The Forgers of Sugihara Visas
The Forgers of Sugihara Visas

Summary/Abstract: After the outbreak of the Second World War, many refugees from Central Poland fled to the region of Vilnius (currently Lithuania). Their situation significantly deteriorated after the entry of the Red Army on these territories, on 15 June 1940. It resulted in political repressions and the wave of arrests of the refugees – Polish Jews. For many of those, who found themselves in the Vilnius region after the outbreak of the Second World War, Lithuania was a country via which they were hoping to reach the West. However, it could have not been possible without the visas, which were very difficult to get. Not everyone wanted to issue them. It was at that point, that the vice-consul of Japan Chiune Sugihara, showed great courage, coming with help. The visas issued by Sugihara were actually “a window” to freedom not only for their holders. They also served as prototypes for the forged visas produced for those who had not managed to get the authentic documents. The aim of the article has been to present three groups of document counterfeiters, as well as the people who were members of the forgers’ network; it also has aimed to outline the scale which the phenomenon of document forgery developed. The first group, that has been identified and thoroughly researched on so far, was the Polish underground. It also prided itself with the best organization among the document counterfeiters. Apart from visas, its members were also forging identity cards and birth certificates. In fact, it is estimated that this group had „issued” most of the documents which enabled the departure of the refugees. The second group consisted in the individuals who were forging the documents for themselves on their own. This is actually the least known of all the mentioned groups. We may only presume, that the number of such individuals was not large. Finally, the third group included those who were forging documents for strict commercial purposes. Among them, there were both the inhabitants of the Vilnius region as well as the refugees, who came to Vilnius after the outbreak of the Second World War. It is only from the documents produced by the NKVD, that we get knowledge on both its members and modus operandi. One of the most precious sources among them, are the protocols of interrogations of the arrested forgers. The activity of Sugihara and his visas allowed for the possibility to leave occupied Europe and avoid death inflicted by the Germans, not only to those who had obtained the authentic visas, but also to the people who got the documents from the forgers and made use of them.

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