& the Holocaust - PC\|MACimages.pcmac.org/SiSFiles/Schools/TN/BradleyCounty/LakeForestMiddle/Uploads... · & the Holocaust: ORLEANS 45 km PARIS ... memory? Introducing ... On to Hendaye,

& the Holocaust: ORLEANS 45 km

PARIS 48 km

A Curious Connection

Just Curious…

Name State/Chapter Email Address

Years in Education

Just Curious…

What is your favorite Curious George

memory?

Introducing…

HANS AUGUSTO REYERSBACH

• Sept. 16, 1898: Born in Hamburg, Germany

• 1925: Moves to Rio de Janiero, Brazil

MARGARETE WALDSTEIN

• May 16, 1906: Born in Hamburg, Germany

• 1935: Moves to Rio de Janiero, Brazil thereycenter.org

http://digilib.usm.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/rey/id/45/rec/10

Examining Primary Sources

How is the story revealed through primary source documents?

http://digilib.usm.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/rey/id/771/rec/445

Married August 1935*

Life in Paris • The Reys went to Europe for their

honeymoon, planning to stay two weeks.

• They stayed in France for four years.

• Lived in the “artsy” neighborhood of Montmartre at the Terrras Hotel

• The Reys also spent some time in the

French countryside. (Could they be spies?!)

Evian Conference • July 6—15, 1938 in Evian, France

• Representatives from 32 countries

• Only the Dominican Republic agreed to accept more refugees.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?MediaId=2532

Early Summer 1940 • Approximately 350,000 Jews in France; less

than half were French citizens

• May 10: German forces invaded France

• May 23: The Reys begin making preparations to leave Paris.

• June 11: H.A. Rey buys spare parts and builds two bicycles.

World’s Largest

Motorized Evacuation

• June 12, 1940: 5 million people on the roads of France

– Cars, taxis, buses, farm carts

– Bicycles

– Walking

What Would You Take?

• A few clothes

• Winter coats

• Food (bread, cheese, meat, water)

• Umbrella

• Han’s pipe

• Manuscripts

June 1940

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30

Paris to Etampes,

48 km by Bike

Etampes to Acquebouille, 26 km by Bike

Acquebouille to Orleans

32 km by Bike; Board train to

Bayonne

Train to Bayonne

Arrive in Bayonne by Train

Bayonne To Biarritz,

8.4 km by Bike; On to Hendaye, 32 km by Bike

In Hendaye, Sell Bikes;

Board train to Fuentes de Onoro

Train through Spain and Portugal

Arrive in Lisbon

by Train

The Reys’ Journey

Fleeing Paris

http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/news/2009/reyexhibit.html

http://ww2today.com/5th-june-1940-refugees-flee-the-german-advance

http://www.fleeinghitler.org/story/philip-smith-summer-1940-the-fateful-day/

Fleeing Paris

Fleeing Paris

Elizabeth Kaufmann

http://www.ushmm.org

Paris Falls

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?MediaId=5771

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?MediaId=1678

Adolf Hitler and his personal architect, Albert Speer, in Paris shortly after the fall of France.

Paris, France, June 23, 1940.

German troops march into Paris. France, June 1940.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_nm.php?MediaId=1637

June 1940

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30

Paris to Etampes,

48 km by Bike

Etampes to Acquebouille, 26 km by Bike

Acquebouille to Orleans

32 km by Bike; Board train to

Bayonne

Train to Bayonne

Arrive in Bayonne by Train

Bayonne To Biarritz,

8.4 km by Bike; On to Hendaye, 32 km by Bike

In Hendaye, Sell Bikes;

Board train to Fuentes de Onoro

Train through Spain and Portugal

Arrive in Lisbon

by Train

The Reys’ Journey

The Reys’ Journey

http://maps.google.com/ http://www.amazon.com

The Reys’ Journey

• Biked approximately 106 km or 64 miles in the first three days of evacuation

• During the journey, the Reys slept in a farmhouse, barn, school, restaurant, and on several trains.

• After reaching Lisbon, they sailed to Rio

de Janiero and finally to New York City.

The Reys’ Journey

Curious George to the Rescue

• Late Autumn 1939: Reys suspected of being German spies in Paris

• March 1940: Payment advance from French publisher was used to help finance the escape from Paris

• June 1940: Inspection of papers while on train headed south

Others Were Not

So Fortunate…

• During the Holocaust, 77,000 Jews deported from France died.

• Two-thirds of those were foreign-born (just like the Reys).

Curious George Published

• Contract signed in October 1940 for four books, including Curious George

• Book published in Fall 1941

Curious George Published

• Has sold over 30 million copies

• Translated into 16 languages

The Beloved Curious George

September 2011: rare first edition

Curious George book sold at auction for…

Julie Mitchell, Ed.D.

Tennessee Alpha Theta [email protected]