Chiune Sugihara

Vancouver Maritime Museum: The Jewish refugees used the travel visas obtained through Sugihara to enter Japan from occupied Europe, according to CBC. From there, many boarded cruise ships that took them to Vancouver and Seattle, where they settled. 'One person can make a difference' Among the refugees who made it to Vancouver were George Bluman parents. Sugihara story is the focus of the new exhibit Invisible Threads: Life-Saving Sugihara Visas and the Journey to Vancouver at the Vancouver Maritime Museum. "We discovered the story of Chiune Sugihara who issued a number of transit visas to Polish and Lithuanian Jewish refugees to help them escape from Eastern Europe," museum curator Duncan McLeod told the CBC. "It was a dangerous decision for him to issue these visas, because it could have been seen as an aggressive stance against Germany." Sugihara actions were in direct violation of orders from Japanese authorities due to their alliance with Germany. Bluman, a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, has done his own research into Sugihara history. The more I research the story, the more I'm amazed by Chiune Sugihara." Bluman says both he and his parents had the opportunity to meet with Sugihara descendants in Japan. George Bluman parents were given visas by Chiune Sugihara to escape occupied Europe during World War II. "My parents obtained life-saving visas from Chiune Sugihara in 1940. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.