Empire: World History

370. The First British Indians: Saving Jews In Nazi Germany (Ep 2)

40 min

This episode of Empire explores the extraordinary life of Princess Catherine Duleep Singh, an Indian princess who lived openly with her German governess and life partner, Lena Schaefer, in Nazi Germany. While residing in Kassel, Catherine used her British passport and royal title to secretly sponsor and rescue Jewish families from the Holocaust, operating a personal escape network. The story highlights her quiet defiance, enduring love, and the complex choices she made between her birth country and her adopted home.

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✨ Key Takeaways

1

Princess Catherine Duleep Singh lived openly with her female companion, Lena Schaefer, in Kassel, Germany, from the late 19th century through the Nazi era—a relationship described as 'intimate' and deeply devoted.
2

Despite being British and having every chance to leave, Catherine chose to stay in Germany during both World Wars, even writing pro-German letters intercepted by British censors during WWI.
3

In 1938, Catherine began secretly rescuing Jewish families by acting as their financial guarantor for UK visas, sponsoring at least six known individuals including a lawyer released from Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
4

After Lena's death in August 1938, Catherine finally fled Germany just before Kristallnacht, but insisted that her ashes be buried next to Lena's—a wish that was eventually fulfilled.
5

Catherine's rescue network was uncovered by historian Peter Bunce, who dubbed her 'the Indian Schindler'; her story remained little known until recently.

💬 Notable Quotes

"She is a brown woman cohabiting with another woman, an Indian princess, the sister of an army officer living in the Third Reich."

— Anita Anand (co-host)
"I desire that a quarter of my ashes be as buried as near as possible to the coffin of my friend Fraulein Lena Schaefer."

— Princess Catherine Duleep Singh (from her will)
"He constantly worries about her. He keeps begging her to leave, but she doesn't want to leave Lena. Lena's in the ground. She doesn't want to leave Lena."

— Anita Anand, describing Catherine's neighbor's plea