[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 106 (Thursday, August 3, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S8860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 553--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
 CITIZENS' STAMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHOULD RECOMMEND TO THE POSTMASTER 
GENERAL THAT A COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP BE ISSUED IN HONOR OF VARIAN 
                                  FRY

  Mr. MENENDEZ submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:

                              S. Res. 553

       Whereas Varian Mackey Fry, of Ridgewood, New Jersey, 
     embodied the spirit of heroism and demonstrated personal 
     bravery of the highest order during the Holocaust;
       Whereas, while serving as a representative of the Emergency 
     Refugee Committee in German-occupied Vichy, France, between 
     1940 and 1941, Varian Fry helped save the lives of 
     approximately 1,500 Jews and hundreds of other anti-Nazi 
     refugees;
       Whereas Varian Fry established a legal French relief 
     organization, the Centre Americain de Secou, as a cover for 
     his heroic but sometimes unlawful actions on behalf of the 
     refugees, including--
       (1) securing false visas;
       (2) planning daring escape routes through the mountains of 
     Southern France;
       (3) illegally chartering ships to transport refugees out of 
     France; and
       (4) exchanging funding for these operations on the black 
     market;
       Whereas, in order to save thousands of Jews and refugees 
     who were threatened by the Nazis, Varian Fry risked his 
     personal safety, forfeited his employment as a writer with 
     the Foreign Policy Association, and was ultimately expelled 
     from France because his actions contravened the policies of 
     the Vichy French government;
       Whereas the efforts of Varian Fry resulted in the rescue of 
     approximately 2,000 persons, including such distinguished 
     artists and intellectuals as Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Hannah 
     Arendt, Franz Werfel, Jacques Lipchitz, Lion Feuchtwanger, 
     and Heinrich Mann;
       Whereas, in 1967, for his heroic actions, Varian Fry 
     received the Croix de Chevalier of the French Legion of 
     Honor, 1 of the highest civilian honors of France; and
       Whereas, in 1996, Varian Fry was named ``Righteous Among 
     the Nations'' by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Heroes and Martyrs 
     Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, making him the first 
     citizen of the United States to receive the highest honor 
     bestowed by Israel to individuals who worked as rescuers 
     during the Holocaust: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 
     Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the 
     Postmaster General that a commemorative postage stamp be 
     issued in honor of Varian Fry.

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, today I am submitting a resolution that 
would honor an unsung hero who saved thousands of people from death 
during the Holocaust. The world knows the names of Oskar Schindler and 
Raoul Wallenberg, but few know the work of an American man named Varian 
Fry. During the Nazi takeover of Europe in World War II, Varian Fry, a 
resident of my home State of New Jersey, selflessly risked his life to 
save the lives of some 2,000 Jews and anti-Nazi refugees in Vichy, 
France. Although not Jewish himself, Fry understood the threat the 
Nazis posed. Over the course of 13 months, Fry's rescue operation saved 
some of Europe's most accomplished artists, writers, and intellectuals, 
such as Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Jacques Lipschitz, Arthur Koestler, 
Hannah Arendt, Franz Werfel, Lion Feuchtwanger, and Heinrich Mann.
  Few of us can imagine the dangers that Fry encountered and the 
courage and savvy that he needed to elude the Nazis and transport 
thousands of refugees from France to safe havens abroad. We remember 
that Varian Fry sacrificed his job and his personal safety to help 
others and to stand up for what was right. His work to aid both Jews 
and anti-Nazis during this perilous time in history makes him a hero 
for people of all religions and all nations.
  Tragically, this man whose bravery and resourcefulness changed the 
lives of so many died in relative obscurity. It was not until 1991, 24 
years after Fry's death, that the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council 
became the first American agency to officially recognize his work. It 
is now time that the country recognize his humanitarian efforts. Fry's 
hometown of Ridgewood, NJ, has honored him and dedicated a street in 
his name, but we must do more. Sixty-six years after Varian Fry began 
his lifesaving work in France, it is time that he earns proper 
recognition for his noble mission. One measure we can take is to allow 
Fry to join the ranks of other humanitarians and leaders who have been 
honored with a commemorative stamp in their name. The U.S. Postal 
Service has already issued a stamp honoring former U.S. Vice-Consul 
Horace Bingaman, who aided Fry in his rescue campaign. It is only 
fitting that Fry be honored with a stamp, as well.
  Varian Fry has been honored by France and was the first American to 
be named Righteous Among the Nations, Yad Vashem's highest honor for 
those who helped rescue people during the Holocaust. Though Fry passed 
away many years ago, let us now show his relatives and the world that 
this Nation--his Nation--also appreciates his sacrifice and commitment 
to saving lives at a time when the world was turning a blind eye to the 
evil of the Nazis. I thank my House colleague, Steve Rothman, for his 
work on the companion bill to this resolution which he has already 
introduced in the House of Representatives, and I ask that my fellow 
Senators join me in supporting this important legislation.

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