In May 1940, a young Dutchman by the name of Sally Noach escaped from Belgium just days before the Nazis occupied the Low Countries.
He joined some six million refugees, flooding down through France in a desperate attempt to escape the Third Reich. It was called the “Grande Exode”, and many of those on the run would later be rounded up, interned and sent to concentration camps. Sally disappeared in Lyon, the so-called “Capital of Resistance”. Later he surfaced in Lisbon, then London and after the war led a quiet life in Holland.
Now, nearly forty years after his death, his daughter Lady Irene Hatter has decided to retrace his steps and uncover the truth behind her father’s wartime exploits.
Why was he so reluctant to talk about what he did during World War II? Was he, as some claimed, a profiteer, running the Black Market in Vichy France? Why did he come to the attention of Queen Wilhelmina of Holland and fall out with the Dutch political elites? What is the meaning of the hundreds of letters from survivors around the world claiming he saved their lives?
Lady Hatter’s extraordinary journey takes her to Amsterdam, the French Pyrenees, Lyon, San Francisco and Miami – where she uncovers a story of great suffering, betrayal and heroism before these memories are lost forever.
Following the film, there will be a Q&A with Lady Irene Hatter, and light refreshments provided.
