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The Rescuer
In 1941, a young Harvard-educated classicist named Varian Fry arrived in occupied France on a daring mission to rescue more than 2,000 of Europe's leading writers, artists, and intellectuals from the Nazis. Hounded by the Gestapo, he smuggled Marchel Duchamp, Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt and dozens of other 20th century cultural luminaries out of France and brought them to America. So why did even the people Fry saved want to forget him? In this fascinating psychological profile, acclaimed novelist Dara Horn, chosen by Granta magazine as one of the 25 best young novelists in America, follows the peculiar life and legacy of an American Oskar Schindler. In the process, she reveals the secrets of a man who risked his life when others were silent — and the unforeseen consequences, personal and cultural, of his bravery.
43 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
117 people are currently reading
517 people want to read
About the author
Dara Horn
24 books815 followersDara Horn is the award-winning author of six books. One of Granta magazine’s Best Young American Novelists (2007), she is the recipient of three National Jewish Book Awards, among other honors, and she was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, the Wingate Prize, the Simpson Family Literary Prize, and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Her books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books, Booklist’s 25 Best Books of the Decade, and San Francisco Chronicle’s Best Books of the Year, and have been translated into twelve languages.
Her nonfiction work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Tablet, and The Jewish Review of Books, among many other publications.
Horn received her doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard University, studying Yiddish and Hebrew. She has taught courses in these subjects at Sarah Lawrence College and Yeshiva University, and held the Gerald Weinstock Visiting Professorship in Jewish Studies at Harvard. She has lectured for audiences in hundreds of venues throughout North America, Israel, and Australia.
She currently serves as Creative Adviser for The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.
She lives in New Jersey with her husband and four children.
Her nonfiction work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Tablet, and The Jewish Review of Books, among many other publications.
Horn received her doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard University, studying Yiddish and Hebrew. She has taught courses in these subjects at Sarah Lawrence College and Yeshiva University, and held the Gerald Weinstock Visiting Professorship in Jewish Studies at Harvard. She has lectured for audiences in hundreds of venues throughout North America, Israel, and Australia.
She currently serves as Creative Adviser for The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History.
She lives in New Jersey with her husband and four children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 16, 2013
I wanted to like this short narrative about Varian Fry, who helped save Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt, and other cultural luminaries from the Nazis, more than I did. The introduction is engrossing and sucked me in. I knew a little bit about Fry going in, but not much. Horn writes the story in her own voice, asking the questions, why haven't people heard of Fry? Why do people rescue other people? Why didn't the people he rescued feel more gratitude to him? Unfortunately, I didn't feel she substantiated her responses to the questions.
My bigger problem, as a historian, was how she approached her topic. Her sources seemed very one-sided: the archival collection about Fry and interviews with people who worked on his committee. But she makes assumptions about the people Fry saved without looking into their archives or story. I don't have a problem--since the narrative is in her voice--if she wants to judge the people Fry saved for ingratitude. But some of her righteous anger seems a little overdone. For example, she's upset on Fry's behalf that Max Ernst never thanked Fry for defending Ernst when "a German newspaper" accused him of abandoning his ex-wife to the Nazis. Horn doesn't say which German newspaper it was. Perhaps it was a minor one, and perhaps Ernst, after all he'd been through, didn't really care about a German newspaper attacking him. We can't know for sure, because Horn only takes Fry's point of view in this. My point is, her focus is too narrow. She seems to have spent a lot of time in Fry's archives, so I'm not sure why she chose to write such a pointed work with such a narrow documentary basis.
The story is well-written and has me intrigued to read more of Horn's work. The narrative is a medium for Horn to discuss her views on rescuers and righteousness, and that's fine. I just wish she hadn't wrapped her narrative so tightly around Fry's biography.
My bigger problem, as a historian, was how she approached her topic. Her sources seemed very one-sided: the archival collection about Fry and interviews with people who worked on his committee. But she makes assumptions about the people Fry saved without looking into their archives or story. I don't have a problem--since the narrative is in her voice--if she wants to judge the people Fry saved for ingratitude. But some of her righteous anger seems a little overdone. For example, she's upset on Fry's behalf that Max Ernst never thanked Fry for defending Ernst when "a German newspaper" accused him of abandoning his ex-wife to the Nazis. Horn doesn't say which German newspaper it was. Perhaps it was a minor one, and perhaps Ernst, after all he'd been through, didn't really care about a German newspaper attacking him. We can't know for sure, because Horn only takes Fry's point of view in this. My point is, her focus is too narrow. She seems to have spent a lot of time in Fry's archives, so I'm not sure why she chose to write such a pointed work with such a narrow documentary basis.
