Chinese diplomat honored for saving thousands of Jews in World War II

Hundreds of people gathered in Milan's Monte Stella Park on Wednesday for the unveiling of a memorial plaque to commemorate Ho Feng Shan, the Chinese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Ho was the Chinese consul general in Vienna from 1938 to 1940. At that time, the Nazi-controlled Austrian government would only allow Jews to leave the country if they had a visa to another country. Most countries were unwilling to accept more Jewish refugees but he issued visas, thought to number in the thousands, allowing them to leave the country and travel to Shanghai or elsewhere.

The ceremony saw Ho join 55 other humanitarian heroes honored in the park, including Nelson Mandela and Pope John XXIII, who is also credited with saving Jews during the war.