Register Books of visas granted by Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, Aristides Sousa Mendes (1939-1940)

The Register Book of Visas granted by Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux provide an excellent perspective of the situation in Europe during World War II. Consisting the names of refugees, mostly Jewish, who were seeking safe passage from southern France to Portugal and at that time. Even though from 1939 the Portuguese government prohibited the entrance of refuges and all visas had to be authorized by the MFA, the Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, at his own risk, provided safe passage to those fleeing France.