United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Hiram (Harry) Bingham IV (1903-1988), Vice Consul at the American Consulate in Marseilles from 1939 to 1941, worked with American rescue committees to help save Jews and political opponents of the Nazi regime caught in France. His wife, Rose, and children left France before the German invasion. Bingham developed contacts with members of the French resistance and assisted the rescue efforts of Varian Fry's Emergency Rescue Committee. Bingham issued hundreds of visas beyond State Department quotas, falsified others, provided papers to help refugees be released from French concentration camps, and issued affidavits in lieu of passports. In 1941 Bingham was reassigned to Lisbon and then transferred to Buenos Aires. He resigned from the Foreign Service after the war.
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The Hiram and Rose Bingham papers are arranged as three series: I. Correspondence, approximately 1940-1988, II. Photographic materials, approximately 1939-1941, III. Printed materials, approximately 1939-1989
The Hiram and Rose Bingham papers consist of correspondence, photographic materials, and printed materials documenting Hiram Bingham’s efforts to assist refugees while serving at the American Consulate in Marseilles. Correspondence includes two postcards from Hiram Bingham to his son Thomas, a letter from Varian Fry, a note from Marta Feuchtwanger, and letters from Betty and Brian Burnett and Charlie Yost. Photographs depict Hiram and Rose Bingham and their children in France, Hiram’s cousin Betty, Marc Chagall, and street scenes in France. Two photograph album pages include additional photographs of Hiram Bingham, street scenes in France, lines of refugees at the American Consulate in Marseilles, and pictures of the concentration camp at Gurs. This series also includes picture postcards of Estoril, Portugal and London, England. Printed materials include Hiram Bingham’s calling card, an obituary for Marc Chagall, a New York Times television guide advertising “War and Remembrance,” and an unidentified clipping.
Hiram and Rose Bingham papers