Mar

29 2015

TBT BRUNCH AND LEARN: Varian Fry- A Forgotten American Hero

9:30AM - 11:30AM  


Contact Jill Lesage
203-738-0033
jwlesage@jewishnewhaven.org

VARIAN FRY: “From Berlin to Marseille: The Story of Varian Fry’s Journey to Yad Vashem”
Varian Fry was an American journalist who came to the rescue of many European Jews. Having witnessed the brutality of Nazi anti-semitism first-hand, Fry was motivated to accept an assignment with the Emergency Rescue Committee in Marseille, France in 1940. His mission was to help Jewish and other refugees in Marseille targeted to be surrendered to the Germans. The Nazis particularly marked Jewish intellectuals and artists in this process. Fry’s operation saved approximately 2,000 people including Marc Chagall, Heinrich Mann, Franz Werfel, and Jacques Lipchitz by helping them escape from France and enter the US with special visas. Fry faced many dangers and received little support from the American consulate. He was threatened, arrested, and eventually expelled from France on September 6, 1941. Fry died in anonymity, but in time, in 1994, he was named Righteous Among the Nations. In 1996 a tree was planted in his memory on the Avenue of the Righteous at Yad Vashem.
Lecture presented by David Pettigrew, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Southern CT State University. Free an open to the community through a generous donation provided by The Judith Barr Adult Education Fund. RSVP appreciated, Walk-Ins Welcome.

Sponsor: Temple Beth Tikvah Adult Education Committee through a generous donation provided by The Judith Barr Adult Education Fund.

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