Abdol Hossein Sardari - The Iraninian Schindler who saved thousands of Jewish people in France from the Nazis
Summary
He is known as "The Iranian Schindler or "The Schindler of Iran".
He saved thousands of Iranian & non-Iranian Jewish people in Paris from the Nazis during WW2.
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Introduction
Abdol Hossein Sardar was born in 1914 in Iran.
He was an Iranian diplomat representing the Iranian government in France during WW2.
Paris under German Occupation & Jewish people fear for thier safety
Rich Tenori in his article "Unrecognized ‘Iranian Schindler’ said to have saved countless Paris Jews in WWII" writes
"As Paris lay under German occupation in World War II and Jews in the city feared for their lives, an unexpected rescuer appeared at the Iranian embassy......
.....Abdol Hossein Sardari, a non-Jewish Iranian consul representing the shah’s government, is estimated to have saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of Jews from Hitler. He did so by issuing Iranian passports...."
...... the diplomat gave out between 500 and 1,000 Iranian passports and saved 2,000 to 3,000 Jewish lives, as passports were issued for entire families."
Issued Iranian passports to help the Jewish people escape
Sardari was determined to free the Iranian Jews and get them out of France immediately.
He did so by making use of his political position and extensive knowledge. He used the Nazi race classification system and entered the Jewish peoples religion under a category called Djougoutes.
According wiki
"He argued that the Iranian Jews did not belong to Hitler's "enemy race" - that they were not Jewish and that they were in fact "Djougoutes" (an ethnic Iranian minority).
He argued that they were not of Jewish descendancy and that in Iran they have the same civil, legal, and military rights and responsibilities as Muslims.
This ruse seemed to work and he used an existing cache of blank passports he had and started to issue hundreds of Iranian passports and signed affidavits to the Jewish people.
Sardari asked to return to Iran, but declines
Ibrahim Morady, an Iranian Jewish merchant that was saved by Sardari, stated that Sardari was asked by Iran's Foreign Ministry to return to Iran but he declined and stayed back to help the Jewish people escape.
Sardari kept belongings of the Jewish people in safe-keeping for them
His efforts to help the Jews of France went as far as hiding their belongings for them.
When the Germans attacked France, Sardari told a man who went by the name of Haim Sassoon that he would hide the Jewish man's antiquities in the embassy or the basement of his own house during the war.
When the Germans were no longer in France, Sardari called Mr. Sassoon and said to him, "You could now come and collect your belongings.”
Return to Iran
In 1952, Sardari had to return to Tehran and was charged with misconduct for issuing Iranian passports during the war.
Consequently, his career was damaged until he was able restore his reputation in 1955.
Retirement
Shortly thereafter he retired from the Iranian Diplomatic Corps and moved to London.
He died in Nottingham in 1981 not as widely known as the actual Schindler.
Recognition
According to wikipedia, Sardari has been honored by Jewish organizations such as the convention in Beverly Hills and the Simon Wiesenthal Center on multiple occasions.
Filmography
"Sardari’s Enigma,” and was aired in year 2017.
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- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdol_Hossein_Sardari
- Ahren, Raphael (25 February 2012). "Beating the Nazis at their own game". Times of Israel.
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/unrecognized-iranian-schindler-said-to-have-saved-countless-paris-jews-in-wwii/
- "Abdol Hossein Sardari (1895–1981)". encyclopedia.ushmm.org. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- https://iranwire.com/en/society/61796/
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