SHARING HER IMPORTANT LEGACY:

Forgotten Soldier tells the extraordinary
story of Salomon (“Sally”) Noach, a
Dutch Jew who risked his life in Vichy,
France to save hundreds from
deportation to Auschwitz.

“We are extremely proud to take part in this important tribute and pay honor to Lady Irene Hatter, longstanding friend of the University and Co-Chair of University of Haifa UK,” noted President Robin, who attended the recent New York premiere of the film. In Forgotten Soldier, Lady Hatter and her brother Jacques Noach set out on a journey to document the life of their late father, Mr. Sally Noach and uncover the true story of his indomitable spirit and heroic efforts. The film was the Audience Choice Award of the 2018 UK Jewish Film Festival and official selection of the 2019 Toronto and Washington Jewish Film Festivals.

“There were always rumors that my father had been a spy and was interrogated by MI5; others suggested he once ran the black market in Lyon,” confides Lady Hatter. “And as for my father’s penchant for jokes and storytelling, he never spoke about the war, in which his parents and many other family members were killed at Auschwitz.

Now, almost 40 years after his death I set out with my brother Jacques to put the record straight – to find out how many people he had saved, where they ended up, and how he was able to pull it off.”

Sally Noach was born in the Dutch city of Zutphen. In 1940, he escaped to Lyon, France, under the Vichy regime. A fluent French speaker, he volunteered to work as an interpreter for the Dutch Consul while secretly working undercover with the Resistance forging fake identity papers for imprisoned Jewish refugees. Armed with forged papers, and a daring ‘chutzpah’, he entered prisons and holding centers where they were detained before deportation to the death camps and secured their release. Thanks to his efforts, more than 600 souls were saved.

The film premiered in the UK, Canada and the US, with University of Haifa board members, supporters and alumni in attendance. The American Society of the University of Haifa held a VIP Reception in advance of the film’s New York premiere, attended by Lady Hatter, Jacques Noach, and survivor Herman Veder, who was featured in the documentary.

“My goal was to find out more about my father’s story
but in the process I found other people’s stories too,”
summarizes Lady Hatter. “I hope to make the film
available as a teaching resource for Holocaust
studies in Israel and around the world.”

-Lady Irene Hatter
Co-Chair of University of Haifa UK