The real-life Varian Fry helped thousands escape the Nazis

Official trailer for Netflix’s ‘Transatlantic’

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Transatlantic on Netflix

Transatlantic launched on Netflix globally, chronicling the incredible true story of American journalist Varian Fry (played by Cory Michael Smith) and his group of friends including Chicago heiress Mart Jayne Gold (Gillian Jacobs) and German economist Albert Hirschmann (Lucas Englander), who worked with the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC) in the 1940s to assist refugees fleeing from the Nazis during World War II. The seven-part series is adapted from Julie Orringer’s 2019 novel The Flight Portfolio. Transatlantic mixes together fact and fiction to tell a compelling tale of the humble beginnings of the ERC, which later merged with the International Relief Association in 1933 to become the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the IRC, which continues to help those displaced through conflict and natural disasters including victims of the Turkey-Syria earthquake and the Ukraine war, to name but a few.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, the IRC’s President and CEO David Miliband said: “It’s such an honour that the origin story of the International Rescue Committee has inspired Transatlantic.

“I’m looking forward to watching the story of Varian Fry and of his colleagues translated to the screen.”

The former Foreign Secretary and Labour MP went on to say: “The IRC grew out of the goal, transformed into action, to support people during times of conflict to survive and rebuild their lives.

“Transatlantic shines a light on the work of volunteers and humanitarians – carried out at great risk to themselves – and on the plight of millions of people forced to flee their homes.

“Today, over 100 million people are displaced – the biggest figure since Fry’s time – due to conflict, crisis, and climate change.”

Miliband praised to organisation’s early work: “Fry and his colleagues were brought together by ingenuity and courage, assisting over 4,000 people with the means to survive in, and escape from, Vichy France.

“From the Airbel Impact Lab to the civilian heroes we employ in 40 countries and 28 U.S. cities to support refugees, the spirit of Fry and those like him persists in IRC’s work today, as we proudly mark our 90th anniversary this year.”

What happened to the real Varian Fry?

At the end of Transatlantic, Fry and Gold returned to America, while Albert and Hotel Splendide’s concierge Paul Kandjo (Ralph Amoussou) remained in Europe to continue to fight against the Nazis. But what became of the real-life figure of Fry?

Born in New York and attending Harvard University, Fry initially served as a researcher and editor for various American publications during the 1930s.

At this time, he travelled to Nazi Germany where he witnessed first-hand the brutality of Hitler’s rule and the horrific treatment of Jewish people.

He wrote pieces for the New York Times 1935, describing disturbing scenes during an anti-Jewish riot in Berlin.

Fry first travelled to Marseilles in 1940 and started aiding refugees fleeing the Third Reich both legally and illegally, even contravening international laws to help as many as he could.

He worked tirelessly for 13 months in France and as Transatlantic depicts, Fry rented out a villa on the outskirts of Marseilles to house prominent refugees including artists Marc Chagall (Gera Sandler) and poet Walter Mehring (Jonas Nye).

In 1941, Fry was arrested by the French police and ordered to leave the country with immediate effect with the journalist then escorted to the Spanish border.

Despite his forced exit from France, he remained in Lisbon, Portugal for a month before eventually going back to America, where he continued to work as a journalist and detail the atrocities committed by the Nazis against Jewish people.

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As he was declared unfit for military service, Fry started instead working on his memoir.

After the death of his first wife Eileen Fry in 1948, he went on to marry Annette Riley with the couple having three children together.

After the war, he served as a high school teacher in Connecticut where he taught Latin, Greek and French, according to the United States Holocaust Museum.

Fry sadly died in 1967 while working on his memoirs, prior to his death he was awarded the Croix de Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur by France, which was the only official recognition of his wartime efforts during his lifetime.

He was posthumously awarded the Eisenhower Liberation Medal by the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in 1991 and in 1993 was honoured by the Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations.

Transatlantic is streaming on Netflix now

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