All it took was an Internet search session — Googling his name and the name of his maternal grandmother in 2012 — for Lee Sterling to re-connect with his past. What he found provided both personal and historical context to some of his earliest childhood memories as he unearthed details of how his family escaped from the Nazis in the early days of World War II.

Sterling and his family left their home two days after the Germans started dropping bombs on Belgium on May 10, 1941. They were among the thousands given refugee visas into Portugal by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese consul-general in Bordeaux, France, whose actions went against the orders of his government. The details Sterling discovered stirred long-forgotten memories, particularly of his sister, Raymonde Estelle, who died at the age of 7 in Portugal, where Sterling and his family lived from June 1940 to January 1941 before they embarked for the United States. Sterling, a former Colorado real estate attorney turned commercial real estate agent — who has been a chamber member since 2001 — was days away from his fourth birthday when the Germans dropped bombs on Belgium during an 18-day campaign. “I remember bits and pieces,” said Sterling. For example, he recalls hearing loud noises and running to the window of his boyhood home in Brussels. “I remember my father pulling me away from the window,” Sterling said. “Of course, they were bombing — they were bombing Brussels.” Two days later his extended family fled home in a caravan of cars. They traveled into France, constantly heading further south to stay a step ahead of the Germans as they advanced. One night his family stayed in a tavern. Bombs started to fall nearby and he and other children were protected under tables. “We also stayed in a castle and I remember seeing German parachuters coming into France,” Sterling said. It was only through his research, connecting with the Sousa Mendes Foundation and returning to Portugal last summer that Sterling was able to get a clearer picture of what his family went through, including the fact that before his sister died of septicemia, she had spent eight weeks in a hospital, a finding that moves him to tears. “My parents never spoke about that time,” Sterling said. “I think they were just so sad about my sister. It must have just been too painful.” Sterling is now on the Board of Directors of the Sousa Mendes Foundation, an organization that is preserving the legacy of Sousa Mendes, who was stripped of his post for defying the wishes of Portugal’s leaders at the time (the country was officially neutral, but issued a directive that visas to refugees including Jews and Russians should be denied). Sousa Mendes died in poverty. In a matter of days, Sousa Mendes gave out nearly 30,000 visas to refugees, among them were artist Salvador Dalí and Hans and Margret Rey, the couple behind the “Curious George” books. This past summer, Sterling and a group organized by the foundation, made a pilgrimage to Portugal to honor Sousa Mendes and to learn more about their histories. Sterling visited the home his family occupied in Portugal, looked through Portuguese archives for more information about his family’s stay in the country, and about his sister (including reading her death certificate). During the trip, the group held various ceremonies to honor Sousa Mendes. One of the missions of the Foundation is restoring Sousa Mendes’ ancestral home and creating a museum dedicated to celebrating humanity. Sterling said that discovering his past — and learning about Sousa Mendes — has given him a new sense of purpose. “It’s given me the desire to speak about this idea of moral courage,” Sterling said. “You have to take a stand despite the political consequences.”

On Saturday, Feb. 8, Sterling will spread the word about Sousa Mendes closer to home. He will share more details of his family’s escape from Belgium after the showing of “Disobedience: the Sousa Mendes Story” a film that tells the consul general’s story. The event will take place at the Carlsbad Village Theatre, 2822 State Street. Ticket-holders can also attend a reception at the theater that starts at 6:15 p.m. Sterling will speak briefly after the movie. Another screening will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16 at the Clairemont Reading Theatre, 4665 Clairemont Drive in San Diego. Tickets can be ordered by calling 858-362-1348 for $10.50 (plus a $1.50 service charge) using the code ‘CCOC14.’ Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $13.