Documentation Centre Opens at Aristides de Sousa Mendes Museum

Inaugurated on the second anniversary of the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Museum, the Doutora Maria Barroso Documentation Centre occupies the top floor of Casa do Passal in Portugal. The facility is named for Maria Barroso, who served as president of the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Foundation created in 2000, Euronews reported.

Barroso had joined the foundation board and supported efforts to recognize the diplomat's actions.

Aristides de Sousa Mendes was the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux when Nazi troops invaded France in the summer of 1940. He defied Circular no. 14, issued by António de Oliveira Salazar, by issuing visas without required authorization. Consular staff and his children assisted in the effort that saved roughly 30,000 lives.

Portuguese authorities later subjected Sousa Mendes to disciplinary proceedings. The entire family was placed on a PIDE blacklist, ostracized, and unable to find work. He lived in decline for 14 years and died in poverty, unable to support his 15 children.

The museum has received 54,000 visitors since its opening, including 6,000 school pupils. Luís Medeiros, a staff member at the museum, said the institution preserves the memory of an act that produced around 750,000 descendants of those rescued. Medeiros noted that the facility shows the personal side of Sousa Mendes and the family that lost everything after his decision.

The museum was deliberately opened on 19 July 2024 to mark the 139th anniversary of his birth.