The power of one
On a bench at the edge of Little Tokyo in Downtown LA sits a man made of bronze, his hand extended. In it is something hard to discern. The inscription next to this unassuming memorial can be hard to read, especially if it’s one of those blinding Los Angeles afternoons. But the story of this relatively unknown WWII hero, Chiune Sugihara, demands attention.
Born of humble roots, Sugihara excelled in his studies and rose through government ranks to the position of Japanese Consul-General. In 1939, he was stationed in Lithuania, and was soon confronted with the Nazi invasion of Poland, which sent thousands of terrified Jewish refugees into Lithuania. It would be a short-lived safe haven. A year later, the Germans were closing in, and almost all foreign embassies were evacuated – but not Japan’s. Chiune and his wife, Yukiko, moved by the plight of desperate people, asked their government for, and received, a 20-day extension. Thousands of panicked Jews flooded the Japanese embassy, seeking exit visas.
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Address 192 S Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 | Public Transport Metro Gold Line to Little Tokyo Station, then a .3-mile walk | Getting there Metered street parking | Hours Always viewable| Tip In the nearby historic Little Tokyo village, find Mitsuru Café (117 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, Los Angeles, CA 90012), where you can watch fresh imagawayaki (a pancake filled with sweet azuki-bean paste) being made.
A visa is what the statue of Sugihara holds in its hand. Despite the explicit prohibition of their government, Sugihara and his wife relentlessly handwrote and stamped 300 passports a day, giving permission for Jews to receive safe passage out. It’s said Sugihara continued to write visas while leaving the country, and handed his visa stamp through the train window to a Jewish refugee when time ran out, so that the refugee could continue the work. More than 6,000 Jews were saved by the Sugiharas willingness to risk their lives. At war’s end, the Japanese government removed Sugihara from his beloved diplomatic service – for life.
Next to the statue is space enough for a visitor to sit. Perhaps Ramon Velazco, the artist who made the sculpture, wished to offer a place where a person can rest and marvel at the amazing human capacity for bravery and compassion, in the face of tremendous peril.
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