Envoy saved thousands from the Nazis

Last year a Canadian-American producer, Rene Balcer, directed a documentary, Above the Drowning Sea, which recorded many first-person accounts of Jewish refugees, and the Chinese residents of Shanghai who became friends with them during World War II.

This year Elisa Giunipero, director of the Confucius Institute at the Catholic University of Milan, published a book on the same topic. She said remembering Ho is crucial for Europeans to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the Holocaust.

"We always think of the Holocaust as European history, but, in fact, it is the history of humankind. What I find really interesting is to look at this history from another perspective."

As Ho's story has become better known around the world he has received numerous commendations. In July 2000 Israel bestowed on him the title of Righteous Among the Nations, one of its highest honors. In 2015 the Holocaust Museum of Houston honored Ho with the Lyndon Johnson Moral Courage Award.