There are two accepted spellings for the city in France where Varian Fry worked: Marseille, the French spelling, and Marseilles, the usual spelling in English-speaking countries. The Spanish town of Portbou is also spelled Port Bou or Port-bou.
The city of Vichy was the location of the new French government created after Nazi Germany defeated France during World War II. The entire government, which collaborated with the Germans from that time on, became known as “Vichy.”
In this book, Varian Fry visits both the American Embassy and the American Consulate. The embassy was located in Vichy and was the home of the ambassador of the United States to France. The ambassador represented the President of the United States. In other cities around France, including Marseilles, there were smaller offices called consulates that were under the supervision of the embassy. The job of the American Consulate was to help American citizens and issue visas.
Many refugees climbed the Pyrenees Mountains on foot to cross the border into Spain. The amount of time it took them varied, depending on such factors as the difficulty of the terrain at the location where they crossed, and the physical condition of each individual.
Numerous people worked with Varian Fry while he was in Marseilles, and it is unknown how he met most of them. Some helped Varian secretly rescue refugees; others worked in the office of the American Relief Center and knew nothing about his rescue work. In a book of this size, it is impossible to include everyone who participated in Varian Fry’s work. That they are not mentioned by name in these pages in no way diminishes their contribution.
—C.K.M.