The story is well-written and has me intrigued to read more of Horn's work. The narrative is a medium for Horn to discuss her views on rescuers and righteousness, and that's fine. I just wish she hadn't wrapped her narrative so tightly around Fry's biography.
February 6, 2017
A longform essay on Varian Fry, an American who rescued (along with his organization) many artists from Nazi Germany. Horn crafts a thoughtful piece on altruism, and motivations behind such acts, and traces Fry's own unfortunate biography.
March 11, 2012
Interesting short read about the true "Shindler's List" guy who helped many intellectuals escape Europe. I thought it was interesting that after the war when he asked a favor from several of the people that he saved they wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.
September 26, 2012
It's hard to explain how much I love Dara Horn. This essay is wonderful. Her examination of Varian Fry, though brief, is deep and incredibly well-written. To start, Horn has a way with language that so many authors lack-- she is able to write non-fiction and make me see it happening on the page. She's able to keep my attention and my interest in the flow of her words. It's not easy to find a writer whose words just make you feel happy and comfortable and everything she writes has this effect. Secondly, Horn forces me to examine everything from different perspectives. She has the ability take a topic and prismatically show the varying aspects of an argument without, I think, brutality or overwhelming agreement. This essay was thoughtful, personal and provoking and I greatly enjoyed it.
June 9, 2012
Varian Fry was a young Harvard graduate in 1935 when he realized the horror that was facing the Jewish populations of Europe with the rise of hitler. A lover of European culture and western civilization, he set out to save europes artists and intellectuals from murder at the hands of the nazis and in 13 months, before e was escorted out of Vichy France by the pro nazi government with the collusion of the US state department, he succeeded in saving over fifteen hundred people who were listed for arrest by the Gestapo. Why then, Dara Horn asks, have we never heard of him?
February 20, 2012
Five stars simply for this line - "I have met people with an inability to think. They spend time thinking about thier hair".
Which is really true.
Horn examines Varian Fry (who I actually knew about, apparently this is a rarity). She offers far more detail than most works that gloss over this episode. Furthermore, Horn examines why he wasn't fully remembered as he should've been. Very readable.
Which is really true.
Horn examines Varian Fry (who I actually knew about, apparently this is a rarity). She offers far more detail than most works that gloss over this episode. Furthermore, Horn examines why he wasn't fully remembered as he should've been. Very readable.
April 2, 2018
Interesting essay/book. It revisits a timeless topic about the nature of evil. It also probes the question of what it takes to fight evil.
December 28, 2016
Good
An interesting documentation of a brave person. Interesting struggle with in himself to do what was right. A fun read
An interesting documentation of a brave person. Interesting struggle with in himself to do what was right. A fun read
February 5, 2017
I like Dara Horn. While reading this short book, I often had the feeling that she was telling *me* a story, the story of Varian Fry, the almost unknown man who made possible that an important number of European intellectuals were saved from the Nazi danger. These people, mostly Jewish, are very well known, while their rescuer is not.
The Rescuer is not a novel, it is a sort of documentary - Dara Horn researches facts and puts them together and also finds some lovely anecdotes, my very favorite beeing about Alma Mahler.
While I was reading this short book I somehow got to the Städel Museum in Frankfurt/Main and, how interesting, there were a lot of works by a lot of artists saved by Varian Fry. It was that kind of feeling of ”it's a small world after all”. ;)
The Rescuer is not a novel, it is a sort of documentary - Dara Horn researches facts and puts them together and also finds some lovely anecdotes, my very favorite beeing about Alma Mahler.
While I was reading this short book I somehow got to the Städel Museum in Frankfurt/Main and, how interesting, there were a lot of works by a lot of artists saved by Varian Fry. It was that kind of feeling of ”it's a small world after all”. ;)
November 8, 2012
Very interesting short nonfiction book about Varian Fry, an American who saved a large number of European artists and intellectuals from certain death in France during WWII. Most people have never heard of Fry, and Dara Horn (the author) decided to research why. This book tells the story. While it is very interesting, Ms. Horn's theories about why people do heroic things and what led Fry to take these actions were distracting and not very well organized. Overall, I'm glad I learned about this piece of history and would recommend this short read (especially because it is a Kindle Single that was available for free through the Amazon Prime Kindle Lending Library).
