Sugihara Chiune: Top Secret Telegram From Koenigsberg, May 9, 1941

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Sugihara Chiune was a Japanese diplomat who risked his career to save 6,000 Jewish refugees in WWII by issuing transit visas from Lithuania to Japan. 



Fig. A map of Königsberg and its surroundings in 1941:rough picture.


Fig. Sugihara Chiune

This is a schematic picture. The interested reader can visit the following site for real image:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/japans-schindler-a-genuine-hero-tangled-in-a-web-of-myth/

Fig. A map of Königsberg and its surroundings in 1941:rough picture. shows a map of the region where Königsberg was located in 1941. Currently, the city is known as Kaliningrad, Russia. In 1941, Königsberg was a part of Germany that was isolated from its main territory. It is obvious that geopolitically this was an important point. It was within Germany and at the same time, near the Soviet Union. Even though Japan was an ally with Germany, Hitler did not allow Japan to open a consulate in Königsberg. He did not let Japan know of “Operation Barbarossa”, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The consulate finally opened on March 3, 1941.

The Sugihara message on May 9, 1941:

Note that his telegram was sent on exactly the same date as the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact. I cannot get into his head, but his action could have been influenced by the Neutrality Pact. Based on his first-hand data, he must have sensed something dangerous about the Pact.

June 22, 1941: Germany starts attacking the Soviet Union (“Operation Barbarossa”).

Sugihara’s telegram was a great achievement as evidenced by related historical materials. However, the Japanese government at that time did not take any action despite having more than a month’s time. Yosuke Matsuoka, the foreign minister panicked at the German-Soviet war. Japan’s diplomacy completely lost its composure and drifted aimlessly. “Top-secret intelligence” is meaningless unless it is utilized by leaders who are entrusted with steering the state. Sugihara risked his life to obtain confidential information that was ignored and discarded by his home country. It is not difficult to feel his disappointment. I severely regret that those people at the top of ministries were supposed to be the cream of the crop. Even today Japan has problems with deciphering world events relevant to her existential threats. She must learn. Some of the facts described above are from [1]. It is a good reference to Sugihara in Königsberg in Japanese language.

[1] Nippon. com site:

https://www.nippon.com/ja/japan-topics/c06704/#:~:text=41%E5%B9%B43%E6%9C%88%E3%80%81%E6%9D%89%E5%8E%9F,%E8%A6%B3%E6%B8%AC%E5%A0%B4%E6%89%80%E3%81%A7%E3%81%82%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%80%82

 

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