By Rabbi Dr Margaret Jacobi

Just before lockdown, in March 2020, my brother (Rabbi Richard Jacobi) and I were invited to the film premiere of Truus’ Children in Amsterdam.

Our father, Rabbi Harry Jacobi, had been interviewed for the movie but had sadly died not long before its release, so it was an emotional occasion for us.

Truus’ Wijsmuller, the subject of the film, had saved our father from Amsterdam, together with all the other children who had been in the Jewish orphanage as the Nazis invaded the city.

It was a dramatic story, but only part of her many activities in rescuing an estimated 10,000 children.

She had been to Vienna to confront Eichmann and demand that he let children go. She had been tireless in her efforts to arrange transport so that children from across Europe could find safety in Britain.

The film-makers, Pamela Sturhoofd and Jessica van Tijn, spent years interviewing some of the children that Truus had rescued, who were now in their 80s and 90s. From Israel to Europe and the USA they told of their gratitude to the remarkable woman who had saved them and recalled her energy and determination. It was moving to see the interviewees, who had built successful and happy lives and had children and grandchildren.

Truus story did not end with the end of the war. She continued to work for children in need, including in the Dutch colony of Surinam. An amusing anecdote in the film recalls how she obtained a special vehicle for her work by sheer chutzpah.

The film was inspiring and moving. It is coming to Britain for a unique tour at which the film-makers will be there to answer questions and talk about the Truus archive, which continued to collect information about Truus so that her legacy lives on.

There are opportunities to see the film at the Manchester Jewish Museum on Sunday 11 September, the Midlands Art Centre in Birmingham on Tuesday 13 September and JW3 in London on Wednesday 14 September.

Please do come and watch it and be inspired, as the film’s strapline says, to ‘Make a Difference’.