The World EntireA True Story of an Extraordinary World War II Rescue
Review posted December 22, 2025.
Chronicle Books, 2025. 64 pages.
Review written November 17, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review
The title of this book is taken from a quotation in the Talmud - "He who saves a single life, saves the world entire." This book is a picture book biography of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who saved the lives of approximately 10,000 refugees during World War II.
Aristides was a Portuguese diplomat who worked at a consulate in France. When refugees poured into Bordeaux fleeing the Nazis, he was ordered not to give any visas to enter Portugal. After talking with a rabbi and three days of soul-searching, Aristides instead began an assembly line granting visas to everyone.
After the Nazis came to Bordeaux, he went to Bayonne to help make more visas. He even helped refugees find a place to cross the border where those visas would be accepted.
And when he got back home to Portugal, he was arrested for defying orders.
This whole story is dramatized beautifully, with a long author's note and timeline at the back, giving further details. This book celebrates a man who defied his own government to save people's lives. He faced many consequences of his actions, but said, "I could not have acted otherwise, and I therefore accept all that has befallen me with love."