Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story

Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story

Early in World War II, Mr. Chiune Sugihara lived in Lithuania representing Japan as a diplomat.

As Jewish refugees poured into Lithuania, Imperial Consul Sugihara issued thousands of official Japanese travel visas for refugees. 

 

In Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story, Ken Mochizuki, author of Baseball Saved Us and Heroes, tells the story of the rescue of thousands of Jews from the perspective of Mr. Sugihara's young son. Imagine being a young child, far from home, trying to make sense of the strange world events taking place around him. The narrator tells of the lines of people waiting for a passage to freedom, his father writing visas into the night, the communication between the Imperial Consul and the government of Japan. Despite being denied permission, the Consul personally granted Japanese travel visas. Today, he is considered Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashim because of his work to rescue thousands. The book ends with an account of what happened in the lives of the Sugihara family after their time in Lithuania. 

One of the original travel visas granted by Chiune Sugihara
Source: Wikimedia Commons

As always, Dom Lee's illustrations draw us in with their pathos and his wax etchings provide unforgettable detail.     

Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story has won both the Utah Beehive Award and ALA Notable Children's Books. 

While the book is recommended for ages 9-12, younger readers could participate in a read-aloud.

Conversation starters: 

What is courage? Can you think of a time you have had to do something right, even if other people told you not to do it?

If you were traveling from Poland to Lithuania or from Lithuania to Japan, what would you carry with you? What questions would you have about the journey or destination?

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum provides resources for talking to children about the Holocaust. 

Geography: Look at a map and estimate how far refugees traveled from Poland to Lithuania and from Lithuania to Japan. Use the scale on the map to measure the distances. How close was your estimate? Use the compass rose on the map to talk about the directions refugees traveled.

For more reading, see Mr. Sugihara's biography on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website.