杉原千畝紀念館(以及考納斯(Kaunas))

我相信杉原千畝這個名字在很久以前便進入我的腦海裡(應該是日劇"來自日本的救命簽證"的關係)。但我一直到去年才開始稍微去查詢這位前日本外交官。接著又拜讀了轉角國際的文章，讓我油然升起一股好奇心，驅使我前往立陶宛第二大城Kaunas，拜訪這座安倍晉三也曾經到訪過的紀念館。

杉原千畝紀念館的地點尚稱便利，從火車站走過去大概只需要10分鐘左右。作為前日本大使館，如今的紀念館就坐落在一個寧靜的山丘社區裡。

1940年夏天，杉原千畝在此發放過境簽證給控驚惶的猶太難民過境簽證。隨後，獲得蘇聯放行的難民便經由西伯利亞大鐵路千里跋涉到日本神戶，然後再轉往其他國家。除了杉原，其實也有另一個荷蘭人在做同樣的事情，而他的事蹟也羅列在紀念館裡。

另一方面，發放簽證的時空背景也有相當程度的介紹(畢竟無法切割)，所以整個博物館參觀下來，其實也很像在看立陶宛那段遭到納粹與蘇聯夾殺的悲慘過去(這棟建築物的興建人曾經擔任過教育部長，而他及其家人在立陶宛被紅軍占領後，被流放到西伯利亞)。如今雖然納粹與蘇聯均不復存在，但俄羅斯依然在一旁蠢蠢欲動。也因此我個人的詮釋是，或許對於某些立陶宛來說，這座紀念館的重要性與象徵，已不僅僅只是勿忘歷史，更是一種對於國家所處地緣政治的戒慎恐懼。

離開紀念館後，我搭公車前往老城區。Kaunas的老城還算漂亮，但由於此行重點在於杉原紀念館，我只是很隨意地在這裡亂晃。

最後要搭火車回維爾紐斯時，在車站又發現了杉原千畝的紀念碑文。

Hungarians must face their Nazi past, not venerate it (by The Guardian)

"History cannot be erased, nor forgotten. Discovering and understanding the past is the duty not only of governments and political parties, but also of the people, the whole nation. We must face it together – even when it is not pleasant – and try to learn from the consequences. Hungarians have not yet been through this process."

The words above are excerpted from the press article in the Guardian, with the title "Hungarians must face their Nazi past, not venerate it." 

I think the message here should be taken seriously by Taiwanese people as well. Please think about how you guys would like to cherish the democratic values, those that you always utilize as the symbols indicating the difference between Taiwan and China. Democracy as well as any kind of freedom is not natural but artificial, which means the value is the way you prefer to be governed by whom you recognize. If you like them, pour efforts into safeguarding them. If not, fine, let it be and stay where you are.