Individuals Associated with the Nimes Committee and Rescue in Marseille

Dr. Donald Lowrie (USA), head of the YMCA, head of Czech Aid, head of the Nîmes Committee, Southern France

Dr. Donald Lowrie worked for the North American and later the world service of the YMCA. Lowrie worked with a number of other relief agencies in the French internment camps. He helped set up the YMCA relief activities in the unoccupied zone of Vichy. He worked closely with Czech diplomat in Marseilles Vladimir Vochoc to distribute illegal passports. Later, Lowrie helped Jews escape the French Foreign Labor Battalions by setting up a protected area. Lowrie also obtained visas from other diplomats, including Cambodian, Portuguese and Mexican. These documents helped Jewish refugees flee to Switzerland. Lowrie also helped with an attempt to rescue Jewish children who lost their parents when they were deported in 1942.

(Donald L. Lowrie Papers, University of Illinois Archives, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois; Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945). Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 107, 132, 137, 191. Isenberg, Sheila. A Hero of Our Own: The Story of Varian Fry. (New York: Random House). Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), p. 148-149, 152, 167, 216. JDC Archives, New York, NY; Subak, Susan, 2010.)

Pastor Pierre Charles Toureille●, President, Coordination Committee, CIMADE, served as chaplain to prisoners in French concentration camps, appointed by Pastor Marc Boegner, deputy chairman Nimes Committee (Comité de Nîmes), Lunel (Hérault), Marseilles, France; vice chairman Czech Aid Organization; vice president, Nîmes Committee (Comité de Nîmes), Chief Minister of Foreign Protestant Refugees in Southern France. Committee for Action on Behalf of Refugees (Comité d’Inter Mouvement après des Evacues; CIMADE), France, established 1939, see also Archdiocese of Toulouse, France; Diocese of Nice, France; Pères de Sion, France; American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA); Swiss Children’s Rescue Organization; Czech Aid; Douvaine Escape Network; Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon; Christian Friendship. CIMADE was part of, and sponsored by, the World Council of Churches. CIMADE maintained four stations: Marseilles, Vabre, Pomeyol and Le-Chambon-sur-Lignon. CIMADE had teams in the following French concentration camps: Rivesaltes, Brens, Le Récébédou, Nexon and Gurs. They provided aid and relief to prisoners. They also aided prisoners to gain release from the camps.

Awarded Righteous Among the Nations title November 6, 1973 (Yad Vashem Archives; Fabre, 1970, p. 44; Gutman, 2003, p. 525)

Jay Allen, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

“Jay Allen has been arrested by the Germans. They caught him at the demarcation line, trying to get back to the unoccupied zone. This is bad. Suppose they torture him? Will he be able to keep his mouth shut about us and our work? Or will he break down and talk when the matches are pushed up under his fingernails and the fire bites into the flesh? Saturday Freier. Yesterday Vochoc. Today Jay. They are getting the range.” (Dated “Tuesday, March 18th [1941]/Morning.” Varian Fry, unpublished manuscript for Surrender on Demand, p. 482, Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York) [Fry, 1945, pp. 154, 155, 208; Marino, 1999, pp. 251-253, 255-258, 281]

Richard Allen (USA), American Red Cross, Marseilles,

(Fry, 1945, pp. 154-155, 208; Marino, 1999, p. 119)

Francisco Aguilar, Mexican Consul General in France, 1940-1941?

Francisco Aguilar was the Mexican Consul General in France, 1940-1941. He worked with Gilberto Bosques in aiding Jews to escape France.

[Rodríguez, Luis I. Misión de Luis I. Rodríguez en Francia: La protección de los refugiados españoles, Julio a diciembre de 1940. (México: El Colegio de México, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, 2000), pp. 561, 569-570, 573.]

Vincent Azéma, Mayor of Banyuls, France

(Marino, 1999; Ryan, 1996)

Dr. Richard Baer (Jewish), physician, USC medical staff (Subak, 2010, pp. 141, 143)

Leon (Dick) Ball, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-41, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Leon “Dick” Ball was one of the earliest volunteers for the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC). Ball had been friends with Charlie Fawcett and both were in the French Ambulance Corps. Ball was born in the United States and was a US citizen. Ball was one of the most effective members of the Rescue Committee. Ball was most effective when he guided refugees out of Marseilles and over the Pyrenees. On one occasion, Ball helped guide Heinrich Mann and Golo Mann, son and nephew of Thomas Mann, and their families along with Mr. and Mrs. Franz Werfel, over the Pyrenees. These missions over the Pyrenees were extremely dangerous and Ball was able to evade being discovered or captured with his precious cargo.Ball also was able to obtain various documents and papers from various sources. He obtained false documents, exit visas and papers, even purchasing them on the black market, when necessary.

Madeleine Barot●, CIMADE, co-founder of CIMADE, general secretary. Committee for Action on Behalf of Refugees (Comité d’Inter Mouvement après des Evacues; CIMADE), France, established 1939, see also Archdiocese of Toulouse, France; Diocese of Nice, France; Pères de Sion, France; American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA); Swiss Children’s Rescue Organization; Czech Aid; Douvaine Escape Network; Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon; Christian Friendship. CIMADE was part of, and sponsored by, the World Council of Churches. CIMADE maintained four stations: Marseilles, Vabre, Pomeyol and Le-Chambon-sur-Lignon. CIMADE had teams in the following French concentration camps: Rivesaltes, Brens, Le Récébédou, Nexon and Gurs. They provided aid and relief to prisoners. They also aided prisoners to gain release from the camps.

Awarded Righteous Among the Nations title March 28, 1988 (Yad Vashem Archives; Fabre, 1970; Gutman, 2003, pp. 57, 402; Hallie, 1979; Zuccotti, 1993, pp. 68-69, 71-72, 228, 230, 231, 246).

Daniel Bendite (France), Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Marseilles

(Subak, 2010, pp. 147, 149, 156, 159-161)

Daniel “Danny” Bénédite was one of Varian Fry’s most able assistants. Bénédite was a young French socialist who had previously worked to help refugees in Paris. While in Paris, he became learned in the ways of relief activities and avoiding French and Gestapo officials. In Paris, he helped German and Austrian refugees renew their residential permits and thus avoid deportation.

Father Pierre Marie-Bénoit● (Benedetto), President, Delegazione Assistenze Emigranti Ebrei (Jewish Emigrant Association; Delasem), 1942-1945 (in Southern France)

Hiram “Harry” Bingham IV, † US Vice Consul in Marseilles, France, 1937-1941

Hiram Bingham was the American Vice Consul in charge of visas, stationed in Marseilles, France, in 1937-1941. Shortly after the fall of France, Bingham, against the orders and policy of his superiors, issued visas, safe passes, and letters of transit to Jewish refugees. Many visas were falsified in order to protect the refugees from internment. Bingham helped set up the contacts and issued visas for the Emergency Rescue Committee, headed by Varian Fry. Bingham also worked with other rescue operations in Marseilles, including the American Friends’ Service Committee (Quakers), the American Red Cross, the Unitarian Service Committee, the Mennonite Committee, and Jewish relief organizations. Bingham also worked with the Nîmes (Camps) Committee. He was, in part, responsible for saving several thousand Jews. Among them were many anti-Nazi activists, labor leaders, and Communists. He also rescued Jewish artists, intellectuals, writers and scientists, such as Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, André Breton, Heinrich Mann, and Jewish Nobel Prize winners. Bingham visited the concentration camps and facilitated issuing visas to Jews trapped in the Les Milles French concentration camp. In May 1941, Bingham helped the Quakers, the Nîmes Committee and the OSE rescue several hundred Jewish children by issuing US visas. These children left France in June 1941. In 1942, Bingham was transferred to the US embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the end of the war, he reported on the immigration of Nazi war criminals to Buenos Aires. He wrote numerous reports and encouraged his supervisors to report these activities to the State Department. His superiors did nothing and he resigned from the Foreign Service in protest. In 2000, Bingham was presented the American Foreign Service Association Constructive Dissent award by the US Secretary of State. In 2005, Hiram Bingham was given a letter of commendation from Israel’s Holocaust Museum. In 2006, a US commemorative postage stamp was issued in his honor.

