Varian fry biography graphic organizer

Marseilles, France… August 4, 1940 – In June 1940, Varian Fry, an American journalist, volunteered to travel from New York to Marseilles as a representative of the Emergency Rescue Committee, a newly formed relief organization.

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The U.S. government agreed to provide entry visas to two hundred refugees in France – prominent political leaders, scientists, artists, and writers. Fry’s task was to help them get out. He arrived in Marseilles in August 1940 with a list of names and $3,000.

Fry was shocked to learn that thousands of refugees were unable to leave due to bureaucratic hurdles that stood in the way.

He felt a responsibility to help as many people as possible.

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Fry rented an office and assembled a staff of American expatriates, French relief workers, and refugees. In direct opposition to the Vichy regime and the American consulate, he and his accomplices used black-market funds to forge passports and to smuggle refugees out of France.

Fry established the American Relief Center