“Permission to enter Siam”: How the Consul of Thailand in Marseille Saved the Lives of Refugees during World War II

Abstract Robert Vimont-Vicary was consul of Siam/Thailand in Marseille from 1919 to 1941. He issued hundreds of visas and travel documents to Jews and other refugees piling into the city from 1940 to 1941, which allowed them to emigrate to safety in Portugal and beyond. Vimont-Vicary worked closely with the individuals and networks that organized diplomatic rescue operations in Marseille, like Frank Bohn, Varian Fry, Donald Lowrie, and others. Already under surveillance by Vichy’s secret service since 1940, Vimont-Vicary’s exequatur was revoked in 1941 by the French state and the Thai consulate was shut down. Robert Vimont-Vicary died an untimely death in 1942 and fell into obscurity for over eighty years. Based on previously unused primary sources, this article explores Vimont-Vicary’s actions and motives, traces individual refugees who received Siamese visas, and establishes a connection between Siam/Thailand and the Holocaust for the first time.