Trude’s story

Speiser, Gertrude

A journey from Vienna via Shanghai to Melbourne

Description

Gertrude (Trude) Speiser was born in Vienna, Austria in 1915. She and her sister enjoyed a happy, middle-class childhood – until the invasion of Hitler shattered their world. To escape the Nazi horror, the family fled their home in 1939 and took the proverbial slow boat to China. They lived in Shanghai for ten years before emigrating to Melbourne, Australia to start a new life.

Trude tells her story with touching honesty and simplicity – a reflection of the way she has always lived her long and satisfying life.