[Fry, Varian. Assignment Rescue, Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 10-12, 14, 17-18, 32-33, 49, 56-57, 69-70, 83, 87-90, 147, 172, 215. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 99-100, 196, 107-108, 117, 120, 187, 209, 231, 268, 285, 287. Isenberg, Sheila. A Hero of Our Own: The Story of Varian Fry. (New York: Random House), pp. 75-76, 83, 86, 89, 125, 142, 150, 152-153, 193, 193n. Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), pp. 130, 142, 144. Hockley, Ralph M. Freedom is not Free. (2000). US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Assignment Rescue: The Story of Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee. [Exhibit catalog.] (Washington, DC: US Holocaust Memorial Museum, 1997), p. 7. Wyman, David S. Paper Walls: America and the Refugee Crisis, 1939-1941. (New York: Pantheon Books, 1985), pp. 167-168. Varian Fry Papers, Columbia University. HICEM records, France, YIVO Archives. Bauer, Yehuda. American Jewry and the Holocaust. (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1981), p. 171. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives, New York City. Bauer, Yehuda. American Jewry and the Holocaust. (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1981), p. 171.]

Pastor Marc Boegner●, president of the Protestant Church in France, co-founder and head of CIMADE. CIMADE was part of, and sponsored by, the World Council of Churches. CIMADE maintained four stations: Marseilles, Vabre, Pomeyol and Le-Chambon-sur-Lignon. CIMADE had teams in the following French concentration camps: Rivesaltes, Brens, Le Récébédou, Nexon and Gurs. They provided aid and relief to prisoners. They also aided prisoners to gain release from the camps.(Comité Inter-Mouvements Aupres des Evacues), Amitié Chrétienne (Christian Friendship), awarded Righteous Among the Nations title June 21, 1988

(Yad Vashem Archives; Fabre, 1970; Gutman, 2003, pp. 89-90, 195, 268; Hallie, 1979, p. 43; Moore, 2010, pp. 101, 128-129, 131; Zuccotti, 1993, pp. 58-59, 62, 141, 146, 150)

Mme. E. Hené-Bohn, Emergency Rescue Committee

Dr. Frank Bohn, American Federation of Labor, Marseilles, France, 1940-1941

Dr. Frank Bohn, of the American Federation of Labor, was active in the rescue of Jews in Marseilles, 1940-41. He worked alongside the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC) to help save labor leaders, union officials, democratic politicians and other refugees who were being sought under article 19 by the Gestapo and the Nazis. Varian Fry was told about Frank Bohn’s activities before he left for Marseilles. In addition, many of these refugees had been opposition forces against the Nazi’s and had been fighting fascism’s rise in Europe since the early 1930’s. Many of the refugees rescued by Bohn were Jews.

American foreign policy in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s had declared many of these refugees to be undesirable and did not always qualify for immigration papers. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) had pressured Roosevelt to grant a number of emergency “visitors visas-not for permanent residence in the US.” These temporary emergency visas would termporarily get these refugees out of danger.

Frank Bohn, like Varian Fry, was heavily involved in the illegal activity of smuggling refugees into Spain over the Pyrenees Mountains. Bohn worked with various foreign consulates in Marseilles to obtain passports, visas and other papers. Frank Bohn received much help from Hiram “Harry” Bingham at the American consulate in Marseilles. Bohn was not above obtaining fake documentation and passports for his refugees. Early on in their missions, Fry and Bohn agreed to divide their activities in the rescue of refugees. Fry and the ERC would help artists, and Bohn would take care of labor leaders politicians and political activists.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 7-12, 22-23, 33-34, 51, 54-56, 59, 80-81, 92-93. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 114-117, 134, 151, 158, 160, 186. Isenberg, Sheila. A Hero of Our Own: The Story of Varian Fry. (New York: Random House), pp. 12, 15-17, 74, 81, 85, 86, 97, 105. Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), p. 141; Subak, 2010, p. 74)

Auguste Bohny●, Le Secours Suisse

Friedel Bohny-Reiter●, Le Secours Suisse

Ambassador at Large Gilberto Bosques, Mexican Consul General in Paris and Marseilles, 1939-42

Gilberto Bosques was a member of the revolutionary movement in Mexico in 1910. He served in numerous occupations, including that of journalist, educator and politician. He was appointed Ambassador at Large to France by Mexican President Cardenas. Bosques served as the Mexican Consul General in Paris and Marseilles in 1939-1942. During this time, Bosques issued hundreds of visas to refugees, including anti-Franco fighters from the Spanish Civil War. He also issued visas to thousands of Jews. Among those he helped save were artists, politicians and other refugees from Germany, Austria, France and Spain. Bosques supplied visas to Varian Fry and his Emergency Rescue Committee as well as numerous other rescue agencies. Bosques maintained two estates outside of Marseilles (formerly castles) in which he housed and fed thousands of refugees. In November 1942, Bosques and other members of the Mexican legation were arrested by French Vichy officials and Nazis. Bosques and his staff were later released and returned to Mexico. When Consul General Bosques returned to Mexico City, he was greeted by cheering throngs and a parade was held in his honor. After the war, Bosques served many years as a career diplomat in the Mexican foreign service.

[Bosques, Gilberto. The National Revolutionary Party of Mexico and the Six-Year Plan. (Mexico: Bureau of Foreign Information of the National Revolutionary Party, 1937). Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), p. 127. See Visas for Life nomination for Yad Vashem. See also news clippings. Eck, Nathan. “The Rescue of Jews With the Aid of Passports and Citizenship Papers of Latin American States.” Yad Vashem Studies on the European Jewish Catastrophe and Resistance, 1 (1957), pp. 125-152. Marrus, Michael, R., and Robert O. Paxton. Vichy France and the Jews. (New York: Basic Books, 1981). Fittko, Lisa, translated by David Koblick. Escape through the Pyrénées. (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1991). Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996). Cline, H. F. The United States and Mexico. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1953). Schuler, Friedrich E. Mexico Between Hitler and Roosevelt: Mexican Foreign Relations in the Age of Lázaro Cárdens, 1934-1940. (Albequerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1998). Bosques Saldívar, Gilberto. Gilberto Bosques Saldívar: H. Congreso del Estado de Puebla. LII Legislatura. (San Andrés Cholula, Puebla: Imagen Pública y Corporativa). Barros Horcasitas, Beatriz. “Gilberto Bosques Saldívar, adalid del asilo diplomático.” Sólo Historia, 12 (2001), pp. 74-87. Carrillo Vivas, Gonzalo, “A los 84 años del desembarco de los marines en el Puerto de Veracruz,” Bulevar, 4 (1993), Mexico. Carrillo Vivas, Gonzalo, “Poeta: Gilberto Bosques Saldívar,” Bulevar, 8 (1994), Mexico. Garay, Graciela de, coord., Gilberto Bosques, historia oral de la diplomacia mexicana. Mexico, Archivo Histórico Diplomático, 1988. Romero Flores, Jesús, Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Mexico, SEP, 1960. Salado, Minerva, Cuba, revolución en la memoria. Mexico, IPN, 1989. Serrano Migallón, Fernanco, El asilo politico en Mexico. Mexico, Porrúa, 1988. Rodriguez, Luis I. Misión de Luis I. Rodriguez en Francia: La protección de los refugiados españoles, Julio a diciembre de 1940. (Mexico: El Colegio de México, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, 2000). Salzman, Daniela Gleizer. México Frente a la Inmigración de Refugiados Judíos: 1934-1940. (Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historía, 2000). Kloyber, Christian (Ed.). Exilio y Cultura: El Exilio Cultural Austriaco en México. (Mexico: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 2002). Von Hanffstengel, Renata, Tercero, Cecilia (Eds.). México, El Exilio Bien Temperado. (Mexico City: Instituto de Investigaciones Interculturales Germano-Mexicanas,1995). Von Hanffstengel, Renata, Vasconcelos, Cecilia T., Nungesser, Michael, & Boullosa, Carmen. Encuentros Gráficos 1938-1948. (Mexico City: Instituto de Investigaciones Interculturales Germano-Mexicanas, 1999). Alexander, Brigitte. Die Ruckkehr: Erzählunen und Stücke aus dem Exile. (Berlin: Wolfgang Weist, 2005). Kloyber, Christian. Österreicher in Exil, Mexico 1938-1947: Eine Dokumentation. (Wien: Verlag Deutsche, 2002).]

