Sydney Jewish Museum Collection

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Actions Displays	Remove from selection Add to selection Object numberM2017/044:003 DescriptionPhoto of Claudia Apollonova (left), and an older woman who may be her mother (right). Claudia was the first wife of Japanese diplomat Chiune ‘Sempo’ Sugihara. Claudia was a ‘White Russian’ who fled to Harbin, China, in the years following the Russian Revolution. She met Sugihara when he was working in the Manchurian Foreign Office in Harbin, negotiating with the Soviet Union on the Northern Manchurian Railroad. They later divorced in 1935 and in 1940 she migrated to Australia, where she died around 1994. Chiune Sugihara served as Consul-General to the Japanese Empire in Lithuania from 1939-1940. While working in Lithuania, Sugihara became aware of the plight of Jews trying to leave Europe. In defiance of the Japanese Foreign Ministry he created his own 10-day transit visas which allowed recipients to travel through Japan on their way to places of refuge. In 1941 Sugihara was reassigned to Prague. As his train left Kaunas Railway Station in Lithuania, Sugihara was still writing visas, even throwing blank papers with his consulate stamp and signature out of the window. It is believed he issued several thousand transit visas, and consequently saved the lives of approximately 6,000 Jews. Production placeJapan Production date 1928 - 1928 Subjectdiplomat, White Russians, political refugees Object namephotographs Materialpaper Dimensions width: 211.00 mm height: 297.00 mm Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Tetsuya Sugihara

Object numberM2017/044:003

DescriptionPhoto of Claudia Apollonova (left), and an older woman who may be her mother (right). Claudia was the first wife of Japanese diplomat Chiune ‘Sempo’ Sugihara. Claudia was a ‘White Russian’ who fled to Harbin, China, in the years following the Russian Revolution. She met Sugihara when he was working in the Manchurian Foreign Office in Harbin, negotiating with the Soviet Union on the Northern Manchurian Railroad. They later divorced in 1935 and in 1940 she migrated to Australia, where she died around 1994.

Chiune Sugihara served as Consul-General to the Japanese Empire in Lithuania from 1939-1940. While working in Lithuania, Sugihara became aware of the plight of Jews trying to leave Europe. In defiance of the Japanese Foreign Ministry he created his own 10-day transit visas which allowed recipients to travel through Japan on their way to places of refuge. In 1941 Sugihara was reassigned to Prague. As his train left Kaunas Railway Station in Lithuania, Sugihara was still writing visas, even throwing blank papers with his consulate stamp and signature out of the window. It is believed he issued several thousand transit visas, and consequently saved the lives of approximately 6,000 Jews.

Production placeJapan

Production date 1928 - 1928

Subjectdiplomat, White Russians, political refugees

Object namephotographs

Materialpaper

Dimensions

Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Tetsuya Sugihara

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