Mary Jayne Gold
Encyclopedia
Mary Jayne Gold was an American heiress who played an important role helping Europe
an Jews and intellectual
s escape Nazi Germany
in 1940-1941, during World War II
.
Born in Chicago, Illinois into a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
family of considerable wealth, Mary Jayne Gold was educated at the Master's School at Dobbs Ferry, New York
and a finishing school in Italy
. In the 1930s, her money allowed her to enjoy the vibrant social scene in London
and Paris, France. Piloting her own airplane, she traveled around Europe, spending her time at luxury hotels, skiing at the best resorts in the Alps
, and socializing with the elite of the day.
The beautiful young lady was living in her chic Paris apartment and enjoying the nightlife with an endless supply of handsome suitors when France fell to the onslaught of the German
army in 1940. Gold fled to the Mediterranean
seaport of Marseille
in southern France which, although not Nazi
occupied, was under the control of the collaborationist Vichy
regime. In Marseille she met Miriam Davenport
, an American art student, and Varian Fry
, an American journalist and intellect. Fry had come to France on a personal mission to help members of Europe's intellectual and artistic community escape the Nazi threat. In the armistice agreement between Germany and defeated France, France had agreed to "surrender on demand" refugees to the Nazis.
Instead of returning to the safety of the United States, Mary Jayne Gold chose to remain and joined Davenport and Fry along with other volunteers in sheltering refugees and organizing their escape through the mountains to Spain
or by smuggling them aboard freighters
sailing to either North Africa
or ports in North
or South America
. She was helped in part by returning French Foreign Legion
naire turned local gangster
Raymond Couraud
, who became her lover.
Mary Jayne Gold helped subsidize the operation which is credited with participating in the rescue of some 2,000 refugees, Among the escapees were notables such as the sculptor Jacques Lipchitz
, artist Marc Chagall
, writer Hannah Arendt
and Nobel Prize winner, Otto Meyerhof.
In fall 1941, Mary Jayne Gold returned to the United States, while Couraud traveled to Sapin and onwards to England, where he became a war hero in the Special Air Service
.
After the war, she divided her time between her apartment in New York City and a house she had built in the village of Gassin
, Var
, not far from St. Tropez, on the French Riviera
. In 1980, she wrote about her wartime experiences in the memoir "Crossroads Marseilles 1940," published by Doubleday in 1980, and republished in France in 2001 by Mary Jayne Gold's literary heir Pierre Sauvage.
Mary Jayne Gold never married and had no children. She died of pancreatic cancer in 1997 at her villa in Gassin.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Jews and intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s escape Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 1940-1941, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Born in Chicago, Illinois into a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
family of considerable wealth, Mary Jayne Gold was educated at the Master's School at Dobbs Ferry, New York
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 at the 2010 census.The Village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a part of, the town of Greenburgh...
and a finishing school in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In the 1930s, her money allowed her to enjoy the vibrant social scene in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris, France. Piloting her own airplane, she traveled around Europe, spending her time at luxury hotels, skiing at the best resorts in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, and socializing with the elite of the day.
The beautiful young lady was living in her chic Paris apartment and enjoying the nightlife with an endless supply of handsome suitors when France fell to the onslaught of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
army in 1940. Gold fled to the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
seaport of Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
in southern France which, although not Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
occupied, was under the control of the collaborationist Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
regime. In Marseille she met Miriam Davenport
Miriam Davenport
Miriam Davenport was an American painter and sculptor who played an important role helping European Jews and intellectuals escape the Holocaust during World War II...
, an American art student, and Varian Fry
Varian Fry
Varian Mackey Fry was an American journalist. Fry ran a rescue network in Vichy France that helped approximately 2,000 to 4,000 anti-Nazi and Jewish refugees to escape Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.-Early life:...
, an American journalist and intellect. Fry had come to France on a personal mission to help members of Europe's intellectual and artistic community escape the Nazi threat. In the armistice agreement between Germany and defeated France, France had agreed to "surrender on demand" refugees to the Nazis.
Instead of returning to the safety of the United States, Mary Jayne Gold chose to remain and joined Davenport and Fry along with other volunteers in sheltering refugees and organizing their escape through the mountains to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
or by smuggling them aboard freighters
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
sailing to either North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
or ports in North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
or South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. She was helped in part by returning French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
naire turned local gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
Raymond Couraud
Raymond Couraud
Raymond Couraud , is a French soldier and gangster, who through his World War II military exploits became a highly decorated member of the French-section of the British Army's Special Air Service.-Biography:Raymond Couraud was born on 12 January 1920 at Surgères, Charente-Maritime, France...
, who became her lover.
Mary Jayne Gold helped subsidize the operation which is credited with participating in the rescue of some 2,000 refugees, Among the escapees were notables such as the sculptor Jacques Lipchitz
Jacques Lipchitz
Jacques Lipchitz was a Cubist sculptor.Jacques Lipchitz was born Chaim Jacob Lipchitz, son of a building contractor in Druskininkai, Lithuania, then within the Russian Empire...
, artist Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, writer Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...
and Nobel Prize winner, Otto Meyerhof.
In fall 1941, Mary Jayne Gold returned to the United States, while Couraud traveled to Sapin and onwards to England, where he became a war hero in the Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
.
After the war, she divided her time between her apartment in New York City and a house she had built in the village of Gassin
Gassin
Gassin is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It is located right next to Saint-Tropez. Perched high up on a rock, it is less than from the sea...
, Var
Var (département)
The Var is a French department in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in Provence, in southeast France. It takes its name from the river Var, which used to flow along its eastern boundary, but the boundary was moved in 1860...
, not far from St. Tropez, on the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
. In 1980, she wrote about her wartime experiences in the memoir "Crossroads Marseilles 1940," published by Doubleday in 1980, and republished in France in 2001 by Mary Jayne Gold's literary heir Pierre Sauvage.
Mary Jayne Gold never married and had no children. She died of pancreatic cancer in 1997 at her villa in Gassin.
Suggested reading
- Peggy GuggenheimPeggy GuggenheimMarguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim was an American art collector. Born to a wealthy New York City family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with the Titanic in 1912 and the niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who would establish the Solomon R...
, Out of This Century, Confessions of an Art Addict, (Foreword by Gore VidalGore VidalGore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
, (Introduction by Alfred H. Barr Jr.), ANCHOR BOOKS, Doubleday & Company, Inc. Universe Books 1979, ISBN 0385-17109-9