I just watched the series Transatlantic, another Netflix World War II miniseries set in occupied France. The story is about how some Americans saved artists, writers and thinkers of the 20th century from the Nazi invasion of Europe. Unlike The Light, We Cannot See, this is based on real people in history.

It was surprising to me because even though I have studied history and art history specifically, I never heard this story. I knew that paintings were saved, but not the artists too. They the saved the Chagalls, both the paintings, and the man and his wife. As a society, as fellow humans, which are more important?

The series is centered on the American journalist Varian Fry and socialite Mary Jayne Gold who used their positions, friends, money and wits to smuggle out 2,000 Europeans. Many were running afoul of the Nazis by doing, saying, expressing, or being the wrong thing. The Nazis called them Degenerates.

The series is really fascinating, because it dives into all the different and sometimes conflicting loyalties that people have: siblings, parents, country, community, belief, truth, love, marriage, beauty and profit. If you can only pick one thing, which would you choose?

At the time, America was officially neutral, so to get too involved could be construed as treason. Later America chose its allies and committed to them. Depending on the year, doing something or doing nothing could get a person into trouble. Would you do the right thing if it cost—your citizenship, your status, your family, your money, or your future?

The moral dilemmas from the series still exist in our current time. There are still many people who are stateless, homeless, mistreated or oppressed. What’s the value of a person? Is it ever okay to profit from suffering as long as it’s legal?

We also live in a time of social censure, where people can get fired or boycotted for saying or not saying something that the majority approves of. How much leniency do we give to people who have wrong ideas? How much leniency would we like to receive? Are we judging by the current conventions, or looking for universal truths?

“Three candles” painted by Marc Chagall during the time of his rescue.