During World War II, an Iranian diplomat in Paris quietly issued hundreds of passports to Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, potentially saving more than 2,000 lives. The story of Abdol Hossein Sardari, largely unknown for decades, is now gaining recognition as a parallel, and in some respects, a more extensive act of rescue than that of Oskar Schindler.
Sardari, the son of a prominent Iranian family, served as a diplomat in the Iranian embassy in Paris. He leveraged his position and connections, including relationships cultivated through lavish parties frequented by Nazi officers, to provide Iranian passports to Jewish people facing imminent danger. These passports allowed them to escape Europe, with Iran offering a relatively safe haven.
The story came to the attention of Dr. Fariborz Mokhtari, a political science professor at the University of Vermont, while researching a book on Iranian Prime Minister Amir-Abbas Hoveyda. Mokhtari discovered references in Abbas Milani’s biography of Hoveyda suggesting that Hoveyda’s uncle, an Iranian diplomat in Paris, had been involved in assisting Jews to escape the Nazis. Following leads provided by Milani and others, Mokhtari uncovered the full extent of Sardari’s actions.
Sardari’s efforts were not widely known after the war. He reportedly refused accolades, including the honor of being designated “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust commemoration center. He believed he was simply fulfilling a moral obligation. Though, a Gestapo document, cited in reports, complained that Sardari had provided travel documents to over 2,000 “stateless people,” highlighting the scale of his operation.
Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist and member of the Nazi Party, is renowned for saving the lives of approximately 1,200 Jewish workers by employing them in his factories in Poland and the Czech Republic. His story gained international prominence through Thomas Keneally’s novel, Schindler’s Ark, and Steven Spielberg’s film, Schindler’s List. Schindler’s initial motivations were driven by profit, but he ultimately demonstrated extraordinary dedication to protecting his Jewish employees.
Mokhtari’s research, detailed in his 2011 book, “In the Lion’s Shadow: The Iranian Schindler and His Homeland in the Second World War,” suggests that Sardari may have saved a greater number of Jews than Schindler. The book emphasizes the significance of the lion as a national symbol of Iran, a symbol Sardari consciously invoked. Prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the lion was featured on the Iranian flag, but was later removed.
Like General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who played a crucial role in documenting the atrocities of the Holocaust, Sardari’s actions provided a vital lifeline for those targeted by the Nazi regime. While Eisenhower’s legacy centers on military leadership and the exposure of Nazi brutality, Sardari’s heroism lay in his quiet, diplomatic intervention.
Despite the documented evidence of his actions, Sardari’s story remains relatively unknown. Calls are growing for greater recognition of his bravery, potentially including a film adaptation. Yad Vashem has not yet publicly commented on renewed efforts to formally recognize Sardari’s role in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust.
