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preserving
the past to protect the future
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(1907
- 1967)
"In
all we saved some two thousand human
beings.
We ought to have saved many times that
number.
But we did what we could."
Varian Fry
An
American Hero:
The Varian Fry Drive for a
United States Commemorative Stamp
3.
A Selected Photo Gallery with Varian Fry
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"He
didn't have to go to France; everybody
else was trying to get the hell out,
but he went
there..."
Mark
Kritz, Chairman of the Varian Fry
exhibit at the Albert L. Schultz Jewish
Community Center in Palo Alto,
USA.
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At
Villa Air Bel on the outskirts of Marseilles,
France
4.
Commercial Videos and Movie on Varian
Fry
5.
Varian Fry Exhibits:
6.
The Most Recent Honor Bestowed to Varian Fry by
the United States:
- The
American Consulate General in Marseille,
France, one of the United State's oldest
overseas posts, on October 2000 --the
birthday month of Varian Fry, honors him by
naming the plaza in front of the consulate
the "Varian Fray
Plaza"
:
F R O M :
The
Consulate's workload was
stretched to the limit shortly
before the Second World War as a
result of the massive influx into
Marseille of refugees from all
over Europe fleeing Nazi
persecution. 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.
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7.
Notable Readings:
"...
an American had arrived, like an angel from
heaven,
with his pocket full of passports ..."
[Isenberg,
Sheila. A Hero of Our Own. New York, NY: Random
House Inc, 2001; p.17]
T h e
V a r i a n
F r y
S t a m p
C a m p a i g n
I.
"An
American Hero of our Times"
Petition
before
the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the
United States Postal Service
for the issuance of a Centennial Commemorative
Stamp
for our National Hero, the late Varian
Fry,
recognized worldwide for his
World War II humanitarian deeds.
II.
How
Can You Help with the
Varian Fry Stamp Campaign:
1.
Read
the Petition
submitted before the Citizens' Stamp Advisory
Committee of the United States Postal Service
in Washington DC, and then
2.
Write your Letter
of Support
for the Petition to the above stated postal
Committee as exemplified herein.
3.
Let other people know about this campaign in
progress.
Thank
you for supporting the cause in honoring our
National Hero, the late
Varian Fry.
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Suggestions for
further material to be included in here are
welcome.
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