Transatlantic on Netflix: Is the new survival drama based on a true story?

Transatlantic is a limited series that makes its debut on Friday, April 7, 2023, exclusively on Netflix. The miniseries has taken its main inspiration from writer Julie Orringer's novel, The Flight Portfolio. Anna Winger and Daniel Hendler are the creators of the highly gripping limited series. Stéphanie Chuat, Mia Meyer, and Véronique Reymond have served as the directors.

The official synopsis of Transatlantic, as per Netflix, reads:

"Two Americans and their allies form a scrappy rescue operation in 1940 Marseilles to help artists, writers and other refugees fleeing Europe during WWII."

The miniseries is inspired by the astounding real-life story of the Emergency Rescue Committee, led by American journalist Varian Fry during World War II.

The Transatlantic cast list includes Cory Michael Smith, Gillian Jacobs, Lucas Englander, Ralph Amoussou, Gregory Montel, Moritz Bleibtreu, Jonas Nay, Deleila Piasko, Corey Stoll, and several others.

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The inspiring true story behind Netflix's brand-new miniseries, Transatlantic, explored

The brand new limited series centers around the complex functions and processes of the Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC), established during World War II, that helped nearly 2,000 to 4,000 refugees in escaping Marseille and the oppression of the Nazis.

The Netflix miniseries features an intriguing blend of real-life characters and some fictional figures specifically created for the series.

The list of real-life characters in the miniseries includes Andre Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Hannah Arendt, Marc Chagall, and Max Ernst.

The ERC is currently being turned into the International Rescue Committee (IRC) after merging with the International Relief Association, which was established by legendary scientist Albert Einstein in 1933. The organization has been helping and saving people all across the globe to escape serious conflicts and even natural disasters.

A still of Varian Fry (Image Via International Rescue Committee)

The miniseries will highlight how American journalist Varian Fry worked on their mission tirelessly along with other allies to help Jewish and anti-Nazi refugees flee the Holocaust.

Some of Varian Fry’s supporters and followers included Mary Jayne Gold, an American heiress residing in France in the 1930s, and Miriam Davenport, an American painter and sculptor. The American journalist was also actively supported by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to construct and lead the ERC.

Mary Jayne Gold helped finance the ERC along with Albert O. Hirschman, a young economist and academic, also aiding the organization.

Other individuals who helped Varian Fry include Hiram Bingham IV (Thompson), the American Vice Consul of Marseilles, who processed visas for refugees, and Alfred Barr, the Museum Director at MoMa, alongside his wife Margaret Scolari Barr, who was an art historian.

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A still of Varian Fry (Image Via United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

While talking about the miniseries being based on a true story, the showrunner and creator of Transatlantic, Anna Winger, said in a press release:

"Close to my heart...journeys from darkness into light. When I was growing up in the United States, my parents were professors. Many of their colleagues and friends had come over as refugees during WWII" (Via Express)

She further said:

"Their deeply affecting stories of getting out of Europe were the stuff of local legend—some with the Kindertransport, some via Shanghai, others via Japan—and a few were helped by Varian Fry. Two had even worked with him in Marseille." (Via Express)

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Catch Transatlantic on Netflix this Friday, April 7, 2023.