Historical · 1896–1976

Jan Zwartendijk

He wasn’t even a diplomat — he ran the local Philips office. When every country said no, he wrote 2,345 ways out.

The acting Dutch consul in Kaunas — by day the director of Philips’ Lithuanian operations — who wrote the Curaçao "destination on paper" that made Sugihara’s transit visas possible: 2,345 inscriptions in three weeks, for people he never sought credit for saving.

Curated by

Shelly Frank

President, Creative House Studios

“We tell these stories with dignity — and amplify the people and organizations carrying their work forward today.”