Chinese Consul General in Vienna, began issuing thousands of visas to Shanghai to help them escape from the Nazi claws and death. His deeds made Shanghai the last refuge for Jewish refugees. He Manli, daughter of He Fengshan, gave an opening speech to the exhibition, recalling her father's deeds. "My father defied instructions from his superiors and obeyed his conscience. Speaking of reasons, he mentioned lightly, "it is natural to sympathize with the Jews and it is necessary to help them in terms of humanity." He Manli said that in her father's life, he neither sought nor received the recognition of whom saved by him. In fact, he rarely talked about his tenure in Vienna and never reunited with his rescuers. So his name was not known to most of the people he saved.
The exhibition will be held until February 11, 2018, and we sincerely invite the public to come to the exhibition.