NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Oct. 15 is officially Varian Fry Day in Connecticut.

For the first time, the state is officially honoring the journalist, educator and activist who fought to save people from the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s.

“It’s unfortunate, even tragic, that Fry’s extraordinary deeds continue to be, generally, unknown,” professor David Pettigrew said, from Southern Connecticut State University’s (SCSU) department of philosophy.

Pettigrew said he hopes that Fry’s anonymity changes starting on Wednesday, the very first official Varian Fry Day in Connecticut.

Fry was one of the first journalists to report on the violence the Nazis were committing in Europe in the 1930s. When his reporting failed to elicit the international outrage he had expected, he joined a group called the E

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