Robert H. Gillette

The Virginia Plan was recommended by a member of my RLBG. It is the story of how a Jewish business owner and leader in Richmond, Virginia, worked to save Jewish youth from the Nazis. William B. Thalhimer owned a department store and was a member of a Jewish resettlement group. His plan was to bring German Jewish students to his farm in Virginia. The story connects with the recent PBS series about America and the Holocaust as the author details the challenges related to getting visas. The students who came were part of an agricultural experiment in Germany called Gross Breesen. The community was targeted during Kristalnacht and the leaders and students spent some time in a concentration camp.

I appreciate these mini-histories that focus on regional history. You can learn more about Hyde Park Farm at Virginia's Department of Natural Resources.… (plus d'informations)