点评:This was honestly one of the most interesting museums that I have ever been to, and one that I would say is an absolute must see if you're anywhere near Kaunas. The thing I love most about travel is that travel gives us the opportunity to learn the "other side" of historical events. As an American, when I learned about WWII in school, I learned that Japan was the enemy. It makes sense when you consider the context (i.e. Japan bombing Pearl Harbor), but we don't learn beyond the highlight reel in school here in the United States. I never knew that any Japanese person had done anything good during the war, and to be honest, I never thought much about it.
The Sugihara House was a fascinating place to learn about a special Japanese man...in Lithuania. The museum is located in a house where the Japanese consulate was located from 1939-1940. It's a small and unassuming place on a residential street in Kaunas. It tells the story of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat, who saved the lives of thousands of Jewish people during the war. He issued them transit visas that allowed them to travel through Japan, and then onward to a safer location. This was illegal to do, and he risked his life to do it.
It's an extremely well done museum with a lot of information in it. It's absolutely worth visiting to learn about a person in history who most of us (non-Lithuanians) have probably never heard of before. It also features a large section about Jan Zwartendijk, a Dutch diplomat who also issued transit visas to Jews for them to escape through Curacao.
翻译:说实话,这是我去过的最有趣的博物馆之一,如果你在考纳斯附近,我绝对想去看看。我最喜欢旅行的地方在于,旅行让我们有机会了解历史事件的“另一面”。作为一个美国人,我在学校学习二战知识时,了解到日本是敌人。考虑到当时的背景(例如日本轰炸珍珠港),这倒也说得通,但在美国,我们学校里学到的仅限于精彩片段。我从来不知道日本人在战争期间做过什么好事,说实话,我也没怎么想过。
杉原故居是一个了解一位特别的日本人……在立陶宛的故居,这是一个引人入胜的地方。博物馆所在的房子在1939年至1940年曾是日本领事馆的所在地。它位于考纳斯一条住宅街上,规模不大,却很不起眼。它讲述了日本外交官杉原千亩(Chiune Sugihara)的故事,他在战争期间拯救了数千名犹太人的生命。他向他们发放过境签证,允许他们经由日本前往更安全的地方。这种做法是非法的,而杉原千亩冒着生命危险这样做。
这是一个非常完善的博物馆,里面的信息量很大。绝对值得一游,了解这位我们大多数人(非立陶宛人)可能从未听说过的历史人物。博物馆还专门设立了一个关于荷兰外交官扬·兹瓦滕代克(Jan Zwartendijk)的展区,他曾向犹太人发放过境签证,帮助他们通过库拉索逃亡。