LIn Germany in the 1930s, the Holocaust is upon us and an exciting story of love and salvation. Passport to freedomthe new TV series brazilian in 4 episodes debuts this evening about 9.40pm on Channel 5. Taken from one true storytells of two fundamental figures in the history of Brazil in the last century: Aracy de Carvalho and João Guimarães Rosa.
Passport to freedomthe plot
In the darkest years of European history, a woman risked her life to help others. Aracy de Carvalho (Sophie Charlotte)nicknamed The Angel of Hamburgis an employee at the Brazilian consulate of the German city. He works at thepassport office and helplessly witnesses the drama that, day after day, is consumed before his eyes.
Jews are eliminated from public life and must be deported. Horrified by such decisions, she decides to do everything in her power to avoid it. So she starts helping as many people as possible, a save them from prison, but above all, from deportation. Get them i passports that guarantee an escape and survival route in Brazil.
Give them hope, despite the high price they may have to pay. In fact, if it were discovered, it would come sentenced to death, as it lacks diplomatic immunity. However, for Aracy the consulate is not just a place where he can give a second chance to so many innocent peoplebut also where it starts his second life.
Sophie Charlotte and Rodrigo Lombardi. (Mediaset)
The love story between Aracy de Carvalho and João Guimarães Rosa
Arrives in Germany after leaving the Brazil together with his son. Here, between a passport and a false document to procure, he meets Joao Guimarães Rosa (Rodrigo Lombardi), vice consul, but also a future writer. Indeed, he was the most important Brazilian author of the twentieth century. When they know each other, both already have a past behind them, but it doesn’t matter.
João falls in love with Aracy at first sight. He observes it, scrutinizes it and soon becomes an open book. It is certain that the woman is hiding something and she tries to see clearly. The clerk spills the beans and confesses the plan hatched to save the Jews. Meanwhile, Guimarães Rosa is not the only one interested in de Carvalho.
Even the captain of the SS Thomas Zumkle (Peter Ketnath) notices something strange in Aracy and absolutely wants to find out what it is. She does everything to get there truthbut his attempts to expose the woman affect her attempts to save the Jews.
Sophie Charlotte is Aracy de Carvalho. (Mediaset)
Who is Aracy de Carvalho? The true story
Born in 1908 in Rio Negro, Aracy de Carvalho has German and Brazilian ancestry. There motherSidonie Moebius de Carvalho, was born in Upper Saxony, while the father, Amadeu Anselmo de Carvalho, was a Brazilian merchant. When she was still a child, she left Rio Negro to move to Guarujá, the city where her father had opened her Grand Hotel.
Over the years, in addition to German and Portuguese, he also deepens the study of English and French, effectively becoming a polyglot. In adulthood, she moved to São Paulo with her first husband, Johannes Edward Ludwig Tess. From their union was born the only son, Eduardo Carvalho Tess. They live together until 1935, the year they decide to separate.
At this point, Aracy decides to make a change in his life and leaves, together with his son, for the Germany. The meeting with João Guimarães Rosa takes place in 1938. Their stay in Germany ends in 1942, when they are forced to return to their homeland. Theirs is a great love, destined to last a lifetime.
The courage shown during the years in the Brazilian consulate was rewarded in 1982, when he obtained the title of Righteous Among the Nations. This is the recognition that rewards non-Jews who helped to save as many Jews as possible during the Nazism. Suffering from Alzheimer’s, she died on February 28, 2011 in São Paulo, at the age of 102. She is buried next to the husband, who died in 1967 following a heart attack.
Sophie Charlotte is Aracy de Carvalho
to interpret this modern heroine is Sophie Charlotte. Born 1989 in Hamburghas some traits in common with his alter ego. In fact, he has German and Brazilian origins, on the mother’s and father’s side, respectively. The parents met in Germany, thanks to the work of the father, a hairdresser.
Of Aracy de Carvalho He says: “He risked his life to help other people, overcoming his fears, in order to fight for what he deeply believed was right. His is a figure that struck me and taught me a lot», he continues. Regarding Passport to Freedom, he says: «He was a tiring journey: it’s nice that the public can finally know this story.
Finally, a thought to the brave women who have contributed to changeeven if minimally, the course of history. «A concrete example of how womenwith their power, have been able to transform the world, without history being able to remember them».
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