Customer Reviews

In Defiance of Hitler: The Secret Mission of Varian Fry

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One man can make a difference! This edge of your seat biography about Varian Fry, a little known hero who rescued hunted people from under the nose of the Nazis in occupied France is a shining example of that truism. Fry, a young New York journalist, an average person, whose knowledge of espionage comes from movies, finds himself on a startling war-time mission. Because no one else will go, he agrees to fly to Marseilles and help famous, therefore recognizable, artists, writers and scientists escape the Germans who have closed the French borders to round up Jews. With no training, Fry sets up a front refugee organization, develops a staff he can trust, hires a cartoonist to forge papers, finds maps for crossing the Pyrenees on foot, and locates the intellectuals on his list. His two week assignment lasts over a year, ending because he is thrown out of the country. It is legal to help refugees survive, but absolutely illegal to help them leave France without proper documents. Not since The Firm has paperwork been so tense and exciting. Sent to save 200, Fry saves 2000 including famous individuals (ex. Marc Chagall), British soldiers and frightened families. He does this in spite of the opposition of the American State Department whose officials in Marseilles and Vichy - with only one exception, a man now on a US postage stamp - hinder Fry and take away his travel papers. Fry is a hero who cannot handle a normal routine on his return to America; and the remainder of his life is sad. Near his end the French Government honors him for his important, brave war deeds. Long after his death he becomes the first American included at Yad Vashem as a Righteous Gentile. At a time when most Americans ignore the European disaster, Fry investigates rumors, understands Nazi goals, witnesses their atrocities, writes about them in US newspapers, and when asked, works tirelessly behind enemy lines to save trapped Jews and others. The author's clear language makes the chronological story thrilling. She gives useful historical background to the individual saga and provides a lot of wonderful photos. The action in the book relies on following a paper trail and keeping many names straight. Reviewed by Ellen Cole

Harvard-educated Varian Fry was a man with a conscience. He traveled through Germany before the outbreak of WWII and saw the rising hatred against the Jews. When Hitler took over and Jews were forced to flee, many wound up in France. But Hitler was advancing into France and the lives of refugee Jews were endangered again. Their only hope - one man, Varian Fry.

Almost single handedly Fry managed to rescue two thousand refugees. McClafferty does an expert job of presenting the prevailing atmosphere of the times, evoked by numerous historically accurate details. Yet, she does this with flair and makes the story engrossing for the middle grade reader, the young adult reader or the adult reader. The story is definitely a page-turner, a study in how to defy a tyrant and overcome the darkness of the Holocaust.

We are tempted to believe that every brave man deserves to life happily-ever-after. Courage, though, takes it's toll. McClafferty draws the picture of Varian Fry's later years with sympathy.

If you are teaching a lesson on the Holocaust, plan to include this stirring story.

McClafferty's previous book, Something Out of Nothing: Marie Curie and Radium was awarded the International Reading Association medal for the Best Nonfiction Book in the Intermediate Category; it was also an Orbis Pictus Honor Book. Also, see her first book, The Head Bone's Connected To The Neck Bone: The Weird, Wacky, and Wonderful X-Ray. For more, [...]

This is the newest and in my opinion best introduction to Varian Fry, still a relatively unknown and unsung hero of World War II. This book is targeted at a young audience, nevertheless I recommend it to anyone seeking an introduction to a remarkable man through whom we can all draw inspiration. The author has done an excellent job conveying the danger, intrigue, frustration and ultimate success of the Emergency Rescue Committee's most charismatic character. The photographs are excellent as well as the appendix and source notes.

Great job Carla Killough McClafferty

Amazing story of Varian Fry, the "American Schindler" that rescued over 2,000 people from Nazi-occupied France in 1940. The 2009 Orbis-Pictus Award Winner, I selected and read this book for my Children's Literature class at The University of Texas at Dallas. I was thrilled to receive a response e-mail from the Author, Carla McCafferty, after writing to congratulate her on the story of Varian Fry, one that she so capably brought to life with vivid and historically correct detail.

Geared to middle-school age youngsters, McCafferty's book thrilled the socks off this 55 year old Baby Boomer. A very good read! *****