(Although it’s from the BBC, of which one may be justifiably sceptical.)

Portugal Finally Recognises Consul Who Saved Thousands From Holocaust

BBC | 17 June 2020 | James Badcock

Eighty years ago, a middle-aged, mid-ranking diplomat sank into deep depression and watched his hair turn grey in days, as he saw the streets of Bordeaux filling with Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis.

As Portugal’s consul in Bordeaux, Aristides de Sousa Mendes faced a moral dilemma. Should he obey government orders or listen to his own conscience and supply Jews with the visas that would allow them to escape from advancing German forces?

Sousa Mendes’ remarkable response means he is remembered as a hero by survivors and descendants of the thousands he helped to flee.

But his initiative also spelt the end of a diplomatic career under Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, and the rest of his life was spent in penury.

Portugal finally granted official recognition to its disobedient diplomat on 9 June, and parliament decided a monument in the National Pantheon should bear his name.

From the comments:

Among those he got out of France were Salvador Dalí, filmmaker King Vidor, members of the Rothschild banking family and the majority of Belgium’s future government-in-exile.

I love these heroes-during-wartime stories, and there are so many of them. French Resistance members who sacrificed their lives rather than reveal the network, etc. I like to imagine that I would give my life in the same way under similar circumstances, but you can never be sure.

Hat tip to FormerHostage.