Sugihara House

In 1940, from this house that served as the Japanese consulate, Chiune Sugihara wrote transit visas by hand, day and night, against his own government's orders, allowing thousands of Jewish refugees to flee across the Soviet Union to safety. The small museum in his former office and residence tells the story of what became known as the visas for life.

What you'll find

• Sugihara's office - the room where the visas were written.
• The visa story - documents and testimony of the refugees he saved.
• The residence - the consul's home preserved as a memorial.
• The wider history - the fate of Lithuania's Jewish community around it.

When to go

Year-round; an indoor visit suited to any weather, and a natural companion to the Ninth Fort for the fuller history. Quiet and reflective on most days.

Things to know

It is small, a single house and a focused story, so it is a short but moving visit rather than a large museum. Its power is in the human account rather than grand displays. Pairing it with the Ninth Fort gives the fuller, harder picture of the era.

Nearby

Central Kaunas and its modernist streets are close; the Ninth Fort memorial tells the darker side of the same years.