"In
My Name is Selma, van de Perre has written an amazing firsthand account of the fear and uncertainty she encountered after the Nazi occupation... [a] powerful book."
–Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star "Holocaust memoirs are all different, all worthy of being told, and all adding to the story that needs to be remembered ... [
My Name is Selma] offers a slightly different view of camp life. It should find a home in any library that collects Holocaust materials."
–Booklist "A Holocaust story of incredible luck, breathtaking bravery and incalculable loss... It has taken [Selma van de Perre] a long time to be able to look back. Now that she has, the most appropriate response is gratitude - for her survival, her mostly fulfilling postwar life, and the details she adds to our remorselessly accumulating knowledge of the period. Selma's self-portrait is of a woman of courage and heart, who took great risks and suffered greatly, too – but whose luck, cleverness and resilience saw her through."
–The Forward "
My Name is Selma provides a unique overview of what European Jews experienced between 1933 and 1946, from the perspective of a Jew in disguise... There is much to learn from this memoir of Jewish resistance. [van de Perre's] book merits wide readership and long employ in the annals of Holocaust scholarship."
–Jewish Book Council "A harrowing memoir from "one of the few remaining Dutch Jewish survivors" of World War II. With captivating and heartbreaking detail, van de Perre (b. 1922) shares her memories of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, offering "a testament to our fight against inhumanity" ... An incredible story of courage and compassion."
–Kirkus, starred review "There are many extraordinary books written by survivors of the Holocaust, and this numbers among them. [van de Perre's] voice, strength, and pain are palpable throughout; everyone can benefit from reading her story."
–Library Journal "Every page was so meaningful to me. She describes how difficult it was to survive with a false identity and then to reclaim her true self and be a role model to us all. She shows us how to find hope in hopelessness and light in the darkness."
–Edith Eger, author of The Choice and The Gift "
My Name is Selma is astonishing, inspirational and important – a remarkable tale of a young Jewish woman who, in unimaginable circumstances, makes the audacious decision to resist the Nazis, and survives the horrors of the war using an assumed identity. A riveting true story of courage, defiance and resilience, this timely testament from a 98-year-old Holocaust survivor is also filled with hope. Now more than ever, we all need to hear Selma Van de Perre's words and experiences. Her book is a treasure."
–Ariana Neumann, author of When Time Stopped
