Lydia Chagoll

Lydia Chagoll (16 June 1931 – 23 June 2020 ) was a Dutch born dancer, choreographer, film director, screenwriter, writer and actress.

Biography Lydia was born in Voorburg as Lydia Aldewereld from Jewish parents. When she was young she moved to Brussels, Belgium. in August 1943. She returned to Tjideng in August 1944. Her novels Zes jaar en zes maanden (1981) (Six years and six months) and Hirohito, keizer van Japan. Een vergeten oorlogsmisdadiger? (1988) (Hirohito, emperor of Japan, a forgotten war criminal?) dealt with that period. When the family returned to the Netherlands, they discovered that all their family members had been killed. and continued her studies at École Superieure des Études Choréographiques (Higher school for choreography) in Paris and began to teach dancing. In 1982, she directed Voor de glimlach van een kind (For the smile of a child) about child abuse. She campaigned throughout Belgium and in 1983 founded SOS Enfants/SOS Kinderen.

On 23 June 2020, Lydia died in Overijse, Belgium. She insisted that the death would be kept a secret until after her cremation.