Marc Chagall: Rescuing a Master from the Nazis
- Marc chagall once commented if he wasn't Jewish, he might not have been an artist.
- "He tells the story of Shabbat, from back of his memories," Meyer said of the drawing.
- She recalled watching her grandfather work: "I watched him paint, and I loved it.
Marc chagall once commented if he wasn’t Jewish, he might not have been an artist. his faith profoundly influenced his works like “The Praying Jew,” such as, and also a never-before-seen work that Chagall gave to his granddaughter, Bella Meyer.
“He tells the story of Shabbat, from back of his memories,” Meyer said of the drawing.
She recalled watching her grandfather work: ”I watched him paint, and I loved it. I adored him.”
Marc Chagall © 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, paris; CBS News
But her grandfather’s faith also got him in trouble. In Russia where he was born, Chagall was jailed for not having his Jewish residency papers.He later moved to Paris. “France,for him,meant freedom,” said Meyer – freedom,that is,until the Nazis marched into paris in 1940.
“For him he was French, rather than Jew,” Meyer said.
The Nazis didn’t see it that way. They considered Chagall’s work “degenerate art.” In 1941, the Vichy police tracked him down in Marseilles in the south of France and detained him yet again. Had it not been for the courage of strangers – non-Jews mostly, who risked their own lives to help smuggle him and his paintings to safety – that might have been the last we ever heard about Marc Chagall.
“I would feel better if you held me.” I picked him up, and he died in my arms. We buried him in the basement sitting up, because someone told me that was the way to bury a Jew.” – Alex Roslan, Poland
Dwork believes whatever the motivation of rescuers was, in the case of the Holocaust, the end often justified the means.
I asked, ”So, there really isn’t necessarily a line that connects them all, other than the fact that they must’ve had good souls?”
“Sometimes they didn’t even have good souls!” said Dwork. “Sometimes greed motivated them. And I say three cheers for greed, because it was thanks to the greed that they put their lives at risk, or put themselves in harm’s way.”
W.W. Norton 
Her latest book, “Saints and Liars: The Story of Americans Who Saved Refugees from the Nazis” (W.W. Norton), is about American relief workers who helped save Jewish refugees. Most of the Americans you’ve likely never heard of. “Think about it: The best known of the Americans is Varian Fry, and very few people know about him,” she said.
Varian Fry brings us full circle, for he was t
A Question of Courage: Remembering Varian Fry and the ”Righteous Among the Nations”
the question lingers: what would you do? That’s the core of any conversation about the “Righteous Among the Nations,” individuals who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. It’s a question that exposes uncomfortable truths about human nature and the limits of courage.
Nick Davis reflects a common sentiment: “I have a wife and two amazing daughters, and I don’t know that I would risk their lives for a perfect stranger. Let me correct that: I know I wouldn’t risk their lives for a perfect stranger.”
Bella Meyer echoes this struggle, stating, “I wish I would have the courage to do even a little ounce of it.”
The stories of those who did act are frequently enough shrouded in secrecy. Those who hid Jews in attics, basements, or crawlspaces rarely survived to tell their tales. Their bravery remains a powerful, and challenging, example.
The Yad vashem institution recognizes thes individuals as “Righteous Among the Nations,” a title bestowed upon non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination. As of January 25, 2026, over 28,000 individuals have been granted this honor.
“The Righteous Among the Nations are a testament to the power of human compassion and the importance of standing up against injustice, even in the face of unimaginable danger.” – Yad Vashem official statement.
Varian Fry is one such example.An American journalist, Fry went to Vichy France in 1940 with a small amount of money and a mission: to help artists and intellectuals escape Nazi persecution. He quickly expanded his efforts to include anyone facing imminent danger, forging documents and organizing escape routes.
- Fry helped over 2,500 people escape the Nazis.
- He operated under constant threat of arrest and execution.
- His actions where often in direct defiance of American policy at the time.
The question remains,however: how many others acted with similar courage,and how many more might have,given the circumstances? It’s a question that demands honest reflection and a commitment to remembering the lessons of the past.