In June 1940, the Sharps flew to Lisbon, Portugal, and began working out of the newly established Unitarian Service Committee headquarters to help French refugees. They spent their first weeks arranging a shipment of condensed milk from the Nestlé Company to Marseille. Then they distributed milk and clothing to Pau, France, an area the Red Cross could not reach because of failed negotiations with German officials.
Partnering with American journalist Varian Fry and his Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), Waitstill returned to Lisbon as the organization’s liaison. He helped the ERC rescue intellectuals targeted by the Nazis. Among others, the ERC successfully relocated writers Lion Feuchtwanger, Franz Werfel, Heinrich Mann, and Nobel Prize winning biochemist Otto Meyerhof, along with their families. Remaining in Marseille, Martha worked with the U.S. Committee for the Care of European Children to obtain exit visas, permits, and various other documents necessary to facilitate the emigration of ten adults and twenty-seven children.
LISTEN! This clip provided by Facing History and Ourselves features Eva Feigl, one of the children rescued from France as a child, describing how she became a part of Martha Sharp’s group and the journey to the United States.
Exhibited items :
“Croix-Rouge Française.”
Hand-painted textile banner, circa 1940
Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection
Sociedade de Produtos Lacteos representative to Waitstill Sharp
Two-page typed letter, August 1940
Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection
Ledger for milk distribution in French villages
Handwritten by Martha Sharp, circa 1940
Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection
Martha Sharp and government representatives at the arrival of the Nestlé shipment; recipients of the milk donation at an orphanage
Two photographs from summer 1940
Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection
List of passengers in need of Portuguese visas in preparation for voyage
S. Committee For The Care of European Children record, circa November 1940
Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection
Notes tracking secured visas in preparation for voyage
S. Committee For The Care of European Children record, circa November 1940
Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection
Martha Sharp posing with the group of emigrating children; Diamant triplets upon arrival in the U.S. and two years later in Portland, Oregon
Three photographs from December 1940, 1942
Martha and Waitstill Sharp Collection