Waitstill Sharp
Encyclopedia
Waitstill Hastings Sharp (1902-1984) was a Harvard College
graduate and Unitarian
minister. He was the son of naturalist author and professor Dallas Lore Sharp
and Grace Hastings and a descendant of Thomas Hastings (colonist)
who came from the East Anglia
region of England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony
in 1634. The Sharps were recruited by members of the American Unitarian Association
, including Robert Dexter
to accept a posting in Czechoslovakia, as representatives of a new program to help endangered refugees. With his wife Martha Sharp
, in 1939 he administered relief to hundreds of endangered Jews and other refugees in Prague. In the following year, Waitstill and Martha traveled to southern Europe to continue a relief and rescue program for endangered refugees as representatives of the newly formed Unitarian Service Committee. While visiting southern France, Waitstill worked closely with the World YMCA
to help Czech servicemen to escape from Vichy France. Waitstill also forged a collaboration with Varian Fry
to look after Fry's refugee clients in Lisbon. In this capacity, Waitstill personally escorted the novelist Lion Feuchtwanger
from Marseille to America.
In 2006, Waitstill Sharp and Martha were named by Yad Vashem
as Righteous among the Nations
. They were the second and third Americans so honored (the first being Varian Fry
).
A documentary chronicling their heroic efforts is being produced by their grandson, Artemis A.W. Joukowsky, III, through the support and partnership of WETA, PBS, the Unitarian Universalist community, several well known foundations and many individuals. There is a trailer available on the film's web site, http://journeytofreedomfilm.com/
There is also an educational curriculum, now being used by several school systems, and an archive, including pieces featured at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. More information at http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007198
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
graduate and Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
minister. He was the son of naturalist author and professor Dallas Lore Sharp
Dallas Lore Sharp
Dallas Lore Sharp was an American author and university professor, born at Haleyville, Cumberland Co., N. J. He graduated at Brown University in 1895, served as a Methodist Episcopal minister for four years, and graduated at the Boston University School of Theology in 1899. He married Grace...
and Grace Hastings and a descendant of Thomas Hastings (colonist)
Thomas Hastings (colonist)
Thomas Hastings was a prominent English immigrant to New England, one of the approximately 20,000 immigrants who came as part of the Great Migration. A Deacon of the church, among his many public offices he served on the Committee of Colony Assessments in 1640 and as Deputy for Watertown to the...
who came from the East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
region of England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
in 1634. The Sharps were recruited by members of the American Unitarian Association
American Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
, including Robert Dexter
Robert Dexter
Robert Dexter was the founder of the Unitarian Service Committee, which during World War II was the most significant program of any American church in the rescue and assistance of Jewish refugees and the victims of Nazism in Europe.-Early life:...
to accept a posting in Czechoslovakia, as representatives of a new program to help endangered refugees. With his wife Martha Sharp
Martha Sharp
Martha Ingham Dickie Sharp-Cogan was an American philanthropist who, along with her husband Waitstill Sharp, helped hundreds of Jews to escape Nazi persecution by sending them off through Czechoslovakia-Social Work:...
, in 1939 he administered relief to hundreds of endangered Jews and other refugees in Prague. In the following year, Waitstill and Martha traveled to southern Europe to continue a relief and rescue program for endangered refugees as representatives of the newly formed Unitarian Service Committee. While visiting southern France, Waitstill worked closely with the World YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
to help Czech servicemen to escape from Vichy France. Waitstill also forged a collaboration with 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:...
to look after Fry's refugee clients in Lisbon. In this capacity, Waitstill personally escorted the novelist Lion Feuchtwanger
Lion Feuchtwanger
Lion Feuchtwanger was a German-Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht....
from Marseille to America.
In 2006, Waitstill Sharp and Martha were named by Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
as Righteous among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
. They were the second and third Americans so honored (the first being 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:...
).
A documentary chronicling their heroic efforts is being produced by their grandson, Artemis A.W. Joukowsky, III, through the support and partnership of WETA, PBS, the Unitarian Universalist community, several well known foundations and many individuals. There is a trailer available on the film's web site, http://journeytofreedomfilm.com/
There is also an educational curriculum, now being used by several school systems, and an archive, including pieces featured at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. More information at http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007198