arts&life

exhibits

The Great Escape

The true story of how Curious George

survived the Nazis is told through an

illustrated exhibit at the HMC.

GLENN OSWALD SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

C

urious George loved to go
on adventures.
But it was thanks to a
real-life “adventure” that read-
ers have been able to enjoy the
irrepressible little monkey for
more than 75 years. German-
born Jews Margret and H.A. Rey,
the husband-and-wife creators of
Curious George, endured a fas-
cinating, harrowing and largely
unknown WWII saga.
“The True Wartime Escape
of Margret and H.A. Rey,” the
newest exhibit at the Holocaust
Memorial Center Zekelman
Family Campus in Farmington
Hills, tells the true story of the
Reys. The exhibit runs through
July 5 and is recommended for
visitors ages 12 and older.
The Reys were living and
working in Paris when the
Germans invaded in 1940. The
couple knew they were in danger
and H.A. (Hans) built two bicy-
cles from one tandem bicycle
and prepared for their escape.
Louise Borden, an award-win-
ning children’s book author with
a particular interest in World
War II, read about the Reys’
escape in an article in Publishers
Weekly, and “just like the Reys’
famous little monkey,” she says,
Borden was curious. “I was
intrigued by the story of Margret
and H.A. Rey’s flight from Paris
— on bicycle — in June 1940.”
Over the course of several
years, Borden spoke, wrote and
emailed with people in England,
France, Germany and Portugal
who had known Margret and
H.A. Rey. Borden traveled to
many small towns and cities
based upon the addresses found
in letters and work diaries the
Reys’ wrote from 1936 to 1940,
when they lived in Paris.
Borden’s research culminated

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April 26 • 2018

TOP: Louise Borden’s book, on which
the exhibit is based, shows Escape from
Paris by Allan Drummond on its cover.
RIGHT: The Long Road by Allan
Drummond shows the Reys fleeing the
city in 1940.

in her book The Journey that
Saved Curious George (Houghton
Mifflin; illustrated by Allan
Drummond), which inspired
the exhibit at the Holocaust
Memorial Center (HMC).
“Louise’s wonderful book
enabled all of us to learn about
the Reys’ journey to safety,
which not only saved H.A. and
Margret’s lives — a tremendous
feat during the war — but had
a positive impact on millions of
children who cherish Curious
George and his adventures,” said
HMC CEO Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld.
The exhibit features photos of
the Reys, illustrations by Allan
Drummond, and several keep-
sakes, including H.A.’s copious
notes in his pocket diary detail-
ing their five-month wartime
escape from Paris to New York.
It also highlights several artifacts
from the HMC’s archives and
Detroit-area survivors.
Borden was in town earlier

jn

this month for an exclusive HMC
membership event to kickoff
the special exhibit. When speak-
ing to members, she told the
story of H.A. and Margret Rey
and their five-month odyssey
through five countries to escape
the Nazis. To stay safe, the
couple traveled by bicycle and
train through France, Spain and
Portugal before taking a 13-day
ocean voyage to South America.
Among their few personal pos-
sessions that they managed

to take with them were the
manuscript and illustrations of
the book that would eventually
become Curious George.
H.A. and Margret arrived in
New York on Oct. 14, 1940, and
one month later received a
contract from Houghton Mifflin
for The Adventures of Fifi. The
following year, the renamed
Curious George was published.
H.A. and Margret became U.S.
citizens in 1946.
“I’m so pleased that Allan

Drummond’s wonderful illustra-
tions are on exhibit to be seen by
friends of the HMC and the sur-
rounding community,” Borden
said. “Allan’s art, which frames
the text of my story, is a perfect
partner for the iconic art of H. A.
Rey,” who did the illustrations for
the Curious George books.
“The world needs Holocaust
museums to tell the stories of
unspeakable evil, and some-
times of bravery and kindness,”
said Cheryl Guyer, director of