Jan Zwartendijk
Encyclopedia
Jan Zwartendijk was a Dutch
businessman and diplomat
who helped Jews escape Lithuania
during World War II
.
Zwartendijk directed the Philips
plants in Lithuania. On June 19, 1940, he was also a part-time an acting consul of the Netherlands
- or, to be exact, of the Dutch government-in-exile. His superior was the Dutch ambassador
to Latvia
, de Decker.
When the Soviet Union
took over Lithuania in 1940, some Jewish Dutch residents in Lithuania approached Zwartendijk to get a visa
to the Dutch Indies. With de Decker's permission, Zwartendijk agreed to help them. The word spread and Jews who had fled from German-occupied Poland
also sought his assistance.
In defiance of official diplomatic niceties, Zwartendijk signed a declaration that entering Curaçao
in the West Indies did not require a visa, while omitting the second part of the standard notice that the permission of the governor of Curaçao was necessary. (In fact, the first visas of this kind were issued by de Decker himself earlier, and Jews approached Zwartendijk after news of this unusual possibility had spread.)
Then refugees approached Chiune Sugihara
, a Japan
ese consul, who gave them a transit visa through Japan, also against official diplomatic rules. This gave many refugees an opportunity to leave Lithuania for the Far East
via the Trans-Siberian railway
.
In the three weeks after July 26, Zwartendijk wrote up over 2400 de facto visas to Curaçao and some of the Jews copied more. Many who helped only knew him as "Mr Philips Radio". When the Soviets closed down his Philips office on August 3, he returned to the occupied Netherlands to work in the Philips headquarters in Eindhoven. He did not talk about the matter.
Jan Zwartendijk died in 1976.
Yad Vashem
bestowed the title "Righteous Among the Nations" on Zwartendijk in 1997.
In the novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
by Michael Chabon
, it is implied that the protagonist Josef Kavalier receives visas from Zwartendijk and his ally Chiune Sugihara
. Though the novel does not mention these men by name, it describes a "Dutch consul in Kovno who was madly issuing visas to Curaçao, in league with a Japanese official who would grant rights of transit" (p. 65).
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
businessman and diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
who helped Jews escape Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Zwartendijk directed the Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
plants in Lithuania. On June 19, 1940, he was also a part-time an acting consul of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- or, to be exact, of the Dutch government-in-exile. His superior was the Dutch ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, de Decker.
When the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
took over Lithuania in 1940, some Jewish Dutch residents in Lithuania approached Zwartendijk to get a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
to the Dutch Indies. With de Decker's permission, Zwartendijk agreed to help them. The word spread and Jews who had fled from German-occupied Poland
General Government
The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...
also sought his assistance.
In defiance of official diplomatic niceties, Zwartendijk signed a declaration that entering Curaçao
Curaçao and Dependencies
The Colony of Curaçao and Dependencies was a Dutch colony from 1815 until 1828 and from 1845 until 1936. Between 1936 and 1948, the area was known as the Territory of Curaçao , and after 1948 as the Netherlands Antilles...
in the West Indies did not require a visa, while omitting the second part of the standard notice that the permission of the governor of Curaçao was necessary. (In fact, the first visas of this kind were issued by de Decker himself earlier, and Jews approached Zwartendijk after news of this unusual possibility had spread.)
Then refugees approached Chiune Sugihara
Chiune Sugihara
was a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...
, a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese consul, who gave them a transit visa through Japan, also against official diplomatic rules. This gave many refugees an opportunity to leave Lithuania for the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
via the Trans-Siberian railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
.
In the three weeks after July 26, Zwartendijk wrote up over 2400 de facto visas to Curaçao and some of the Jews copied more. Many who helped only knew him as "Mr Philips Radio". When the Soviets closed down his Philips office on August 3, he returned to the occupied Netherlands to work in the Philips headquarters in Eindhoven. He did not talk about the matter.
Jan Zwartendijk died in 1976.
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
bestowed the title "Righteous Among the Nations" on Zwartendijk in 1997.
In the novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a 2000 novel by American author Michael Chabon that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001. The novel follows the lives of two Jewish cousins before, during, and after World War II. They are a Czech artist named Joe Kavalier and a Brooklyn-born...
by Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
, it is implied that the protagonist Josef Kavalier receives visas from Zwartendijk and his ally Chiune Sugihara
Chiune Sugihara
was a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...
. Though the novel does not mention these men by name, it describes a "Dutch consul in Kovno who was madly issuing visas to Curaçao, in league with a Japanese official who would grant rights of transit" (p. 65).
External links
- Jan Zwartendijk on the Yad VashemYad VashemYad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
website - Chiune SugiharaChiune Sugiharawas a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...
- Zwartendijk in Remember.org
- Zwartendijk in the Jewish Virtual Library
- Zwartendijk in Holocaust Encyclopedia
- Zwartendijk in Isurvived.org
- Zwartendijk in Raoul Wallenberg Foundation