Gerte Frobe
Maria Von Maltzan
As a wealthy member of the German aristocracy Von Maltzen was almost above suspicion, but from the moment the Nazis seized power she was an active member of the German resistance movement.
Von Maltzan can be credited with saving the lives of at least 60 German jews during the war, most of whom she was able to smuggle from the country with the help of the Swedish Church, who provided a safe haven.
After the war Von Maltzan married Hans Hirschel, the jewish editor of the influential literary journal Das Dreieck. Hirschel had known Von Maltzen before the war and had sought shelter from the Nazis in a hiding place constructed inside Von Maltzen’s sofa. The couple had a son who was tragically killed in an allied bombing raid.
Von Maltzen died in 1997. She dedicated the later years of her life to improving the living conditions of immigrants and to providing veterinary treatment to the poor. Her autobiography ‘Schlage die Trommel und fürchte dich nicht’ (Beat the Drum and be without Fright) speaks of her belief in standing up for what you believe in, regardless of the risk.
As a wealthy member of the German aristocracy Von Maltzen was almost above suspicion, but from the moment the Nazis seized power she was an active member of the German resistance movement.
Von Maltzan can be credited with saving the lives of at least 60 German jews during the war, most of whom she was able to smuggle from the country with the help of the Swedish Church, who provided a safe haven.
After the war Von Maltzan married Hans Hirschel, the jewish editor of the influential literary journal Das Dreieck. Hirschel had known Von Maltzen before the war and had sought shelter from the Nazis in a hiding place constructed inside Von Maltzen’s sofa. The couple had a son who was tragically killed in an allied bombing raid.
Von Maltzen died in 1997. She dedicated the later years of her life to improving the living conditions of immigrants and to providing veterinary treatment to the poor. Her autobiography ‘Schlage die Trommel und fürchte dich nicht’ (Beat the Drum and be without Fright) speaks of her belief in standing up for what you believe in, regardless of the risk.
The Tiger Who
Came to Tea
The fascinating story of how Judith Kerr, writer of the children's classic 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea', had to flee Nazi Germany because her father was on a Nazi death list.
Copies of books written by her father, Alfred Kerr, were among the 20,000 texts burnt in the symbolic Nazi book burning in Bebelplatz square, Berlin in 1933.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25027090#
Came to Tea
The fascinating story of how Judith Kerr, writer of the children's classic 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea', had to flee Nazi Germany because her father was on a Nazi death list.
Copies of books written by her father, Alfred Kerr, were among the 20,000 texts burnt in the symbolic Nazi book burning in Bebelplatz square, Berlin in 1933.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25027090#