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Hey, Brainstuff, Lauren Bogobam here.

In 1940, less than a year into what would become the deadliest war ever waged,

a lifelong Portuguese diplomat

named Arstides de Sousa Mendes, assigned to a consulate in Bordeaux, France, was faced with

a rending choice. Defy orders, thereby risking his position, his very livelihood, and the safety

of his wife and 12 children, or carry out his duties and leave the fate

of tens of thousands of refugees to advancing Nazi forces. Over 80 years later, Susan Mendez's story

remains largely unknown. But because of his choice, which almost certainly saved the lives

of many of those refugees and their families, including thousands of Jewish people, his is a story that directly touches many thousands more today.

For the article this episode is based on, House Stuff Works spoke with Dr. Olivia Matis, the president and chief operating officer of the

Sousa Mendez Foundation. She said, he's a hero. He's a man who risked everything and lost everything

and displayed incredible moral courage. That's really the key phrase, moral courage,

the idea that one person can make a difference. Anyone can display

moral courage if the opportunity presents itself. You can choose to go left or you can choose to go

right. There's always the easy choice and the hard choice.

Estes de Susa Mendez do Amoral and Abrentes was born in Portugal in 1885, and apologies, my Portuguese is terrible. I did try on that pronunciation. Anyway, after graduating with a law degree, he was deployed to Portuguese consulates around the world, Zanzibar, Brazil, San Francisco, Spain, and Belgium.

In January of 1938, he was assigned to that Portuguese consulate in Bordeaux, France.

The following year, Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland, prompting Portugal, trying

to remain neutral in the burgeoning conflict that would become World War II

to distribute what was known as Circular 14.

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