Slavomir Brzak (Lowrie, 1963)

Reverend Howard Brooks (USA), USC, (Brooks, 1942; Subak, 2010, pp. 103-107, 109, 113, 114, 132, 137, 138, 157-158, 161, 165, 176, 177, 194, 196)

Marcel Chaminade, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC)

[Fry, 1945, pp. 102, 107, 108, 125, 221. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers.]

Jean Chaigneau, Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, France, 1943

Madam Chavoutier, (Ryan, 1996; Subak, 2010, p. 67)

L. Coppée, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC)

Ludwig Copperman, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC)

Ludwig Copperman took the name Louis Coppée. He was a German employee of the ERC. [Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. Marino, 1999, p. 267]

Victoria Cordier●, Le Secours Suisse

Cuban Consul in Vichy France, Marseilles, 1940-41?

The Cuban consulate in Vichy provided exit visas to Jewish refugees and to Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee and other rescue and relief operations active in Marseilles.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 127-128.]

Mme. A. Dalsace, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC)

Miriam Davenport, Emergency Rescue Committee, Marseille, France, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 38-39, 87, 117. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers.

Miriam Davenport (Ebel) was one of the important core volunteers of the Emergency Rescue Committee in Marseilles, France, 1940-41. She graduated from Smith College and went to study art in Paris. While traveling from Paris, she ran into the German poet Walter Mehring in Toulouse. Miriam Davenport helped Walter Mehring escape the Nazi’s. After meeting Miriam, Fry states in his autobiography, “I added her to the staff immediately. She spoke French and German as few Americans do, and her knowledge of art and artists made her very useful when we had to distinguish between the many refugees who claimed to be artists worthy of our help. When she had never heard of them, and they had no specimens of their work to show, she would tell them to go down to the View Port and make a sketch. When they brought the sketch back, she would look at it and decide right away whether they were any good or not. She also handled university professors with tact and skill…”

Mr. Declereq, Belgian Red Cross

O. de Neufville, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC)

Robert C. Dexter (USA), USC, (Subak, 2010, pp. 25-28, 35, 59, 64-65, 76-78, 81-82, 100-109, 137-141, 157-159, 164, 169-171, 174-176, 207-208),

Elizabeth Dexter (USA), USC, (Subak, 2010, pp. 25-28, 35, 59, 64-65, 76-78, 81-82, 100-109, 137-141, 157-159, 164, 169-171, 174-176, 207-208)

M. Diamont, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC)

A. (Alfonso) Diaz, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC)

[Fry, 1945, pp. 209, 227. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers.]

Captain Dubois, French Police Inspector, Marseilles

Captain Dubois was a French police inspector in Marseilles, France. Captain Dubois was an early contact with Hiram “Harry” Bingham, the Vice Consul at the US consulate in Marseilles. Dubois provided reports on police raids to Bingham and later to Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC). He was entirely sympathetic to the rescue activities of the various agencies operating in Marseilles. Dubois’ information helped Fry and his ERC to stay out of trouble. Eventually, Dubois was found out and was transferred to an undesirable post in Rabat, Morocco. Dubois had also been transferred for his pro-British sentiments. On one occasion, Dubois had warned the ERC of a planned police raid on the consulate of Siam, which had been supplying the ERC with visas. After Dubois’ transfer, Fry had to begin bailing people out of prison and paying bribes to French police.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 89-91, 132, 148-150, 208. Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), pp. 147, 173, 209. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 209-210, 238-239, 277.]

Maurice Dubois●, and wife, Ellen, Secours Suisse aux Enfants

Miss Elmes, AFSC (Perpignan), Camp d’Argelès

Charles “Charlie” Fawcett, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Charles Fawcett was a volunteer and organizer of the rescue activities of refugees in Marseilles. Fawcett was one of several young Americans in Marseilles who had volunteered in the American Volunteer Ambulance Corps before the armistice of June 1940. Fawcett was originally from Georgia. He volunteered with the ERC to process refugees and to guard the door to the offices of the ERC in the Hôtel Splendide.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand, 1945), pp. 37-38, 53, 93, 108, 131, 149, 152-153. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. New York. Gold, Mary Jayne. Crossroads Marseilles, 1940, 1980), pp. 163-164, 168, 173, 232, 257-258, 309. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 86-88, 103, 106, 213, 131-132, 139-140, 144, 192, 199, 202, 209, 217, 261.]

Pastor Fay, French Protestant Federation (Fédération Protestante de France), World Council of Churches

Mlle. C. Feibel, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC)

Mlle. J. Fialin, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC)

Noel Field (USA), USC, (Subak, 2010, pp. 84-86, 88, 89, 109-111, 121-122, 125-126, 148, 151-153, 164, 181, 195, 202, 214-215, 225)

Herta Field (USA), USC, (Subak, 2010, pp. 84-86, 88, 89, 109-111, 121-122, 125-126, 148, 151-153, 164, 181, 195, 202, 214-215, 225)

Pinto Ferreira, Portuguese Consul General in Vichy/Marseilles, France, 1943?

Pinto Ferreira, the Portuguese Consul General in Vichy stationed in Marseilles, protected Jews who were registered with the consulate. Ferreira argued strongly for the protection of these Jews. Portuguese dictator Salazar later approved the repatriation of the Portuguese Jews.

[Cable from Pinto Ferreira in Vichy to Salazar, March 18, 1943, AHD, 2o P. A. 50, M. 40. Cable from Salazar, March 27, 1943, AHD, 2o. P. A. 50, M. 40. Cited in Milgram, Avraham. “The Bounds of Neutrality: Portugal and the Repatriation of its Jewish Nationals.” Yad Vashem Studies, 31 (2003), pp. 201-244.]

Mssr. Figuière, Honorary Consul for Panama in Marseilles, 1940-41

The Panamanian Honorary Consul in Marseilles was a French shipping agent by the name of Figuière. He provided Panamanian visa stamps to refugees as a means of escaping Vichy France. Hans and Lisa Fittko, refugees, obtained Panamanian visas from the honorary consul. They stated in Lisa’s autobiography that he “sells” these visas for the price of a salami. It was clear that no one was going to Panama on these visas.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 82-83. Fittko, Lisa, translated by David Koblick. Escape through the Pyrénées. (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1991), pp. 165-166.]

Joseph Fisera (Lowrie, 1963; Subak, 2010)

Lena Fischmann, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-41, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Lena Fischmann was a volunteer organizer and administrator for the Emergency Rescue Committee. Lena Fischmann was a prominent Jewish member of the Emergency Rescue Committee.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (1945), pp. 35, 38-39, 42, 70, 74-75, 79-80, 93-94, 100, 127, 129, 131, 133-139, 141, 148-149, 208-209, 239. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Gold, Mary Jayne. Crossroads Marseilles, 1940, 1980), pp. 157, 197, 201, 225, 264. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 132-133, 139, 182, 185-187, 202, 228-231, 235, 338-339.)

Hans Fittko● and Lisa Fittko, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Hans and Lisa Fittko led many refugees over the various escape routes from Marseilles into Spain.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 122-124, 133, 189, 198, 200, 203. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. Fittko, Lisa. Escape through the Pyrénées. (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1991). Gold, Mary Jayne. Crossroads Marseilles, 1940. (New York: Doubleday, 1980), pp. 256, 264, 288, 327, 375. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 84-86, 156, 166, 193-195, 198, 241, 245-246. Klein, Anne. “Conscience, conflict and politics: The rescue of political refugees from southern France to the United States, 1940-1942.” Leo Baeck Institute Year Book, 43 (1998), 300-302. Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), pp. 83, 173.]

French Consul, Portugal (Subak, 2010, p. 62)

Bill Freier (Bill Spira), Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-41, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Bill Freier was an early volunteer for the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC). Freier was an able and extremely competent artist who was able to forge necessary documents and especially various official stamps. Freier had been one of the most popular cartoonists in France before the war and, according to Fry: “he went through the usual experiences: internment in a concentration camp, escape, flight to Marseille. He was a likable little fellow, and he seemed, and I’m sure was, a perfectly honest young man who wanted to help his fellow refugees and at the same time make enough money to keep alive. Freier had a girl-friend named Mina with whom he was deeply in love. They were hoping to get married and go to America together, and I guess he needed money for Mina’s support as well as his own. He was a very skilled draftsman, and he could imitate a rubber stamp so well that only an expert could have told it had been drawn with a brush. He used to buy blank identity cards at the tobacco shops, fill them in, and then imitate the rubber stamp of the Prefecture which made them official. I think he used to charge us only twenty-five francs—fifty cents—for the finished job. We made extensive use of his services, as did many other people. We also added him and his fiancée to the list of our clients, and cabled New York to ask the committee to get them visas.”

