Defying the Nazis

DEFYING THE NAZIS: The Sharps' War
Directed by
Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky

Explore this Film:

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War is an account of a daring rescue mission that occurred on the precipice of World War II. It tells the story of Waitstill & Martha Sharp, a Unitarian minister and his wife from Wellesley, MA, who left their children behind in the care of their parish and boldly committed to multiple life-threatening missions in Europe. Over two dangerous years they helped to save hundreds of imperiled political dissidents and Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi occupation across Europe.

Visit the exhibition from the USHMM
Americans and the Holocaust

Martha and Waitstill Sharp are featured in the section titled "Americans Who Dared."

“I am most grateful . . . to all refugees who revealed high courage while their world fell apart. I only hope that my efforts were in some measure a return upon their faith and their goodwill.”
-Martha Sharp

Exhibition Honoring the Sharps at Brown University Library

NYTIMES Learning Network Publishes "Text to Text: Comparing Jewish Refugees of the 1930s With Syrian Refugees Today" by Laura Tavares

The NY Times Learning Network has published a lesson by Laura Tavares, Senior Associate at Facing History and Ourselves, that includes clips from the film! The refugee crisis is so relevant, and we are hopeful that the blog will alert educators to the film and to resources to be used at the Moral Courage Conference.

The lesson is published here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/04/learning/lesson-plans/text-to-text-comparing-jewish-refugees-of-the-1930s-with-syrian-refugees-today.html

Our film and companion book are now available at your local independent bookstore and these sellers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Autobiographies of Martha and Waitstill
Sharp available at the Kindle store!

Church Mouse in the White House
by Martha Sharp
Edited and introduced by Ghanda DiFiglia

Liberation of the Human Spirit
by Waitstill Sharp
Edited and introduced by Ghanda DiFiglia