May - June 2006

H.A. Rey, Curious George & Bikes

By Alfredo Garcia

Hans Augusto Reyersbach, known as H.A. Rey and his wife, Margret Waldstein Rey, are world-renowned for their Curious George storybooks.

Both born in Germany, met & married in Brazil. They developed a budding literary & art partnership. Eventually returned to 1930’s Europe to Paris, France.

1940, World War II: the Nazis were approaching France. The country was in a panic. Hans and Margret’s lives were about to change. Being Jews, they had every reason to fear the invaders.

Hans thought about bicycles. At a local shop, he & Margret test rode a tandem. It was not to their liking. Undaunted, Hans, self-made constructeur, created two bicycles from spare parts.

Their uncertain & adventurous two-wheeled escape from Paris began June 11, 1940, on a rainy day to Orleans. They took bikes, sparse possessions, including Curious George artwork, on a train to Bayonne. They continued cycling to Hendaye. Before leaving France, they sold their bikes.

The rest is history. The Reys safely entered Spain & Portugal and took an ocean liner back to Brazil. Then to New York City, finding postwar fame & fortune with their Curious George storybooks, still popular today, with a 2006 movie.

Source: Dinitia Smith’s “How Curious George Escaped the Nazis” NY Times, Sept. 13, 2005 and Louise Borden & Allan Drummond’s book “The Journey That Saved Curious George,” Houghton Mifflin, 2005.