The True Story of How Curious George Escaped the Nazis
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Curious George became one of the most beloved characters in children’s literature, his creators were fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe with little more than a few belongings and their book manuscripts. Among them was the story that would become the first Curious George book.
Louise Borden, author of The Journey That Saved Curious George, shares the true and unforgettable story of Margret Rey and H. A. Rey, the husband-and-wife team behind Curious George, and how their escape from occupied France brought one of the most enduring characters in children’s literature to America.
We’d like to thank the U.S. Library of Congress for originally hosting this audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.3 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:14.0 | And we continue with our American stories. |
| 0:18.3 | The idea for Curious George began in the creators Margaret and H.A. Ray's earlier book |
| 0:24.1 | about a lonely giraffe named Rafi, who befriends nine monkeys, the youngest of which is called |
| 0:30.6 | Fifi. Eventually, the Reyes decided to develop a story just about Fifi. This was one of the |
| 0:37.1 | stories they smuggled out of France |
| 0:39.0 | just before the Nazi invasion during World War II, |
| 0:43.0 | only to learn when they got to the U.S. |
| 0:45.5 | that American publisher Houghton Mifflin had doubts |
| 0:48.7 | about the name Fifi for a boy monkey. |
| 0:52.2 | And so Fifi became George. |
| 0:55.9 | Here is Louise Borden with the story. |
| 0:58.6 | Louise is the author of The Journey That Saved Curious George, |
| 1:02.6 | The True Wartime Escape of Margaret and H.A. Ray. |
| 1:07.1 | Let's take a listen. |
| 1:17.6 | Music Let's take a listen. Welcome to all who enjoy our American stories. I'm the author of many books for young readers, and my subjects range from kindergarten to the Holocaust. |
| 1:23.6 | When I find a real event that inspires me, like the wartime escape of Margaret and H.A. Ray in 1940, |
| 1:31.3 | I begin a winding road of research. |
| 1:34.3 | A few years ago, an Ohio kindergartner told his librarian before my visit to their school, |
| 1:41.3 | Louise Borden is a studier. The librarian corrected him and said, |
| 1:47.7 | You mean Louise Borden is a student? And the kindergartner stated again, no, she's a studier. |
... |
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