Manager, Stamp
Development
Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
US Postal Service
475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW (Room 5670)
Washington, DC 20260-2437.
Petition
for the Issuance of a Centennial Commemorative
Stamp
"An American Hero of Our Times"
to
our National Hero, the late Varian Fray
(1907-1967)
for his World War II humanitarian deeds recognized
worldwide
Dear Manager of
the Stamp Development Committee,
It is our
distinct honor and great privilege to introduce to you,
and to your Committee, the late Varian Fry
(1907-1967), this American Hero of our times, whose
humanitarian deeds in saving thousands of lives, at the
expense of risking his own, have been recognized around
the world. Varian Fry was an American journalist who
helped anti-Nazi refugees escape from France. Let his
blessed memory continue to live on and be an example and
an inspiration for generations to come. And let the
United States Postal Service commemorate this true
American Hero on his centennial birthday of October 15,
2007, with the issuance of a centennial commemorative
stamp. We need to do this, because the character of our
nation will dictate us to do so, because we need to
remember yesterday to educate for today, and because we
need to preserve tomorrow for our children and
beyond.
In support of
our Petition, we take the liberty of bringing to your
attention the following:
1. That
in October 2000, the United States Consulate of
Marseilles, France, where the late Varian Fry saved
thousands of lives, at the risk of his own, including but
not limited to some of the most prominent intellectuals,
artists, and scientists of Europe wanted by the Nazi
regime, named the plaza in front of the consulate as the
"Place Varian Fry" in recognition of his heroic efforts.
In their website (see,
http://www.amb-usa.fr/consul/marshist.htm), one is able
to see this American tribute:
"Perhaps
tens of thousands (exact numbers are not known) of
them came to the Consulate General seeking asylum in
the United States; the consulate was forced to move
its visa operations to larger facilities in a nearby
suburb. The consulate's current address is "Place
Varian Fry" in honor of the American citizen who lived
in Marseille from 1940-1941, saving hundreds of
refugees from the gas chambers. Many famous Europeans,
including Hannah Arendt, Max Ernst, Marc Chagall,
André Breton, Heinrich Mann and Nobel Prize
winner Otto Meyerhof, lived in Marseille while Fry, a
discreet intellectual sometimes referred to as 'the
American Oskar Schindler,' helped with lodging and
arranged for exit visas, transit visas and visas to
the United States. Fry complained that consulate
officials at the time did not do enough to help these
refugees. In October 2000, the small plaza in front of
the consulate was named for Fry in recognition of his
heroic efforts."
2. That
on February 4, 1996, the United States Secretary of
State, Warren Christopher, planted a tree in honor of
Varian Fry at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and
Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, Israel. This
action of tremendous symbolism, in honoring the deeds of
an American Hero, was a first for an acting Secretary of
State. (A picture of this remarkable tribute offered by
the United States Government to Varian Fry can be seen at
the Varian Fry Foundation website at
http://www.almondseed.com/vfry/fryreco.htm or at our
webpage dedicated to Varian Fry at
http://Isurvived.org/TOC-IX.html).
3. That
in 1991, Varian Fry was awarded the Eisenhower Liberation
Medal by the United States Holocaust Memorial Council
--this being the highest medal that the Council can
award. (From the many websites available, see the one of
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/index.php?ModuleId=10005740).
4. That
the late Varian Fry was the first and only American to be
bestowed with the highest honor that Israel can provide,
that of the title of "Righteous Among Nations" offered by
Yad Vashem, referenced above. (There are a plethora of
websites and many more other written documents, including
books, revealing all of this, including, of course, the
Yad Vashem website as well our stated webpage dedicated
to Varian Fry with additional references
included.)
5. That
aside from the State of Israel, Varian Fry received a
number of international honors including this one from
the French Government in 1967 just before his untimely
death:
the
Croix de Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur
medal.
(For reference,
see the one provided at point 3 hereinabove.)
WHEREFORE, for
all the above stated reasons, we pray that the United
States Postal Service will see fit to honor our American
Hero, the late Varian Fry, with a centennial
commemorative stamp.
Respectfully
submitted,
[signed]
K. K. Brattman, Managing Editor
Holocaust Survivors' Network
NatureQuest Publications, Inc.
PO Box 381797
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02238-1797.
