My Name Is Selma

An international bestseller, this memoir from a Resistance fighter and Holocaust survivor “shows us how to find hopelessness and light in the darkness” (Edith Eger, New York Times–bestselling author of The Choice and The Gift).

Selma van de Perre was seventeen when World War II began. Until then, being Jewish in the Netherlands had not been an issue. But by 1941 it had become a matter of life or death. On several occasions, Selma barely avoided being rounded up by the Nazis. While her father was summoned to a work camp and eventually hospitalized in a Dutch transition camp, her mother and sister went into hiding—until they were betrayed in June 1943 and sent to Auschwitz. In an act of defiance, Selma took on an assumed identity, dyed her hair blond, and joined the Resistance movement, using the pseudonym Margareta van der Kuit. For two years “Marga” risked it all. Using a fake ID, and passing as Aryan, she traveled around the country and even to Nazi headquarters in Paris, sharing information and delivering papers—doing what “had to be done.”

In July 1944 she was transported to Ravensbrück women’s concentration camp as a political prisoner. Unlike her parents and sister who died in other camps, Selma survived by using her alias. Only after the war ended could she reclaim her identity and dare to say once again: My name is Selma.

“Astonishing, inspirational, and important.” —Ariana Neumann, New York Times–bestselling author of When Time Stopped

“An amazing firsthand account . . . powerful.” —Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

“A Holocaust story of incredible luck, breathtaking bravery and incalculable loss.” —The Forward

“An incredible story of courage and compassion.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review