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Assignment: Rescue An Autobiography
by
Varian Fry
In 1940, all Varian Fry knew about being a secret agent was what he'd seen in the movies. But soon he was undercover in France, smuggling people blacklisted by Hitler to freedom. Told in his own words, this is the exciting story of one man who had the courage to try to change history. Photographs.
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Community Reviews
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104)
Jul 14, 2015
Annie
marked it as to-read
found this book in my neighborhood mini library. What is a mini library, you ask? A neighbor has a little book shelf with a door and roof set up in their front yard; then you take book, leave a book.
Assignment Rescue by Varian Fry is a story about an American, Varian Fry, who before WW2 had plans to go to France. He tried to get some of the people that fled from Nazi Germany into France and then into Spain where they could go to the United States and be safe from the Nazi’s.
Varian Fry’s purpose was to tell his story and the story of the people that he saw and saved during that time. In the book, he would talk about other people who were trying to escape. For example, Hilferding was a well- ...more
Varian Fry’s purpose was to tell his story and the story of the people that he saw and saved during that time. In the book, he would talk about other people who were trying to escape. For example, Hilferding was a well- ...more
This books tells the story of Varian Fry, the only righteous gentile to come from the United States throughout WWII. This book was assigned as a discussion point in a class called America and the Holocaust. It is hard to talk about such a situation without mention Mr. Fry and the people he worked with to help Jews escape the Gestapo. Originally, he was sent over to help a certain list of people the Gestapo were out to get. In the end, he helped rescue many, many more than even he really expected
...more
Varian Fry sent to France in 1940 by American Emergency Rescue Committee with a list of a thousand or more names of artists, writers, musicians, scientists, professors, political figures that the Germans wanted to arrest through Article 19 which stated that the French (Vichy) government must "surrender on demand" all refugees from the Greater German Reich including Germans, Austrians, Czechs, Poles.
He obtained official exit documents for some and had them escape through Pyrenees to Spain and by ...more
He obtained official exit documents for some and had them escape through Pyrenees to Spain and by ...more
Mar 05, 2010
Michael
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Holocaust historians, fans of Schindler's List
Recommended to Michael by:
Martha Grutchfield
This is the autobiography of a lesser-known figure in the Holocaust - a man who became a professional rescuer. Far less compromised than the better-known Oskar Schindler, Fry was an American who acted out of conscience, not from any motivation of profit, and from his base in France, worked to get as many people out of Germany and occupied Europe as possible. Of course, he knew he couldn't save everyone, and doubtless had to make torturous ethical decisions about whom to help and how, but he save
...more
Excellent book and historical account of what happened in France before and during the Second World War. Sad to think of all the great artists and writers, scientists, etc. that were lost to the world be-
cause of the evil in some people's minds! The book was an easy read and can be read in an evening. Loved it!
cause of the evil in some people's minds! The book was an easy read and can be read in an evening. Loved it!
Aug 04, 2014
Nora
added it
Directly told by the man who lived it and with humility. Amazing plotting to rescue refugees thru Vichy France and out thru Marseille. Very little said about this bold series of events.
i liked it. it was really interesting at first, but then i got a little bored with it toward the end, but it was only 180 pages, so i decided to finish it since i had 30 pages left. it was hard to imagine it as a non-fiction book, but then after reading it i went into my mind and thought of all these people as if i had helped them today. there was a wide range of characters, some irrelevant and others relevant based upon the job fry was doing. overall it was good, and saddens me to think of all
...more
Feb 13, 2012
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
memoir
,
cover-missing
More like looked through, to compare to the previous version,
Surrender on Demand
. This has some minor factual corrections and additions, but it lacks an index. (This edition does, anyway. I can't speak to later ones.)
If I were in a position to only read one, I'd read Surrender on Demand. If I had access to both, and were only reading for interest or curiosity, I'd look at Assignment: Rescue to see the minor updates. But I get the impression that Surrender is the better read.
If I were in a position to only read one, I'd read Surrender on Demand. If I had access to both, and were only reading for interest or curiosity, I'd look at Assignment: Rescue to see the minor updates. But I get the impression that Surrender is the better read.
Intriguing story, from the perspective of one very involved American, of the rescue of refugee artists from France during the German occupation. Writing style is hard to follow. Readers, unless familiar with French towns & 1940s artists, will get lost in the innumerable names of places & people.
This story is amazing. The men and women that helped all the refugees were so unselfish. However this was not an easy reading book for me. It seemed more like a text book and it was hard to keep track of all the people. I did like to learn about it though it was very informative.
My seventh grade history teacher gave me this book because the authors his last name (duh) and because I was obsessed with books about the Holocaust.
Without nuance this autobiography starkly lays down the facts of the 13 months Fry spent in Vichy France in 1940.
What a brave man Varian Fry was. Too bad he is one of the least known of the World War II Nazi time.
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