February 7, 2017
A Must-Read - for History's Sake - and for Today As Well
Yehuda Kurtzer mentioned this work at today's Conference on Jews and Muslims in NYC.
I thought I'd take a look. I could not stop reading it. Admittedly it i short. However brief it may be Dara Horn has brought to light a story which must be more widely known, that of Varian Fy.
The echoes of this story for our time are powerful as we live in a times when they world is again flooded with refugees seeking asylum. Read Dara Horn "The Rescuer." I dare you to do so and remain indifferent to one of the great challenges of our time.
Yehuda Kurtzer mentioned this work at today's Conference on Jews and Muslims in NYC.
I thought I'd take a look. I could not stop reading it. Admittedly it i short. However brief it may be Dara Horn has brought to light a story which must be more widely known, that of Varian Fy.
The echoes of this story for our time are powerful as we live in a times when they world is again flooded with refugees seeking asylum. Read Dara Horn "The Rescuer." I dare you to do so and remain indifferent to one of the great challenges of our time.
February 9, 2017
A short essay on Varian Fry a rescuer about whom I knew little. Why don't we know about a man who saved such luminaries as Hannah Arendt, Marc Chagall and others? Where was their gratitude? I feel like her conclusion, that Fry was troubled and had a terrible family life is no surprise. So many of the "greats" who became prophets and leaders had similar traits. Moses, Jeremiah, Theodore Herzl. Perhaps it takes a difficult person to be a great one?
May 15, 2014
A Kindle Single about Varian Fry who went into occupied France on behalf of the State Department to rescue Jewish artists and intellectuals under threat from the Nazis, including Marc Chagall and Hannah Arendt. The book explores his actions, how they were forgotten, and why the people he rescued were particularly keen to forget them. Overall well written, interesting, and an unconventional, unexpected story.
December 25, 2014
Quick and easy read. Interesting to hear a theory of what constitutes a "Rescuer." Interesting to read about Varian Fry whom I had not heard of prior to reading this book. Yet, I got a sense of anti-climacey (new word?) when the questions and theories about Varian Fry being a Rescuer were not refuted, explained, or confirmed... Interesting read though, I'm glad it was short.
August 11, 2012
Mini book about a man who "saved" a selected group of Europe's intelligencia during the Nazi exterminations. I knew there were people out there doing things other than Schindler-- here's one story. Interesting read.
October 25, 2012
Great story of a remarkable person's life. Instead of just focusing on any single aspect, author tries to give a full picture of the hero. I was stuck by the idea that being helped might actually be very unpleasant.
June 26, 2014
I thought I was well read when it came to Holocaust literature but I never heard of this rescuer Varian Fry. The book details all that he did and also speaks to why he received so little recognition for his acts of rescuing hundreds of artists, writers, scientists, intellectuals and their families.
June 29, 2014
A Little Dry
I was interested in learning about Varian Fry's
mission the book seemed to lack a spark. Part of the book gave me what I was looking for, but it was lacking something. Claims were made that didn't have anything to do with the.
I was interested in learning about Varian Fry's
mission the book seemed to lack a spark. Part of the book gave me what I was looking for, but it was lacking something. Claims were made that didn't have anything to do with the.
December 2, 2016
Interesting that the hero isn't a hero unless the hero's values match your own. Even if you are the one rescued. Perhaps, to be able to judge rightly, we need a standard that is beyond ourselves and our own fickle approval.
Read
February 5, 2012Excellent! It gave me a new perspective on Varian Fry and his motivation for saving 2,000 artists, intellectuals, scientists, writers during the Holocaust.
April 1, 2012
Fantastic essay. Well written, taught me a lot, made me think. What else do you want from an essay?
January 11, 2014
Interesting analysis of people's motivations when others are in the midst of under dire circumstances.
April 19, 2013
I love Dara Horn! She does such thorough research, writes accessibly but intelligently and artfully intertwines plot, characters and facts. I enjoyed and learned.
