Felice Hardy

The Tennis Champion Who Escaped the Nazis

Liesl Herbst’s Remarkable Journey, from Vienna to Wimbledon

In 1930, at the age of twenty-seven, Liesl Herbst was the Austrian National Tennis Champion and a celebrity in Vienna. Liesl, her husband David and their daughter Dorli then came to Britain after escaping the Nazis.

In London, though initially stripped of their Austrian passports and rendered stateless aliens, both Liesl and her daughter Dorli competed at Wimbledon. They remain the only mother and daughter ever to have played doubles together at Wimbledon.

This moving story of escape and survival is told by Liesl’s grand-daughter. It is as much a search for the author’s own identity as for her own children and grandchildren to ensure that the remarkable family history is never lost again.

Illustrated throughout with family photographs and original documents, this is a story of survival against terrible odds and an inspiring tale of resilience and hope.

 

Date and Time

14 October 2023 at 10:30 am

Venue

Grove Building, Mere

Ticket Prices

£10 per person

Tickets for this talk will be available 01 September for Friends of the Festival, general sale will be available 08 September 2023.

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