Aristides de Sousa Mendes (July 19, 1885 – April 3, 1954) was a Portuguese diplomat based in Bordeaux, France. He ignored and defied the orders of his own government for the safety of war refugees fleeing from invading German military forces in the early years of World War II. Between June 16 and June 23, 1940, he frantically issued Portuguese visas free of charge, to over 30,000 refugees seeking to escape the Nazi terror, 12,000 of whom were Jews.

In Lisbon, Sousa Mendes was brought before a disciplinary panel and dismissed from his position in the Foreign Ministry. This left him destitute and unable to support his family of 13 children. He died penniless in 1954. When asked to explain his actions, he said: “If thousands of Jews are suffering because of one Christian [Hitler], surely one Christian may suffer for so many Jews”.

Only in 1988, thanks to external pressure and his children’s efforts, did the Portuguese government grant him total rehabilitation and the postumous promotion to the rank of Ambasador.

Casa do Passal, the mansion that Sousa Mendes had to abandon and sell in the poverty of his final years was in 2005 classified and a Portuguese National Monument. A museum was planned by the Foundation then created. Amidst scandalous spending in many frivolous endeveours, the Portuguese authorities have not provided the adequate funding to keep this National Monument from ruin.

This project comprises 20 black and white photographs taken inside the Casa do Passal in the summer of 2011. The photographs were taken with a Leica model IIIa, a camera extensively used to document the horros and destruction of WWII.