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 44-45, 123, 131, 132, 208, 238. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 141-142, 148, 155, 242, 267, 345. Isenberg, Sheila. A Hero of Our Own: The Story of Varian Fry. (New York: Random House).]

N. Friedlander, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-41, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Varian Fry● (USA), Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC; Centre Americain de Secours), Marseilles ERC Varian Fry volunteered to head the Emergency Rescue Committee. In 1940, he was sent to Marseilles, in Vichy France. He was given a list of 200 refugees and $3,000 with which to save them from the grip of the Gestapo. After coming to Marseilles, Fry opened a refugee relief agency under the cover name of the American Center for Relief (Centre Américaine de Secour) in the Hôtel Splendide in Marseilles. Fry immediately set out to provide financial support for refugees and to secure all the necessary papers to escape France. These papers included immigration visas, transit visas and destination or end visas. The gathering of these papers was perhaps the most difficult task for Fry and his assistants in the ERC. In 1940-41, most countries had closed their borders to refugees.

Jean Gemahling, Emergency Rescue Committee, Marseilles, France, 1940, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Jean Gemahling was one of the principal volunteers with the Emergency Rescue Committee in Marseilles. He staffed the office and participated in numerous dangerous missions.After Fry’s forced departure from France, Bénédite, Wolff and Gemahling ran the ERC. Gemahling was arrested in November 1941.

Gemahling was active in the resistance movement and founded Service de Renseignements de Combat (Information Service of Combat—Combat was one of the early Resistance groups). It was later called Services de Renseignements du Mouvement de la Libération Nationale (MLN). The MLN became one of the chief resistance groups in both zones of France.

Jean Gemahling became one of the heads of this important intelligence network.

Gemahling was arrested twice and was imprisoned for six months.

For his activities, he was made an officer of the Legion of Honor.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 101-102, 116, 122, 134, 140, 148, 151-152, 154, 164-165, 180-181, 184, 192-195, 198, 202, 205, 210, 214, 218, 221, 225, 228, 230, 237. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Gold, Mary Jayne. Crossroads Marseilles, 1940. (New York: Doubleday, 1980), pp. 203-204, 229, 238-239, 243, 245-246, 265, 271, 299, 322, 326, 335-340, 357, 371, 383, 390-391. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 205, 213, 224, 227, 271, 273-274, 287, 293, 303-304, 317-320, 330.]

Cardinal Pierre Marie Gerlier●, head of the Catholic Church, Lyons Diocese, primate of Gaul, honorary president, Amitié Chrétienne (Christian Friendship), CIMADE. CIMADE was part of, and sponsored by, the World Council of Churches. CIMADE maintained four stations: Marseilles, Vabre, Pomeyol and Le-Chambon-sur-Lignon. CIMADE had teams in the following French concentration camps: Rivesaltes, Brens, Le Récébédou, Nexon and Gurs. They provided aid and relief to prisoners. They also aided prisoners to gain release from the camps.

Awarded Righteous Among the Nations title July 15, 1981 (Yad Vashem Archives; Fabre, 1970; Gutman, 2003, pp. 89-90, 268, 289; Hallie, 1979, pp. 41-42; Zuccotti, 1993, pp. 62, 72, 74, 139, 141, 146, 147, 149, 150, 297n75, 311n32)

Abbe Alexander Glasberg● Children’s Aid Rescue Society, (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants; OSE)

(France; Lyons Catholic Archdiocese)

Mary Jayne Gold, Volunteer, Emergency Rescue Committee, Marseilles, France, 1940-41, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France, USC Office, Lisbon.

Mary Jayne Gold was one of the principal volunteers for the Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-41. She went on numerous missions to help Jewish refugees. In addition, she financed much of the operations of the ERC. Mary Jayne Gold was not Jewish.

Before Fry was expelled from France, one of his last missions was to help release prisoners at the French concentration camp at Vernet. Fry had tried in vain to get them released and sent Mary Jayne Gold on a mission. In his autobiography, Fry speaks of Mary Jayne Gold’s mission to release the men at Vernet: “We had sent letters to the commandant in the name of the committee, and Bingham had sent him letters and telegrams in the name of the Consulate—all to no avail. There were only two things left to try: escape, and feminine wiles. Escape from Vernet was extremely difficult. Because it was the camp of the “undesirables,” Vernet was more closely guarded than any other concentration camp in France. It was surrounded by a high, barbed-wire fence, and the section where Paul’s friends were interned had a second barbed-wire fence inside the first. The sentries were old soldiers, armed with rifles. They were held personally responsible for all escapes, and their instructions were to shoot to kill. A few days after my return from Lisbon, she went to Vernet, saw the commandant, and succeeded where everybody else had failed. Accompanied by two soldier guards, the four men were allowed to come to Marseille and take their American visas.” They eventually got visas from Harry Bingham at the American consulate and were able to escape to Lisbon.

In addition, Mary Jayne Gold lent money for the rescue of refugees. Miriam Davenport wrote in her autobiography: “As the days wore on, I became more and more depressed by the number of endangered people who deserved help but were unknown to the old-boy network; recommendations made in New York fixed our conditions for giving assistance. We had our “first list” of some two hundred names which was augmented from time to time by others approved in New York. When I told Mary Jayne about this problem, she understood immediately and wanted to help right the wrong. But how? She had already decided to postpone going home but she was, herself, running out of funds. Most of her money was blocked in the States. More could be had only by dealing in a black market where she had no connections. She offered to give the Committee $3,000 to help those not recommended by New York provided we could also help her to get sufficient money for her personal needs. Varian bristled and refused outright to have anything to do with this proposal when I put it to him… Hermant, who had witnessed this scene, later took me aside and said, ‘Take me to your friend. I’ll help her.’ He was as good as his word and, in a very short time, the Centre Américain de Secours was some 330,000 francs richer. The money was specifically earmarked for those not on the New York lists. I called the new arrangement the “Gold List” and supervised its disbursements until I left Marseilles. One of those who was so helped, Karol Sternberg, has just retired from directing the International Relief Committee in New York, a descendant of our old outfit. Mary Jayne more than repaid Hermant’s kindness by later running a successful errand for him to get some men released from a high security concentration camp.”

[Gold, Mary Jayne. Crossroads Marseilles, 1940, 1980). Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand, 1945), pp. 87, 101, 117, 137, 145-146, 150, 185. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 203-205, 229, 240, 256, 208-209, 224, 254, 279. Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), pp. 142, 145. Ebel, Miriam Davenport. An Unsentimental Education: A Memoir by Miriam Davenport Ebel. (1999). Subak, 2010, pp. 115-116)

Mrs. Anna Gruss, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Anna Gruss was a faithful volunteer and senior administrator at the Emergency Rescue Committee in Marseilles. She stayed with the Rescue Committee until the very end. Fry remained friends with her until the end of his life.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand, 1945, pp. 100, 107, 149, 227, 238. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 213, 328.]

Madame Haber+, medical secretary USC, deported with her husband

(USC Archives; Subak, 2010, p. 155)

J. ten Hagen, Consul for Netherlands in Marseilles, 1940

Information about this Dutch diplomat was received from Irwin Schiffres. Information was supplied by the Dutch Foreign Ministry.

[See e-mail dated 9/30/2001.]

Dr. Ilse Hamburger, teacher, Bompard (Ryan, 1996)

Bedrich Fritze Heine, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

(b. 1904), Assistant to Frank Bohn, American Federation of Labor, Marseilles

[Fry, 1945, pp. 8, 10-12, 93, 168, 170-173, 189, 203, 239. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers.]

