A Righteous Man was in Lithuania 2020 — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

In February 2020, we gathered together at Vilna House for a meeting of Litvaks ( Lithuanians Jews) with the families of Sugihara survivors in Israel, and at the Sugihara Heritage Museum/Sugihara Memorial Hall in Yaotsu, Japan.

The meeting was moderated by Yossi Krihali, as the representative in Israel of the Sugihara Museum in Yaotsu, and talked about the connection between the museum and Vilna House.

The Lithuanian Ambassador, Lina Antanavičienė, greeted the participants and talked about Sugihara who, as a diplomat, was a nonconformist in his sensitivity to the situation and in his decision not to oppose but to help the Jews. The most important thing is to be a good human and act as such, she said.

The representative of the survivors’ families, Bertie Frenkel, who had been a baby during the war, told those present what his father had told him about the escape from Kovno, via Japan till settling in New Zealand.

He was followed by the Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of Japan in Israel, Shion Kawai (who said that Israelis call him Zion), and Isau Porota, chief spokesperson of the Publicity Department of the Yaotsu municipality and the spokesperson of the Sugihara Museum in Yaotsu. Thanks to Yossi Krihali’s translation, we learned about the activities the Yaotsu municipality carry out regarding Sugihara and his work.