Safeguarding Jews: The Inspiring True Account of Two Sisters' Rescue Efforts

The extraordinary lives of Ida and Louise Cook, two decidedly ordinary Englishwomen, were marked by glamorous and daring experiences that defied all predictions. Between the wars, these sisters, who came of age during this period, seemed destined to remain in their quiet London suburb and comfortable civil service jobs. However, in 1923, a chance hearing of an aria from Madame Butterfly ignited a passion in them that would become the vehicle for both their greatest happiness and the rescue of dozens of Jews facing persecution and death.

"Safe Passage," Ida's memoir of the adventures she and Louise shared, was first published in 1950 and remains a fresh, vital, and entertaining account of their extraordinary lives. The sisters' zest for life and genuine "goodness" shine through every page, which explains why the leading opera singers of their day befriended and loved them. Even when Ida began to earn thousands as a successful romance novelist, the sisters never departed from their homespun virtues of thrift, hard work, self-sacrifice, and unwavering moral conviction. They sewed their own clothes, traveled third class, bought the cheapest tickets during opera season, and directed every spare resource, as well as their own considerable courage and ingenuity, toward saving as many people as they could from Hitler's death camps.

These glamorous and daring lives included sudden wealth and fame, as well as dangerous undercover missions into the heart of Nazi Germany and the perils of the Blitz. The Cook sisters' story is a moving testimony to what can be achieved when conscience and compassion are applied to a collapsing world. "Safe Passage" is an uplifting and utterly charming account that celebrates the extraordinary acts of ordinary individuals who rose to the challenges of their time.

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