Resistance fighter and Holocaust survivor Selma van de Perre dies aged 103 years old

A Jewish World War Two resistance fighter who fought the Nazis in the Netherlands before being arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, has died in the UK at the age of 103. 

Selma van de Perre, who passed away on Monday, was born in Amsterdam in 1922 to a non-practicing, liberal Jewish family, Selma’s father was arrested in 1942 and taken to Westerbork transit camp. Selma then helped her mother and sister go into hiding in Eindhoven.

After they were arrested in 1943, she became a member of the “TD Group”, a Dutch resistance organisation. Going into hiding and dying her hair blonde, under the name Margaret van der Kuit Selma carried secret messages, food stamps, and identity papers across the country.

Arrested again in 1944, she was deported to Vught and later to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she endured forced labour until her liberation by the Swedish Red Cross in April 1945. When she returned to the Netherlands, she was reunited with her two brothers and discovered her parents and sister had been murdered in Auschwitz and Sobibor.

After the war, Selma rebuilt her life in the United Kingdom, working for the BBC, where she met her future husband, Belgian journalist Hugo van de Perr, and later as a teacher and journalist, dedicating herself to Holocaust remembrance and education.

In 2019, her memoir, ‘My name is Selma’ came out in Holland to critical acclaim and the book was published in English in 2020. She lived in the London borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

From 1995 she revisited Ravensbrück every year, to tell of her incredible life story to students. She was awarded the Order of Orange-Nassau to commemorate her involvement in the Dutch resistance.

Speaking in a CNN interview in January 2025, she said: “When I slice my bread in the morning for breakfast… I think of my mother when she buttered our bread. I can’t help it. It comes into my mind. I try not to, because I think — I say to myself, it doesn’t make any difference. You can’t make it undone.”

Writing in tribute, the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) said: “The AJR mourns the passing of Selma van de Perre — a courageous resistance fighter, survivor, and eyewitness whose life embodied resilience and strength.

“The AJR was honoured to have captured her testimony as part of its Refugee Voices archive, preserving her remarkable story for future generations.

“Selma’s courage, compassion, and lifelong commitment to truth will never be forgotten. May her memory be a blessing”.

In a statement paying tribute, The Holocaust Educational Trust said it was “saddened to hear of the passing of Holocaust survivor and member of the Dutch Resistance Selma van de Perre.

“After the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, Selma went into hiding. She courageously joined the Dutch Resistance, becoming a trusted courier of vital messages and reports. In 1944, she was discovered and arrested by the Nazis. Although her Jewish identity remained hidden, she was imprisoned in Vught concentration camp before being deported to Ravensbrück, where she endured forced labour. She was liberated in April 1945.

“A successful journalist and broadcaster, Selma dedicated her later years to sharing her remarkable story and championing the memory of those who were murdered in the Holocaust. Selma was awarded many accolades for her work in the Resistance during the Holocaust.

“Our thoughts are with her family and friends. May her memory be a blessing.”

Selma van de Perre is survived by her son, who lives in London.

• To find out more about Selma van de Perre, click here.