New documentary released on Catholic heroine who confronted Nazis

Lima, Peru, Jul 12, 2012 / 15:07 pm

The heroic life of Magdalena Truel Larrabure, a young Catholic woman died at the hands of Nazis during World War II, is the focus of a documentary by film director Luis Enrique Cam.

Born in 1904, Truel grew up in Lima and moved to France, where she eventually joined the country's resistance. She helped to falsify documents in order to save Jews from the concentration camps and to enable soldiers from allied forces to infiltrate the Nazis.

In 1944, Truel was captured and sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany, where she succumbed to a death march near the front lines of the war.

During the final days of her life, she carried a Bible with her that she received from her family. On May 3, 1945, only four days after her death, Germany surrendered to the Allies.

The documentary also features the testimonies of Gonzalo Rosello Truel, a relative of Magdalena Truel; Hugo Coya, a journalist who uncovered the story of Magdalena; and Gustavo Gorriti, a Peruvian reporter of Jewish descent who asked the country of Peru to recognize Magdalena as a "national hero."

Since May of 2012 the documentary has been presented in various schools and universities in Peru, but the official presentation will take place at the Peruvian Congress on July 17.

On July 14, the documentary will be made available on YouTube, and Peruvian television plans to air it on July 27-29, when the country celebrates its independence.