'Sugihara' Salvation Visa, signed by two of the Righteous Among the Nations. Kovno and Riga, 1940. Very rare

'Sugihara' Salvation Visa, signed by two of the Righteous Among the Nations. Kovno and Riga, 1940. Very rare
"I can not let those people die, people who came to me for help when death hovered above their heads. Let my punishment be whatever it will be; it is clear to me that I must act according to my conscience" (Sempo Sugihara).
A transit visa from Kovna to the island of Curacao via Japan, which was given to save the life of the Jew Yisrael Gorodecki from the village of Janow in Poland, signed by two consuls, Righteous Among the Nations, saviors of Jews, Sempo Sugihara and Jan Zwartendijk, and a discovery: a Greek diplomatic stamp unknown up until now. Kovno, Lithuania, and Riga, Latvia, July-November 1940. A unique historical item. Extremely rare.
4 pages, 29.5 cm. Polish Citizenship Certificate 4 pages long of the Jew Yisrael Gorodecki which was issued under the auspices of the British Consulate and the British Office for Polish Interests in Kovno, Lithuania. A photograph of Gorodecki with his signature and Polish and British stamps, personal details filled in by hand. On the second page is a visa to the Curacao Island no. 1407 from the date 22.07.40, signed by the Dutch Consul Jan Zwartendjik, and a transit visa written and signed in English and Japanese by the Japanese Consul Sempo Sugihara from the date 30.07.40. In addition is a visa to Greece signed by the Greek Consul to Riga, Latvia, from the date 21.11.40.
A rare and important historical document, testimony to the noble deeds of diplomats who did all that they could to save Jews during the Holocaust. Signed by two out of the sixteen diplomats who are recognized as Righteous Among the Nations and an additional diplomat who, until now, was unknown as a savior of Jews. This document was its bearer's only chance to be saved from death.
With the German invasion of Poland at the outbreak of World War II, many Polish Jews escaped to the Baltic countries. In the summer of 1940, when Russia forcibly annexed Lithuania, the refugees tried to escape from Europe by every possible means. The world's gates were locked, and it was impossible to pass through the Soviet Union without a valid visa for the final destination.
Jan Zwartendjik, a Dutch businessman who was appointed as the temporary Consul to Lithuania, agreed to issue visas to the Dutch Curacao Island and even declared (while hiding the truth) that there was no need for an entry visa. The Soviets agreed that the refugees could pass through the Soviet Union on their way to Curacao, on the condition that they receive transit visas to Japan. Therefore, Dr. Zerach Warhaftig, one of the leaders of the Mizrachi movement approached the Japanese Consul, Sempo Sugihara, and requested from him to issue the visas.
Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara (1900-1986) served as the Deputy Consul of the Japanese Empire in Lithuania in Kovno, which served as the acting Consulate in the critical window of opportunity of the summer of 1940.
Despite the fact that his government denied the offer, Sugihara decided to act and to issue the permits to the many Jewish refugees who flooded to the Consulate's doors. In the remaining weeks before he left Kovno, he dedicated most of his time to issuing these permits. Many yeshiva students, such as the students of the Mir Yeshiva who had also escaped to Lithuania, took advantage of this opportunity to escape.
At the beginning of August 1940, when the Russians took control of Lithuania, Sugihara and Zwartendjik were forced to stop their activities. Even as he was boarding the train, Sugihara continued stamping passports, knowing that each of them was a lifesaver for its recipient. All together, Sugihara and Zwartendjik managed to issue 1500 lifesaving passports. The two diplomats were given the medal of 'The Righteous Among the Nations' by Yad Vashem.
In the document before us is a historic discovery: an additional visa issued by the Greek Consul in Riga, Latvia, in November 1940, after Sugihara and Zwartendjik left. In the Yad Vashem Museum there is no testimony to this activity of the Greek Consul getting involved in saving the Jewish refugees in Latvia, even after the annexation of Latvia by the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940.
 
Folding signs with tiny tears. Fine condition.