Aristides de Sousa Mendes

Aristides de Sousa Mendes

Aristides de Sousa Mendes

The Insubordinate Consul

Erasmus+ 2020/2021

• Occupation: Consul, Diplomat • Born: 19th July 1885, in Viseu • Died: 3rd April 1954, in Lisbon

Best known for: issuing thousands of visas during World War II providing people safe passage out of Europe, in disobedience of Antonio de Salazar's order “Circular 14″.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes

“Circular 14" - It denies safe haven to refugees, including Jews, Russians, and stateless people who cannot freely return to their country of origin.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes was born to an aristocratic family on 19th July 1885, in Cabanas de Viriato (Viseu).

• He studied law in Coimbra and obtained his degree in 1907.
• He was firstly appointed Consul in British Guiana in 1910.
• He moved to Zanzibar with his wife Maria Angelina de Sousa and his 14 children.

• In February 1918 he becomes a Consul in Curitiba, Brazil.
• In 1921 he directs the consulate in San Francisco, California.

After the coup d'état in 1926, Aristides de Sousa Mendes is appointed Consul in Vigo (Spain).

Sousa Mendes is believed to have offered his house in Bordeaux and his residence in Cabanas de Viriato as a refuge.

From 1931 to 1938 his position took him to Antwerp (Belgium).

In 1939 Sousa Mendes became a Consul in Bordeaux (France), where he defied a direct order from António Salazar while Europe was under the Nazi rule.

In 1948, Aristides de Sousa Mendes' wife passed away and most of his children emigrated to the USA.

How did he die?

A year later he married Andrée Cibial and the couple had a daughter.

For the rest of his life, Aristides de Sousa Mendes suffered from poor health and financial problems.

He died destitute on 3rd April 1954.