MAKING A DIFFERENCE

International Conference to Examine Citizen Involvement in Refugee Relief, Rescue and Resettlement

Smith College's Kahn Liberal Arts Institute will host a special conference April 5-7 honoring the work of William Allan Neilson, the college's third president (1919-1939), as well as other founders, staff members and supporters of the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), now known as the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

The focus of the symposium is on the 1930s and 1940s, with particular attention to the ERC's clandestine operation in Marseille in 1940 and the accomplishments of Varian Fry who, representing the ERC, was responsible for rescuing some 2,000 writers, artists, intellectuals and activists from Nazi-dominated Europe in 1940. It will also address the experiences of exiles from Fascism and Nazism and their impact on American and other societies.

Several panels, which will include scholars, writers, refugee workers and fellows of the Institute's year-long project on "The Anatomy of Exile," will consider the critical role of the IRC and other voluntary organizations and private citizens in addressing contemporary refugee crises.

The conference will begin with a welcome from Smith's President Ruth Simmons. The plenary session, titled "William Allan Neilson and the Rescue of Refugees," will feature opening remarks by Robert DeVecchi, former president of the IRC, and a presentation by Sophia Smith Professor Peter I. Rose, organizer of the conference, who has long been concerned about refugee relief, rescue and resettlement and the unique role of the IRC in these endeavors.

Highlights of the conference will include excerpts from the new film in progress by French documentarian Pierre Sauvage, "And Crown Thy Good ... Varian Fry in Marseille"; remarks by Ruth Gruber, author of "Haven," a book -- and, recently, a CBS movie -- about the only group of refugees saved through official efforts of the United States during World War II; and an exhibition of photographs and other materials on display at the Kahn Institute in Neilson Library.
All events are free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible.

For more information about the conference, call (413) 585-3721; e-mail: kahnevents@smith.edu; or consult www.smith.edu/kahninstitute.

Contact: Marti Hobbes, mhobbes@smith.edu

March 19, 2001