Vivette Herman (Jewish), volunteered to work in USC school for Jewish children in Rivesaltes French camp (Samuel, 2002; Subak, 2010, p. 120)

Stephen Hessel, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

“Stephen Hessel is also leaving soon. He has his American visa, and he thinks his commanding officer in the Deuxième Bureau will give him a passport and exit visa.” Dated “Villa Air-Bel, Sunday, February 9 [1941], Morning.” (Varian Fry, unpublished manuscript for Surrender on Demand, p. 421, Box 14, Folder 1, Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York)

Mme. Ch. Heyman, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Mlle. I. Heyman, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Lucie Heymann, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Lucie Heymann was one of the replacements for Lena Fischmann. She was office manager for the ERC.

“Lucie Heymann, our new office manager, pleases me very much. She is a very civilized and cultured woman, and she gives the office an air of distinction it has always previously lacked. I confess I even like the way she comes into my office every morning to shake hands and say, Bonjour, patron.’

“Her daughter, Isabelle, is also working with us now.” (Dated “Thursday, February 27th [1941].” Varian Fry, unpublished draft of Surrender on Demand, pp. 456, Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York)

[Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. Marino, 1999, p. 267]

Franz “Franzi” von Hildebrand, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

One of Varian Fry’s original volunteers and most able helpers was Franz “Franzi” von Hildebrand. Hildebrand originally was from a prominent Catholic family in Austria. He had already gained much experience working for a relief refugee agency in Paris. He held a Swiss passport, which helped provide important cover for his activities. Working with Fry, he helped process hundreds of refugees who came to the Hôtel Splendide in Marseilles. Hildebrand spoke many languages and was invaluable in helping to interview the many refugees who came for help. Hildebrand would prepare reports on the refugees and transmit these applications to the ERC’s New York office. The ERC New York office would then petition the State Department for exit papers. Hildebrand’s father, Professor Dietrich fon Hildebrand, was a refugee himself hiding in Marseilles and was in danger of extradition.

Fry wrote of Hildebrand in his autobiography in 1945: “Franzi had two other useful qualities besides being a Catholic. He had worked with an Austrian committee in Paris, and so he knew how a relief committee should be run. He also knew many of the non-socialist refugees and could advise me about them. I could get all the advice I needed about the socialists from Beamish and Paul Hagen’s friends, but I depended on Franzi and his father to tell me about many of the others” (pp. 26-27).

Hildebrand did much of the interviewing, along with Fry and Albert Hirschmann. In his autobiography, Fry writes “For a while Beamish [Hirschmann], Franzi [Hildebrand] and I handled all the work. There was a small writing table and a flat-topped dressing table, with mirror attached, in my room. We used the writing table as an interviewer’s desk and unscrewed the mirror from the dressing table and used it as a second interviewer’s desk. Beamish sat at one table and Franzi at the other. I usually sat on the edge of the bed, or stood up. The refugees waited in the corridor outside my door, and we let them in one at a time. I’d talk to them a little first, and then, if there seemed to be any chance at all that they were one of “our cases,” I’d pass them on to Beamish or Franzi, who would take down their names and addresses and other information about them on ordinary white file cards.”

If the refugee had no papers, or was not in possession of a proper passport, Hildebrand would arrange with Hiram Bingham at the US consulate in Marseilles for an Affidavit in Lieu of Passport. This valuable document, provided liberally by Vice Consul Bingham, was absolutely necessary in helping establish legitimacy of refugees trying to leave France.

Hildebrand was an able assistant to Varian Fry for the entire existence of the ERC’s mission in Marseilles. The work was extremely dangerous and he could have been arrested at any time for his activities.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 26-30, 35, 38-39, 73-74, 102, 239. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 122-123, 214. Isenberg, Sheila. A Hero of Our Own: The Story of Varian Fry. (New York: Random House).]

Hedwig Himmelstern (Subak, 2010, pp. 141-143)

E. Hirschberg, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Otto Albert “Beamish” Hirschmann, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Otto Albert Hirschmann was one of Varian Fry’s principal aides in the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC). Hirschmann was a German Jewish political refugee. He was born in Berlin in 1915. He was a young, enthusiastic Francophile and attended French school in Berlin. He left Berlin just after Hitler came to power, on his 18th birthday. Hirschmann had been active in the democratic socialist opposition to the Nazis. In the fall of 1939, Hirschmann found himself in Paris. After war was declared, he joined the French army. After the fall of France, he deserted the French army and took the name of Albert Hermant. Fry called Hirschmann “Beamish” because of his broad smile.

According to Fry’s autobiography, “Beamish had had a good deal of experience with underground work already, and, despite his youth (he was only twenty-five), he was a veteran anti-fascist with two wars to his credit. He had fought in the Spanish Republican army for nearly a year, and had then signed up for service in the French army.” Fry later adds: “Beamish soon became my specialist on illegal questions. It was he who found new sources of false passports when the Czech passports were exposed and couldn’t be used any more. It was he who arranged to change and transfer money on the black bourse when my original stock of dollars gave out. And it was he who organized the guide service over the frontier when it was no longer possible for people to go down to Cerbère on the train and cross over on foot.”

In addition to his work in guiding refugees over the frontier, Hirschmann did much of the interviewing of refugees, along with Fry and Franzi Hildebrand. In his autobiography, Fry writes “For a while Beamish, Franzi and I handled all the work. There was a small writing table and a flat-topped dressing table, with mirror attached, in my room. We used the writing table as an interviewer’s desk and unscrewed the mirror from the dressing table and used it as a second interviewer’s desk. Beamish sat at one table and Franzi at the other. I usually sat on the edge of the bed, or stood up. The refugees waited in the corridor outside my door, and we let them in one at a time. I’d talk to them a little first, and then, if there seemed to be any chance at all that they were one of “our cases,” I’d pass them on to Beamish or Franzi, who would take down their names and addresses and other information about them on ordinary white file cards.”

Hirschmann also made contacts with the French underground and the Marseilles mafia for exchanging money on the black market, which was very dangerous work.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 24-30, 35-48, 79-82, 87-91, 103-104, 107-109, 111-115, 122, 125, 131-133, 150-152, 213, 239. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Gold, Mary Jayne. Crossroads Marseilles, 1940. (New York: Doubleday, 1980), pp. 155-156, 158-159, 160-162, 169, 200, 204, 206, 209-211, 227-229, 231, 235, 243, 246, 256, 264, 288, 392. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 77-81, 120-122, 127-128, 136, 139, 142-143, 145, 156, 158-159, 165, 167, 185, 192-194, 202, 209, 218, 223-224, 241-246. Isenberg, Sheila. A Hero of Our Own: The Story of Varian Fry. (New York: Random House). Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), p. 142.]

Honorary Hungarian Consul in Marseilles, France, July 1940

The honorary Hungarian consul in Marseilles helped Jewish refugee Hecht.

[Hecht oral statement.]

Dr. Charles Joy (USA), USC, (Subak, 2010, pp. 52, 54-60, 70, 71, 78-83, 90-91, 114-115, 129, 130, 131-132, 186, 187, 189, 190, 194-196)

Dr. Jourdan*+, courier for USC, arrested, executed

(Subak, 2010, p. 200)

Dr. Karp, (Subak, 2010, p. 155)

Herbert Katzki (USA), JDC, Member of the Executive Committee of the Nîmes Committee

Necdet Kent, Consul for Turkey in Marseilles and Grenoble, France, 1942-45

Necdet Kent was the Vice Consul for the Turkish Republic stationed in Marseilles, France, in 1942. He was later promoted to the rank of Consul and remained in Marseilles until 1945. When Nazi Germany occupied France in 1940, many Jewish Turks and others fled to unoccupied Vichy France. During the period of 1942-45, Kent issued numerous Turkish certificates of citizenship to Jewish refugees, preventing them from being deported to Nazi murder camps. On one occasion, Kent boarded a deportation train bound for Auschwitz with Jews loaded on cattle cars. Kent stopped the train and had the Jews released.

[Shaw, Stanford J. Turkey and the Holocaust: Turkey’s Role in Rescuing Turkish and European Jewry from Nazi Persecution, 1933-1945. (New York: New York University Press, 1993), pp. 64-66, 79, 95-96, 132-134, 148, 332, 341-344.]

Howard E. Kershner, American Frinds Service Committee (AFSC), Marseilles

Mrs. Kirbach, teacher, Bompard (Ryan, 1996)

M. Kokoczinski, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

(Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers.)

