The first major problem the refugees ran into involved their visas. The wave of Polish refugees was able to get to Japan only through a bizarre and incredibly lucky set of coincidences. As Poland was divided up between Germany and the Russians in 1939, many Jews had to flee and chose Lithuania as their destination. As thousands of Polish Jews began to descend on the capital city of Kovno, leaders of the community started frantically looking for consulates that would grant a visa and thus provide asylum from the incoming Russians. After being turned away by the U.S., British-run Palestine, and nearly every other desirable location, the Polish Jews found an answer in the Japanese consulate.