Selma van de Perre: Liberation (1945)

Welcome to a different and very special episode of Travels Through Time. Today’s interviewee is the extraordinary Holocaust survivor and resistance fighter Selma van de Perre. At the age of ninety-eight, three quarters of a century after she was liberated from Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, Selma tells us her remarkable story and takes us back to the events of 1945.

This interview took place on the eve of the British publication of Selma's memoir, My Name is Selma. We're very grateful to Selma and to Ariana Neumann, the New York Times Bestselling author of When Time Stopped, who conducted this interview on our behalf.

As ever, much much more about this episode can be found at www.tttpodcast.com

Show notes

Scene One: 23 April 1945. A man from the Swedish Red Cross arrives at Ravensbrück. He offers the imprisoned women chocolate and cigarettes.

Scene Two: Late April 1945, After leaving Ravensbrück for Sweden, the aid convoy is mistakenly attacked by the British.

Scene Three: Late May/early June 1945. At a refugee “holiday”camp in Sweden. Selma is in the dining room and hears someone call her by her real name for the first time in years.

Memento: A dressing gown, specially made by the Swedish family that Selma stayed with after being liberated

People

Presenter: Peter Moore

Interview: Ariana Neumann

Guest: Selma van de Perre

Production: Maria Nolan

Podcast partner: Colorgraph

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