Pardons by the Portuguese Government

On February 29, 2012 CAPTAIN BARROS BASTO was cleared of all charges that had led to his dismissal from the Portuguese army by the National Assembly of Portugal. which voted unanimously upon the recommendation of Carlos Abreu Amorim and Fernando Negrão, members of the Civil Rights Committee of the National Assembly.
They found the accusations of 1937 (and confirmed in 1975)
against the Captain to be baseless and motivated by antisemitism.

He was reinstated into the Portuguese army in March 2012 with the rank of Colonel.

The Captain's granddaughter, Isabel Ferreira Lopes, who like her grandmother and mother have campaigned relentlessly for the rehabilitation of her grandfather, called the 1937 decision immoral, not her grandfather. She gratefully acknowledged the courage of the Civil Rights committee and the National Assembly in righting a historic wrong. She called it a victory for her grandfather, a victory for Portuguese Marranos, a victory for all Portuguese people and a victory for all people fighting injustice. Abraham H. Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League congratulated Portugal's National Assembly and said,

“The vote was not only in favor of reinstating him, but was also in favor of Portugal’s honor. Just as this act of discrimination reflected a larger societal problem at the time, the long overdue rehabilitation of Captain Barros Basto
reflects Portugal’s commitment to human rights today.”

(http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/Artur_Carlos_de_Barros_Basto)

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In WW2 ARISTIDE DE SOUSA MENDES saved 30,000 refugees.

They included 10,000 Jews saved by giving them a Portuguese visa.
while acting as the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux
when Germany invaded Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Portuguese Government had prohibited crossings,
especially of Jewish refugees.
Only British citizens recommended by the British consul could get visas.

He was Instructed to return to Lisbon and dismissed for what he had done.
He died in poverty.

In 1966, Yad Vashem recognized him
as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.

In 1987, the Portuguese Republic awarded him a
posthumous Order of Liberty medal, one of their highest honors.

In 1988 the Portuguese Parliament dismissed all charges, restoring him to the diplomatic corps by unanimous vote
and honouring him with a standing ovation.
He was promoted to the rank of Ambassador
and given the Cross of Merit .

In 1994 former President Soares dedicated his bust
and a commemorative plaque
where the consulate at Bordeaux had been housed.

CAPTAIN BARROS BASTO
The Portuguese Dreyfus
the 75th Anniversary Celebration of
Mekor Chaim Synagogue, Porto
and of his official pardon
mazaltovvideo.com 2013 (12.00)

ARISTEDES DE SOUSA MENDES
The Forgotten Portuguese Hero
Paulo Alexandre 2013 (4.35)

THE

INCREDIBLE

STORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

THE

INCREDIBLE

STORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

ARISTIDES DE SOUSA MENDES
Simon Wiesenthal Center
John Paul Mendes 2013 (54.00)

LISBON, 1939-45:
THE UNTOLD STORY OF PORTUGAL
AND THE JEWISH REFUGEES
UCL Lunch Hour Lectures 2011 (36.30)

ARISTEDES DE SOUSA MENDES

Bronze statue
to honour his

liberation of refugees
from the Nazis
Santarem, Portugal

PARDONS BY THE PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT

PORTUGAL
AND THE JEWISH REFUGEE CRISIS
OF WORLD WAR II

Center for Jewish History 2019 (2.06.23)

When the Nazis invaded France and the Low Countries, tens of thousands of Jewish refugees from all over Europe poured into neutral Portugal. Lisbon became a city of transit and intrigue, sheltering refugees, aid organizations, and Allied and Axis coalitions, all of whom populated the cafés and public gathering places.
This symposium will tell these stories and that of
Aristides de Sousa Mendes,
named Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem
for his courage as Portuguese Consul-General
stationed in Bordeaux.
With Marion Kaplan (NYU), author Margarida Ramalho, Mordecai Paldiel (Yad Vashem, emeritus),
Louis-Philippe Mendes
and Olivia Mattis (Sousa Mendes Foundation).

BARROSO
& THE CONSUL OF BORDEAUX
Ralph T. Niemeyer 2011 (11.47)
World Premiere of THE CONSUL OF BORDEAUX, a feature film on the life of Portuguese Consul Aristides de Sousa Mendes who rescued 30,000 people (among them 10,000 Jews) from the NAZIS in 1940. Music is composed and conducted
by Henri Seroka.