A few days in June 1940, the Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, Aristides de Sousa Mendes conceded day and night visas for thousands of refugees escaping the German Nazis. This was a clear disobedience to the guidelines drawn by the Portuguese fascist regime in not conceding any visas to refugees. Aristides was promptly called back to Lisbon in order to explain his conduct. He was dismissed from the diplomatic corpus and blacklisted for the rest of his days. His family lost their properties, and he could no longer provide for his large family. Sousa Mendes died in poverty in 1954, aged 68.
