One American, Varian Fry, saved hundreds of lives. Used by permission of the publisher. These materials are designed for Junior High school. In 1940, as Nazi invaders occupied France, tens of thousands of refugees from all over Europe fled south toward Marseilles.
All characters are real people.
Adolf Hitler had been in power for only two years. But Fry found that Hitler had already molded Germany into his own cruel image. Hitler believed that Jewish people were inferior, and Fry saw, firsthand, how they were treated. In 1939 and 1940, Hitler's armies stunned the world by taking over most of Europe, including France. In August 1940, some of the world's greatest artists and intellectuals were trapped in Vichy France.