About the Talk

This talk will introduce the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Museum, founded recently in the restored Casa do Passal in Portugal to preserve the legacy of Aristides de Sousa Mendes. Once a 19th-century family home, the mansion fell into ruin after Sousa Mendes was punished for defying his government's orders during World War II. Its rebirth as a museum reflects decades of effort to honor his acts of conscience and the lives he saved. Since its inauguration in July 2024, the museum has welcomed more than 46,000 visitors.

Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese Consul General in Bordeaux, issued thousands of visas in 1940, enabling refugees—many of them Jewish—to escape Nazi persecution via Portugal. For Cookie, this history is deeply personal: a visa signed by Sousa Mendes in June 1940 saved her mother's life, a discovery only made decades later through family documents.

The talk will explore the museum's exhibitions, library, and educational activities, highlighting its impact on visitors and students, and its role in preserving the memory of a Righteous Gentile in the International Jewish community and far beyond.
It also reflects on how this story of moral courage continues to inspire ethical responsibility today.

You can see the museum's website here. 

About the Cookie

Jeannette V. "Cookie" Fischer has built an international career spanning over 35 years as a trainer, coach, and consultant across four continents. Raised between the United States, Europe, and Latin America, she worked globally in different industries, while developing expertise in multilingual communication and intercultural training for global organizations.

Cookie Fischer's mother, Adele Margaretha van den Bergh, escaped from Bayonne on June 22, 1940, on a sardine schooner with a visa issued by the Portuguese Consul stationed in Bordeaux, Aristides de Sousa Mendes. 

Since 2017, Cookie has been actively involved with the Sousa Mendes Foundation, including retracing her mother's journey on the "Journey on the Road to Freedom." Based in Lisbon, she serves as a liaison to Jewish and American communities in Portugal and regularly works with visitors, students, and institutions to share this history and its enduring moral significance.