In November, Hedi Argent visited Vienna once again to present the German edition of her book about her escape from the Nazis. She arrived accompanied by her daughter Katie and her son-in-law.
The presentation of the book The Day the Music Changed. How I became a Refugee from Nazi Europe took place at the invitation of the British Ambassador, Lindsay Skoll. The German edition of Der Tag, an dem sich die Musik veränderte was published by Lex Liszt Verlag and is aimed specifically at primary school students. In her book, Argent, born in 1929, describes the terrible experiences she endured as a 10-year-old Jewish girl under the Nazi regime.
Hedi Argent was born in Schwechat and had to witness how her father, a criminal defense lawyer, lost his law firm immediately after the Anschluss and the family’s apartment was “Aryanized.” In 1939, she was finally able to flee from Austria to London with her parents. 17 members of Argent’s family fell victim to Nazi terror.
After fleeing, Hedi studied in England, started a family, and today emphasizes that she is a Londoner. She often talked about the “painful memories” that prevented her from returning for many years. She returned to Vienna for the first time at the end of the 1960s, but left again immediately because she couldn’t bear hearing the Viennese dialect spoken in the streets. In 2013, she made a conscious return at the invitation of the JWS, accompanied by her daughters. Further visits, including with her grandchildren, followed in 2015 and 2019. In 2024, her youngest grandson took part in a “Heritage Tour” – a cooperation between the JWS and the AJR London.
