Chitra Ramaswamy is an award-winning journalist and author. Her latest book Homelands is about two unlikely friends. One born in 1970s Britain to Indian immigrant parents, the other arrived from Nazi Germany in 1939, fleeing persecution.
Homelands tells the story of Chitra’s friendship with Holocaust survivor, Henry Wuga. Now in his late 90s, Henry arrived in the UK with the Kindertransport aged 15, followed a few months later by his future wife, Ingrid. They went on to found the biggest Jewish catering company in Glasgow, and – much later – travel the world sharing their story of flight, internment and survival.
Generous and deeply moving, Homelands contrasts two very different life stories to find their similarities – offering a new perspective on nationality, prejudice, community, family, immigration and the desire to belong.
Henry gave Chitra full access to his archive for the writing of this book, including a wealth of photos and documentation.
This book is about common ground. It is a story of migration, anti-Semitism, racism, family, belonging, grief and resilience.
This book is about the past and the present. It is about the state we're in now and the ways in which we carry our pasts into our futures.
Photo credit and copyright: Claire Black
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