Raoul Lambert (Jewish), CAR, Member of the Executive Committee of the Nîmes Committee.

K. Landau, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Dr. Landsmann, physician (Subak, 2010, p. 155)

Madam Rene Lang, children’s teacher in Rivesaltes internment camp, supervised 12 workers in camp (Ryan, 1996; Subak, 2010, pp. 88, 155, 197; USC Archives)

D. F. W. van Lennep, Dutch Representative of the Consul in Marseilles, 1940

D. F. W. van Lennep was a member of the Dutch lower nobility who was in Cannes when the war broke out. Lennep went to Paris and offered his services to the Dutch mission in Paris. (Earlier he had worked for the Dutch mission in Berlin.) He became the representative in Vichy France for Mr. van Harinxma, and the representative of the Dutch government Commissioner for Fugitives, van Lidth de Geude.

[This information was supplied by the Dutch Foreign Ministry.]

Jacqueline Levy (Jewish), French Jewish refugee, worked in USC children’s schools in Rivesaltes French camp (Samuel, 2002; Subak, 2010, p. 120)

Erich Lewinsky, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Erich Lewinsky was a highly qualified volunteer and himself a refugee. Lewinsky took responsibility for many of the ERC cases.

[Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Marino, 1999, p. 267, 282, 322]

Consul Li (China), Marseilles

Princess Lieven, AFSC/Quakers (Bauer, 1981)

Lithuanian Honorary Consul in Aix-en-Provence, France, 1940?

The Lithuanian honorary consul in Marseilles, France, provided Lithuanian passports to Varian Fry and Albert Hirschmann of the Emergency Rescue Committee. These documents were necessary in order to get refugees safe passage through Spain to Lisbon. The honorary consul of Lithuania at Aix was eventually arrested by the French police.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 40-41, 131. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 141, 242. Ebel, Miriam Davenport. An Unsentimental Education: A Memoir by Miriam Davenport Ebel. (1999).]

Donald Lowrie, World Service of the YMCA, American Friends of Czechoslovakia, Head of Nîmes Committee, Czeck Aid

(Donald L. Lowrie Papers, University of Illinois Archives, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois; Lowrie, Donald, The Hunted Children. New York: Norton, 1963. Romanofsky, Social Service Organizations, pp. 758-764. Leo Baeck Institute Archives. Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945). Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 107, 132, 137, 191. Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), p. 148-149, 152, 167, 216. JDC Archives, New York, NY; Subak, Susan, Rescue and Flight: American Relief Workers who Defied the Nazis, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska, 2010, pp. 33-35, 39-44, 51, 53, 61-68, 81, 84, 86, 88, 93, 105, 141-144, 152, 153, 157)

Mrs. Donald Lowrie, Director of the American Red Cross in Marseille

(Subak, Susan, Rescue and Flight: American Relief Workers who Defied the Nazis, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska, 2010, pp. 34-35, 40, 53, 60, 62-64, 152-153, 157, 181-182)

Emilio Lussu, assistant to Dr. Marcel Verzeanu

Henri Manen●, chaplain, Les Milles French concentration camp, Aix-en-Provence, France, CIMADE, awarded Righteous Among the Nations title March 20, 1986 (Yad Vashem Archives; Fabre, 1970; Gutman, 2003, pp. 370-371)

Alice Manen●, CIMADE, wife of Henri Manen, awarded Righteous Among the Nations title March 20, 1986 (Yad Vashem Archives; Fabre, 1970; Gutman, 2003, pp. 370-371)

A. Marck, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Alice Masaryk (Subak, 2010, pp. 4, 14-16)

Roswell McClelland, (USA), AFSC/Quakers

Marjorie McClelland, (USA), AFSC/Quakers

Walter “Baby” Mehring, Emergency Rescue Committee, 1940-1941, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

[Fry, 1945, pp. 38, 48-50, 52, 74, 80, 83, 84, 92, 102, 111, 173, 174, 209. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers.]

Dr. Mendel, physician (Subak, 2010, p. 155)

Walter Meyerhoff (Jewish), son of refugee Dr. Otto Meyerhoff (Subak, 2010, pp. 46-

47, 76-79)

M. Millner, OSE, liaison with CAR

Dr. Zina Minor (Jewish; Subak, 2010, pp. 87-88, 155)

Madam Monteil (USC Archives; Subak, 2010, p. 155)

Heinrich Mueller, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Heinrich Mueller, a former worker in the German underground, was a volunteer with the ERC.

[Fry, 1945, p. 189. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Marino, 1999, pp. 194, 275.]

Rose Naëf●, Le Secours Suisse

H. Namuth, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Lindsey Nobel (USA), AFSC/Quakers

Dr. Olmer, OSE (Jewish), Marseilles clinic

Heinz Ernst “Oppy” Oppenheimer, Volunteer, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Heinz Oppenheimer was instrumental in keeping the records for the ERC. He was important in creating accounting methods that would protect the ERC from police scrutiny and save them money in the exchange process in Marseilles.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 35-39, 171-172. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Gold, Mary Jayne. Crossroads Marseilles, 1940. (New York: Doubleday, 1980), p. 157. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 126-127, 202, 261-262.]

K. Oppenheimer, Volunteer, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Mrs. Margaret Palmer, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

[Fry, 1945, p. 154-156; Marino, 1999, 251-252]

Miss Phealan (USA), International Migration Service, Director of the Service Social d’Aide aux Émigrants (SSAE; Society for Aid to Immigrants), Treasurer of the Nîmes Committee

Mireille Philip●, co-founder CIMADE, smuggled young Jews to Switzerland. Committee for Action on Behalf of Refugees (Comité d’Inter Mouvement après des Evacues; CIMADE), France, established 1939, see also Archdiocese of Toulouse, France; Diocese of Nice, France; Pères de Sion, France; American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA); Swiss Children’s Rescue Organization; Czech Aid; Douvaine Escape Network; Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon; Christian Friendship. CIMADE was part of, and sponsored by, the World Council of Churches. CIMADE maintained four stations: Marseilles, Vabre, Pomeyol and Le-Chambon-sur-Lignon. CIMADE had teams in the following French concentration camps: Rivesaltes, Brens, Le Récébédou, Nexon and Gurs. They provided aid and relief to prisoners. They also aided prisoners to gain release from the camps.

Awarded Righteous Among the Nations title March 18, 1976 (Yad Vashem Archives; Fabre, 1970; Gutman, 2003, p. 439

Anne Marie Im Hof Piguet●, Le Secours Suisse

Genevieve Pittet, CIMADE, France

Led and supervised successful escape routes from France to Switzerland. Worked with YMCA office in Geneva. (Pittet, 1945)

Polish Consul in Marseilles, France, 1940?

The Polish consul in Marseilles, France, provided Polish passports to Varian Fry and Albert Hirschmann of the Emergency Rescue Committee. These documents were necessary in order to get refugees safe passage through Spain to Lisbon.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 40-41. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), p. 141. Ebel, Miriam Davenport. An Unsentimental Education: A Memoir by Miriam Davenport Ebel. (1999).]

Honorary Portuguese Consul in Nice, France, 1940-1941

The honorary Portuguese consul in Nice, 1940-1941, helped Jewish refugee Hecht.

[Oral history testimony by Hecht.]

Mlle. A. Pouppos, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Colonel Pacciardi Randolfo

[Fry, 1945, pp. 109-112, 189, 190, 239; Marino, 1999, pp. 218, 255, 260, 276, 281-282]

Mr. Rapopoulos (Ryan, 1996)

Reiner

Frederic Reymond●, Le Secours Suisse

Luis I. Rodriguez, Mexican Ambassador to France, 1939-1940

Luis I. Rodriguez was appointed the Mexican ambassador to France by President Lazaro Cardenas. Together with Consul General Gilberto Bosques, he presented numerous letters of protest regarding the horrendous conditions inside the French internment camps. These camps housed thousands of former Spanish Republican soldiers and Jewish refugees who were considered by the French government to be enemy aliens. Later, Rodriguez and Bosques presented formal complaints to the Vichy government regarding the deportation and murder of Jews. Rodriguez left France at the end of 1940, leaving Bosques in charge.

