A resolution 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. 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.