Waitstill Hastings Sharp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitstill_Sharp

From Looking Back On The Life of Waitstill Hastings Sharp Jr.

A remarkable documentary film, Two Who Dared: The Sharps’ War has been produced by Artemis Jukowsky III, the Reverend Sharp’s grandson. Jukowsky , a non-profit activist, film producer and venture capitalist said it took ten years to complete the film which is expected to be shown in Los Angeles and other cities through a grass-roots, community based effort, at churches, synagogues, theaters and schools in cities worldwide the week starting April 7, Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Martha Sharp and her husband, Waitstill, departed for Czechoslovakia in February 1938 on a refugee mission. The Sharps arrived in Prague, the location of the largest Unitarian church in the world, with $28,000 in aid. The church had created a network of volunteers and agencies to provide for the safe passage of Jews and non-Jews out of Prague. The Nazis entered Prague in 1939 creating a dangerous situation for Reverend Sharp and his wife Martha who risked arrest and execution for their work.
In June 1940 the Sharps set up an office in Lisbon, Portugal to continue their refugee work. They travelled to Nazi controlled France to assist refugees escape. They were responsible for helping the renowned German Jewish author, Lion Feuchtwanger escape to New York. Feuchtwanger settled in Pacific Palisades. His residence Villa Aurora is now the site of a foundation.
Two Who Dared: The Sharps’ War documents the lives of Reverend Waitstill Sharp and his wife Martha using their recorded interviews, letters and unpublished memoirs. The Sharps are honored in Israel as Righteous Among The Nations at Yad Vashem the memorial to the millions of Jews who perished during the Holocaust.
At Yad Vashem, the names of three Americans are inscribed: Waitstill Hastings Sharp, Martha Sharp and their friend Varian Fry.

From "Defying the Nazis: Discovering the Heroic Legacy of Martha and Waitstill Sharp" May 05, 2016 By Artemis Joukowsky

"The Sharps as they emerged from the research were quintessentially American, in the best and truest sense. They were relentless optimists, but also realists; fearless, but hardly foolhardy; resourceful and quick-witted; brave, but more importantly, determined and tireless. They persevered through terror and anger, joy, frustration, privation, tragedy and innumerable heart-stopping moments when lives hung in the balance. Through it all, these creedless freethinkers were buoyed by a fullness of spirit that only intensified as the threat of death lurked ever nearer. ..."

---

• http://isurvived.org/Rightheous_Folder/Sharp_REV_and-Martha.html
• http://lostfootagefilms.com/portfolio-item/two-who-dared-the-sharps...
  • Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Sep 22 2016, 5:57:44 UTC

   Link to the Documentary  -Click below   DEFYING THE NAZIS: THE SHARPS’ WAR | Ken Burns | PBS    

• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1339660/videoplayer/vi286303769?ref_=t...