Germany
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Albert O. Hirschman
Berlin, Germany
Archival Overview
German-born American political economist who wrote Exit, Voice, and Loyalty, and during World War II served as Varian Fry's right-hand man in Marseille, saving thousands of refugees from the Nazis.
Biographical Record
Otto Albert Hirschmann fled Nazi Germany in 1933, fighting in the Spanish Civil War and joining the French Army. In 1940, in Marseille, he served as deputy to Varian Fry in the Emergency Rescue Committee, helping smuggle Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt, André Breton, and Max Ernst out of occupied France.
Emigrating to the United States, Hirschman taught at Yale, Columbia, and Harvard before joining the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. In his 1970 masterwork 'Exit, Voice, and Loyalty', he conceptualized how consumers, citizens, and members respond to decline in firms and states, pioneering development economics and the 'possibilism' of social reform.
Key Life Milestones
Marseille Emergency Rescue Operations
Helped Varian Fry organize the clandestine escape of thousands of artists and intellectuals from Nazi-occupied Europe.
Exit, Voice, and Loyalty
Published his classic interdisciplinary treatise on organizational behavior and democratic resistance.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialPrinceton, United States