April 5, 2014
Very interesting. Has lead me to read Varian Fry's autobiography. Just a taste of his life. I want to know more
November 4, 2017
Interesting account of the life of Varian Fry. As a young Harvard grad he rescued European artists and intellectuals, representing a committee formed for that purpose in the mid-late 1930s, when it was feared European culture would be destroyed. What started, for the author, as an effort to understand what makes a rescuer, led to insights into human nature, and America's complicity in the genocide. Fry witnessed what was happening and tried to stop it. To say American's didn't know and couldn't have done anything if they had known, was not true. They knew, and could have let in many more, if not all the Jews seeking sanctuary, not just the select few deemed "worthy" for their literary or artistic merit.
At the end, Horn questions why artistic talent should be a standard, instead of "goodness" a standard set by men like Fry, himself; a person who would put himself in danger to help others. That really made me stop and think about how morality is not a part of our educational system. There is politically correct lipservice paid to the topic, and it is innate to some people, but rarely recognized. Maybe it is contradictory to honor people for selflessness (if there is a reward, is it selfless?) and yet those are the people who should be admired.
She also pointed out that many of those rescued never gave any credit or thanks to Fry, and turned down his requests for their aid in helping other refugees. Gratitude breeds embarrassment and hatred. Great artists were often not great people. A short, interesting read.
At the end, Horn questions why artistic talent should be a standard, instead of "goodness" a standard set by men like Fry, himself; a person who would put himself in danger to help others. That really made me stop and think about how morality is not a part of our educational system. There is politically correct lipservice paid to the topic, and it is innate to some people, but rarely recognized. Maybe it is contradictory to honor people for selflessness (if there is a reward, is it selfless?) and yet those are the people who should be admired.
She also pointed out that many of those rescued never gave any credit or thanks to Fry, and turned down his requests for their aid in helping other refugees. Gratitude breeds embarrassment and hatred. Great artists were often not great people. A short, interesting read.
May 11, 2017
An ineresting exploration of one of the least remembered rescuers of extremely remembered rescued. Varian Fry, with the Emergency Rescue Committee saw to the rescue of hundreds of the brightest lights of art and literature during the Vichy government, but that's not the focus of this book.
The book conveys the disappointing truth that many of the rescued, Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt, and more we pretty much giant jerks to Fry when he later came to them, and some of whom where total jerks in general. It's an uncomfortable truth that even the biggest jerks don't deserve to be sent to concentration camps.
The focus of the book is instead on what drove Fry, who had an otherwise seriously unremarkable life to undertake such a mission.
"Varian Fry's oddness was not that of a Marcel Duchamp. It was that of an Ezekiel. The real reason that no one today has heard of Varian Fry is that the gift he had is not one that we value."
The book conveys the disappointing truth that many of the rescued, Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt, and more we pretty much giant jerks to Fry when he later came to them, and some of whom where total jerks in general. It's an uncomfortable truth that even the biggest jerks don't deserve to be sent to concentration camps.
The focus of the book is instead on what drove Fry, who had an otherwise seriously unremarkable life to undertake such a mission.
"Varian Fry's oddness was not that of a Marcel Duchamp. It was that of an Ezekiel. The real reason that no one today has heard of Varian Fry is that the gift he had is not one that we value."
October 10, 2022
Surprising history and exploration of what it takes to be a hero.
Surprising exploration of what makes someone a hero and why someone who saved 1000s of intellectual has barely been recognized. Implicates the USA for having known about Nazi crimes very early. Critique of humanism and Hannah Arandt as a bonus.
Surprising exploration of what makes someone a hero and why someone who saved 1000s of intellectual has barely been recognized. Implicates the USA for having known about Nazi crimes very early. Critique of humanism and Hannah Arandt as a bonus.
November 29, 2023
Read after People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present, highly recommend as an expansion on that particular essay.
January 13, 2020
Varian Fry
I read The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer and really enjoyed it. Reading this after the fact was great and helped me realize just how many of the characters were real people. I also found the discussion about the motivation behind efforts like Fry’s.
I read The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer and really enjoyed it. Reading this after the fact was great and helped me realize just how many of the characters were real people. I also found the discussion about the motivation behind efforts like Fry’s.
December 30, 2020
Fabulous Book About an Unknown Rescuer
As a first generation American whose parents both escaped a war torn Europe I was surprised to read of a rescuer I had never heard of. And like Dara Horn I wish more rescuers would have rescued more of the Yekke, Litvak and Hassidic cultures my parents were born into
As a first generation American whose parents both escaped a war torn Europe I was surprised to read of a rescuer I had never heard of. And like Dara Horn I wish more rescuers would have rescued more of the Yekke, Litvak and Hassidic cultures my parents were born into
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews