Two British Sisters – A Typist and a Romance Novelist – Save Jewish Artists from the Holocaust With a Clever Con Involving Opera

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 27 December 2022

⏱️ 35 minutes

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Summary

In 1937, two British sisters, Louise and Ida Cook, seemed headed for spinsterhood due to so many men of their generation dying in World War One. Louise was a typist, and Ida was becoming a famous romance novelist, who would go on to write over 100 books. They found refuge in their love of music, with frequent visits to Germany and Austria to see their favorite opera stars perform. But with the clouds of WW2 gathering, Europe’s opera stars, many of whom were Jewish, face dark futures under the boot heel of the Nazis.

Louise and Ida formed a secret cabal along with Austrian conductor Clemens Krauss (a favorite of Hitler, but quietly working with the Cook sisters) to bring together worldwide opera aficionados and insiders in an international operation to rescue Jews in the opera. They smuggled Jewish people's jewelry and other valuables into England, thereby enabling them to satisfy British financial security requirements for immigration. By the time war arrived, they had saved over two dozen Jewish men and women from the Holocaust and spirited them to safety in England.

Today’s guest is Isabel Vincent, Overture of Hope: Two Sisters’ Daring Plan That Saved Opera’s Jewish Stars from the Third Reich. We look at the Cook Sister’s daring rescue mission and what happened to those they saved in their post-war lives. It’s a story of common people who rise to the challenges of uncommon circumstances.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In 1937, two British sisters, Louise and Ida Cook, seem headed for Spinster Hood due
0:10.6	to so many men of their generation dying in World War I.
0:13.8	Louise was a typist, and Ida was becoming a famous romance novelist and will go on
0:18.4	to write over 100 books.
0:19.8	They found refuge in their love of music, with frequent visits to Germany, Austria, and
0:25.0	even America once, to see their favorite opera stars perform.
0:28.1	But with the clouds of World War II gathering, Europe's opera stars, many of whom were
0:32.0	Jewish, faced dark futures under the boot heels of the Nazis.
0:36.0	Louise and Ida formed a secret cabal, along with Austrian conductor Clemens Kraus, who
0:40.8	was a favorite of Hitler, but quietly worked with the Cook sisters, to bring together
0:44.9	worldwide opera aficionados and insiders in an international operation to rescue Jews
0:50.3	in the opera.
0:51.6	Many of them couldn't leave Germany and escape to a safe place like England because
0:55.3	they were caught in a catch-22.
0:57.8	Germany wouldn't let Jews emigrate with more than 15 Deutsch marks on their person,
1:01.9	which was essentially nothing, so they basically had to leave all their wealth and earthly
1:05.2	possessions behind and leave Germany destitute.
1:08.2	But Britain had financial security requirements for immigration.
1:11.4	An immigrant had to arrive with enough finances to show they wouldn't be a drain on the
1:14.5	economy, which was far more than 15 Deutsch marks.
1:17.4	So the Cook sisters, among many of their ingenious solutions, smuggled Jewish peoples'
1:21.3	jewelry and other valuables into England, thereby enabling them to satisfy Britain's immigration
	...

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