[Rodriguez, Luis I. Misión de Luis I. Rodriguez en Francia: La protección de los refugiados españoles, Julio a diciembre de 1940. (Mexico: El Colegio de México, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, 2000). Salzman, Daniela Gleizer. México Frente a la Inmigración de Refugiados Judíos: 1934-1940. (Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historía, 2000). Kloyber, Christian (Ed.). Exilio y Cultura: El Exilio Cultural Austriaco en México. (Mexico: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, 2002).]

Justus “Gussie” Rosenberg (Jewish), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Miriam Davenport and Mary Jayne Gold “adopted” 13-year old “Gussie” Rosenberg. He quickly became a volunteer at the ERC and was extremely efficient in his activities. Rosenberg was a foreign Jew, and therefore was at extreme danger of being arrested by Vichy officials.During the war, Rosenberg served with a small guerrilla unit near Valence.

He eventually became a volunteer with the US 36th Infantry Division as a liaison officer scout. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge and was wounded several times. He was cited for gallantry in action.

Mme. R. Rosenthal, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Hans Sahl, Emergency Rescue Committee, Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

[Fry, 1945, p. 187; Marino, 1999, p. 202; Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers.]

Mr. Salsman, UCJG

Samborsky, YMCA, Polish Red Cross

Julien Samuel, OSE (Jewish)

Vivette Herman Samuel (Jewish), OSE, Rivesaltes camp (Subak, 2010, p. 120)

Aba Scerbac (Jewish; Subak, 2010, p. 141)

M. Scharff, HICEM

Paul Schmierer, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Paul and Vala Schmierer were hired by Varian Fry to work in the ERC

Vala Schmierer, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Paul and Vala Schmierer were hired by Varian Fry to work in the ERC.

Martha Sharp● (USA), USC

Waitstill Sharp● (USA), USC

Siamese (Thai) Consul, Marseilles, France, 1940

Varian Fry of the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC) and other rescue and relief agencies used Siamese (Thai) visas as exit visas to leave Marseilles and Vichy France. Although there was no possible way of reaching Siam during the war, Portuguese and Spanish officials honored these visas. Once the refugees had the Portuguese and Spanish transit visas, they were able to go to Lisbon with ease. Eventually, the consulate of Siam was raided and the consul was arrested by the French authorities. After the raid, the Emergency Rescue Committee was no longer able to use these visas.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 15-17, 132. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), p. 119.]

Mlle. M. Soïfer, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Myles Standish, US Vice Consul in Charge of Visas, Marseilles, France, 1940

Myles Standish, like Hiram Bingham, issued visas to Jewish and other refugees seeking to escape France to Portugal. He was active in the rescue of Lion Feuchtwanger from a French-German internment camp in 1940.

After his assignment in Marseilles, Standish took a position with the War Refugee Board finding escape routes for refugees in Europe.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House). Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 99-100, 120. FDR Library War Refugee Board Archives, 1944-1945. JDC Archives, NYC. Feuchtwanger, Lion, The Devil in France: My Encounter with Him in the Summer of 1940, Viking, 1940.]

Sebastian Steiger●, Le Secours Suisse

Margot Stein, relief worker Hotel Bompard, Marseilles, (Subak, 2010, pp. 109-124)

K. Sternberg, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Mr. Stevenson (USC), AFSC (Marseille), Camp Les Milles, Secretary of the Nîmes Committee

Tracy Strong, (USA), Southern France (Ryan, 1996, p. 148; Subak, 2010, p. 243n30)

Tracy Strong was a member of the Young Men’s Christian Association headquarters in the French unoccupied zone. He worked with Donald Lowrie with the YMCA in distributing aid. Strong was involved in illegal activities with Czech diplomat Vladimir Vochoc. He helped distribute illegal passports and documents on the outskirts of Marseilles.

Walter Stucki, Swiss Minister to Vichy France and Acting Director of the Swiss Red Cross in France, 1942-?

Walter Stucki, the Swiss Minister to Vichy France and Acting Director of the Swiss Red Cross, protested the treatment and deportation of French Jews in southern France. He made his protest to the leader of Vichy France, Marshal Phillipe Petain. Stucki tried to prevent Jewish children from being taken from institutions represented by Swiss charities. Petain refused to change French policy against Jews.

[Bauer, Yehuda. American Jewry and the Holocaust. (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1981), p. 262. Levin, Nora. The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry, 1933-1945. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1968), pp. 447-448.]

Vratislav Stula (Czechoslovakia) Czeck Aid,

Important rescuer and activist in the in the Marsailles area. (Lowrie, 1963) Vratislav Stula Alias “Thurmond” was the assistant director of Czech Aid (Centre d'Aide Tchécoslovaque), assistant to Donald Lowrie, member of the Nimes Committee, World Service of the Young Men’s/Women’s Christian Association (YMCA/YWCA), Marseilles office.

Excerpt from The Hunted Children, Donald A. Lowrie (1963):

Upon arrival at Aix-Marsielle in August 1939, Stula engaged in military and paramilitary activities due to the imminent war with Germany. Prior to his university studies, he received military training, joining the volunteer Czech Brigade of the French Army (L'Armée Tchécoslovaque en France) on 2 September 1939. On 1 December 1939, Stula was called to active duty, beginning his formal army combat training at the Agde, Herault, military camp. He served as an infantry corporal in military campaigns fighting against Germany during the spring and early summer of 1940. Six months later, following the Battle of France and the second French-German Compiègne armistice on 22 June 1940, Stula was officially demobilized from army service on 26 June 1940.

Joining an underground unit of the Free French Forces in June 1941, Stula served as a covert combat member of the French Resistance Movement (La Resistance) through 1945. Thanks to the cooperation of the Aix-Marseilles University officials, he was able to obtain two addresses, a covert alias, and dual identity papers to maintain his status as a student while also working as a soldier for the underground resistance.

Stula was also working as the assistant director of Czech Aid (Centre d'Aide Tchécoslovaque)—a part of the original Nimes Committee and the only remaining Czechoslovak organization in existence during WWII in unoccupied (Vichy) France—to provide assistance to hundreds of demobilized Czech and other refugees. Under the auspices of the Czech Aid refugee program, he worked under false identity papers, using the alias “Mr. Thurmond” before the Gestapo raid (see below), in securing shelter, support and food for refugees (including Jews) and allied soldiers. As a covert Czech Aid official, Stula was also able to successfully direct the underground Network Service of the Free French Forces for his sector of Vichy France. In 1943, the Gestapo raided the offices of the Marseilles Centre d'Aide Tchécoslovaque. They interrogated “Mr. Thurmond” and threatened to execute his family, but Stula narrowly escaped by convincing them that he was just a student and by speaking superb French. The Gestapo later realized their mistake, issuing a warrant for Stula’s arrest with a 50,000 franc reward on his head, and subsequently closed the Czech Aid organization.

However, Stula was able to continue his work for Czech Aid, using a new alias, “Mr. Montagnon,” but now in a covert, underground capacity. Lowrie summarizes Stula's single-handed efforts to re-establish the Czech Aid rescue operations, after the Gestapo raid, in the following The Hunted Children passage: “Thurmond (Stula) had persuaded the French postal officials to permit him, against all (Vichy) regulations, to copy the lists of earlier Czech Aid payments and was thus able to reconstitute those files, so that the Czechs never missed a month's payment of allowances."

The reconstituted accounts were delivered to Lowrie in Geneva, and under his direction, the original French accountant was able to continue auditing Czech Aid records, thanks to the young two men, "Thurmond and "Dupont" covert operations. Through additional underground negotiations, Stula, Slavomir Brazk and Pastor Toureille successfully established a new covert committee to aid refugees and fallen allied soldiers. From exile in Geneva, Dr. Lowrie was able to secure 20,000 francs per month for the new “committee” from Hugo Cedergren in Stockholm. The funds were filtered through Foreign Office officials in Vichy and delivered to the committee through the “black market” channels. Thanks to these funds, Stula and Brazk could continue at great personal risk, practically all Czech Aid relief services previously under the guidance of the Nîmes Committee. The funds helped save children, families and refugees, including allied soldiers, until the end of the war.

