History

Inge Woolf: a tale of resilience and survival

11:30 am on 18 April 2023

Listen

Inge Woolf was born in 1934 to a prosperous Jewish family in Vienna, but by 1938, the Nazis were marching into her hometown.

What follows is a remarkable story of courage and escape for Inge and her family, first to Prague, then on to England, and eventually to New Zealand.

Inge Woolf became a proud Kiwi, marrying photographer Ronald Woolf, and together they created a successful photography business.

In her later years, Inge dedicated herself to making sure the horrors of the Holocaust and World War Two are never forgotten.

She was instrumental in establishing the New Zealand Holocaust Centre, and was its founding director.

Up until her death in 2021, she was working on a book about her life story, which has been picked up and finished by her daughter Deborah Hart.

Kathryn speaks to Deborah Hart about her mother's remarkable life and the book Resilience: A story of persecution, escape, survival and triumph