Following the war, Stula was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Medaille de la Resistance, and was recognized for his active military service by General Charles De Gaulle. The following passage summarizes General De Gaulle’s letter to Stula, acknowledging his WWII resistance missions:

“To the order of the Army Corps Corporal Chief Vratislav Stula, in the mission of the D.G.E.R., has during the past three years and four months, directed the Network Service of his sector. He has accomplished personally, against any danger, dangerous missions. After having fallen three times into the claws of the Gestapo, he succeeded, thanks to his cold blood, to mislead and confuse their research and as soon as he was set free, he alerted the network of possible danger. He was able to save numerous lives thanks to his courage, spirit, and his initiative by organizing their fleet to abroad.” Signed by De Gaulle, 4 September 1945.

In addition to General De Gaulle’s awards and commendations, Stula received letters and awards from the Czech Foreign Minister in exile, Jan Masaryk Jr, while he resided in Paris, and from the President of the International Committee YMCA in Paris, Donald A. Lowrie, each acknowledging Stula’s remarkable missions and courageous war efforts, conducted in a selfless manner. (Czechoslovakia; Lowrie, 1963)

Joseph Schwartz, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee representative, Lisbon, Portugal; supported USC rescue and relief activities in France and Portugal (JDC Archives, NYC; (Suabak, 2010, p. 124)

Herta “Jo” Tempi, USC office, Paris (Subak, 2010, pp. 198-200)

Awarded Righteous Among the Nations title November 6, 1973 (Yad Vashem Archives; Fabre, 1970, p. 44; Gutman, 2003, p. 525)

Captain Treacy, worked in conjunction with the Emergency Rescue Committee, Marseilles, France, 1940-1941

Captain Treacy, with the French underground, helped rescue British soldiers and refugees.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 133, 152, 164. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), p. 259.]

E. Urbach, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Franzi von Hildebrand, assistant to Dr. Charles Joy (Fry, 1945; Subak, 2010, pp. 249n1)

Mr. Vaucher, Institute of Health Research, Health Committee

Dr. Marcel “Monsieur Maurice” Verzeanu, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 103, 151-152, 154, 156, 193-205, 221, 225, 228, 230, 234, 239. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Gold, Mary Jayne. Crossroads Marseilles, 1940. (New York: Doubleday, 1980), pp. 230-231, 234, 243, 245, 265, 278, 293, 296, 305, 325-326, 337-338, 354, 357, 359, 371, 383, 393. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 205, 213, 242, 271-275, 308-309, 345, 351.]

Vladimír Vochoc●, Czechoslovakian Consul in Marseilles, France, 1940

Czech Consul Vladimir Vochoc, stationed in Marseilles, distributed many Czech passports on his own authority to Jews and anti-Nazis who wanted to escape from Marseilles to Spain and Portugal. Vochoc worked closely with Varian Fry of the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Dr. Frank Bohn of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and Dr. Donald Lowrie of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in supplying Czech visas. For his life-saving activities, Vochoc was arrested by Nazi and French authorities pending possible deportation. Two months later, he managed to escape to Lisbon.

[Lowry, 1963, p. 48. Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 18-19, 32, 40-41, 49, 57, 80-82, 208. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 107-108, 119, 137, 141, 192-193. Isenberg, Sheila. A Hero of Our Own: The Story of Varian Fry. (New York: Random House), pp. 38, 87, 111, 188. Klein, Anne. “Conscience, conflict and politics: The rescue of political refugees from southern France to the United States, 1940-1942.” Leo Baeck Institute Year Book, 43 (1998), 298-299. Archiv der socialen Demokratie, NL Vladimir Vochoc (transl. By Vera Pikow). Ryan, Donna F. The Holocaust and the Jews of Marseille: The Enforcement of Anti-Semitic Policies in Vichy France. (Urbana, IL: The University of Illinois Press, 1996), pp. 143-144, 148. Ebel, Miriam Davenport. An Unsentimental Education: A Memoir by Miriam Davenport Ebel. (1999). Moore, 2010, pp. 23, 24-26. Vochoc, Vladimír, Compte Rendu (London, 1941), 18. Coll. Archive Joseph Fisera USHMM RG-43.028 A 0069.]

C. J. van der Waarden, Dutch Consul General in Marseilles, 1940

Information about this Dutch diplomat was received from Irwin Schiffres. Information was supplied by the Dutch Foreign Ministry. [See e-mail dated 9/30/2001.]

Dr. Julien Weil (Jewish), OSE, Comité Central d’Assistance aux Oeuvres Isräêlites en France

Dr. Joseph Weill (Jewish) OSE, Marseilles clinic, (Ryan, 1996; Subak, 2010, pp. 86-88, 119, 145, 179-181, 201, 203, 204; Weil, Joseph, Le Combat d’un Juste, Bron: Cheminements, 2002)

Mlle. E. Weil, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France

Jacques Weisslitz +*, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Fry learned the Jacques Weisslitz and his wife had been deported to Germany. Fry had tried to get visas for them in 1942, but was unable. The US State Department refused to give the Weisslitz’s the piece of paper that would save their lives.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), p. 238. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 267, 329.]

Isaac Weissman, Portugal (Jewish)

Arthur Wolf+* Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

[Fry, 1945, pp. 80, 191-195, 197, 198, 200-202, 238; Marino, 1999, pp. 186, 246, 266, 273-275, 283, 286, 301-303, 329]

Charles Wolff, Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Centre Américain de Secours, The American Relief Center, Marseilles, France.

Wolff was a journalist from Paris and a friend of Konrad Heiden. Wolff worked with Jacques Weisslitz and helped take care of many of the refugees who had fled from the Strasbourg region.

[Fry, 1945, pp. 185, 219, 221, 238. Varian Fry Papers, Butler Library, Columbia University, New York. “Liste des Collaborateurs Ayant Fait Partie du Staff du ‘Centre Americain de Secours’ Dupuis sa Fondation,” 2/9/41, Varian Fry Papers. Gold, 1980, pp. 74-76, 376, 383, 395-396; Marino, 1999, p. 267]

Dr. Wolf, OSE pediatrician, OSE, Marseilles clinic, (Subak, 2010, p. 155)

Richard Wood, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) (Subak, 2010, p. xxii)

Li Yu-Ying, Chinese Consul, Marseilles, France, 1940

Li Yu-Ying was the acting Chinese Consul in Marseilles in 1940. He was also the President of the National Academy there. Many refugees in Marseilles received a visa stamp from Li Yu-Ying. In Chinese characters that virtually no one could read, the stamp read, “Under no circumstances is this person to be allowed entrance to China.” Anxious refugees used the visa stamp as an exit visa. Frank Bohn, of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), Varian Fry of the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), and other rescue and relief agencies utilized many of these Chinese visas to help refugees leave France for Spain, Portugal and other parts of Europe.

[Fry, Varian. Surrender on Demand. (New York: Random House, 1945), pp. 15-17. Marino, Andy. A Quiet American: The Secret War of Varian Fry. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), pp. 108, 119.]

Dr. René Zimmer, USC, Health Committee (Jewish), (USC Archives; Subak, 2010, pp. 87, 103, 105, 109-112, 125, 148, 156-159, 164, 173-175, 181, 191, 194-195, 198, 209)

Fanny Zimmer, wife of Dr. René Zimmer, (Subak, 2010, pp. 105, 111, 158, 191)

Frederike Zweig (Jewish refugee), helped fellow refugees escape France to Portugal, then to Mexico

(Subak, 2010, p. 65)

Individuals who Aided the Nîmes Committee in the Rescue of Individuals in Southern France:

Vice Consul Hiram Bingham IV (USA), Marseilles

Frank Bohn, American Federation of Labor (USA)

Consul-General General Gilberto Bosques and consulate staff (Mexico), Marseilles

Howard Brooks, Unitarian Service Committee (USC)

Consul General de Sousa Dantas● (Brazil), Paris

Police Captain DuBois (France), Marseille

Pinto Ferreira, Portugal

Consul Figuière (Panama), Marseille

Dr. Charles Joy

Howard E. Kershner, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Marseille

Consul Li (China),Chinese consulate, Marseille

Vice Consul Myles Standish (USA), Marseille

Consul Vladimir Vochoc+●* (Czechoslovakia), Marseille

Consul (honorary) for Lithuania+ at Aix-en-Provence

Consul of Poland, Marseille

Consul of Siam+, Marseille