Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying the Nazis

Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying the Nazis (working title: Willem and Frieda: A Story of Resistance[1]) is a 2023 Channel 4 documentary film presented by Stephen Fry and directed by John Hay.[2][3] It is about two gay members of the Dutch resistance during the Second World War, Willem Arondeus and Frieda Belinfante.

Background

Stephen Fry first heard of the story of Willem Arondeus and Frieda Belinfante through Willem & Frieda screenwriter Rik Carmichael and the director John Hay.[4] In the documentary, Fry asks why these stories remain untold, both within and beyond the Netherlands, and whether their sexual orientation is the underlying cause for this silence;[5] Gillean Craig in Church Times writes that "Shamefully, after the war, their heroism was — on account of their open homosexuality — airbrushed out of the Netherlands' celebration of wartime resistance. Only recently, with the creation of Amsterdam's pink triangle Homomonument, has their story been told."[6]

Arondeus and Belinfante
Image of Arondeus from the right-hand side
Image of Frieda Belinfante walking down the street with another woman, identified as her cousin Ita Rosenzweig
Arondeus in 1943 (left) and Belinfante and her sister Ita Rosenzweig in 1937 (right)

Fry views the Arondeus collection in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. He notes the homoerotic influence of Aubrey Beardsley, a well-known illustrator of Oscar Wilde's work, on Arondeus's art. Beardsley came out as gay aged 17, and was kicked out of his home by his father as a result. He later met Jan Tijssen, a market gardener, with whom he became romantically involved. The two separated in 1941 following a German bomb attack near Arondeus's home.[2][3] Fry then meets with Boris Dittrich, a Dutch politician and gay rights activist, to discuss Arondeus.[2]

The documentary then talks about Belinfante, the first woman in Europe to conduct an orchestra. Belinfante came out as lesbian early on in life, and soon met Arondeus in Amsterdam.[2] The two meet, and produce forged documents to hide the identity of Jewish people during the Holocaust in the Netherlands.[5] In a 1994 interview that features in the documentary, Belinfante discusses how she disguised herself as a man for three months to avoid Nazi attention, and convinced the brewer Freddy Heineken (of Heineken International) to support the forging process, ultimately saving numerous lives.[2][5]

The Amsterdam civil registry office, the day after the bombing

At the time, the Dutch identity card system (persoonsbewijs) was very sophisticated. When the Nazis took over, they would also issue duplicate documents in the Amsterdam civil registry office to prevent forgery. In 1943, Arondeus helped lead the bombing of the civil registry office. For this, Arondeus was put on trial and executed that year.[4][7]

Tijssen survived the war, and later married a woman and had children – one of his boys was named Willem.[2][3] Belinfante managed to leave the Netherlands for the United States, where she became a well-known and respected musician in California.[4]

Reception

The documentary was well-received. The Guardian[2] gave the documentary 5 stars, while The Times,[5] The Telegraph[8] and The Jewish Chronicle[9] gave the documentary 4 stars.

References
  1. "New Stephen Fry documentary to centre queer WWII heroes". GCN. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  2. Jones, Ellen E. (2 March 2023). "Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda – Defying the Nazis review – oh, what an astounding story this is!". The Guardian.
  3. Gregory, Elizabeth (15 March 2023). "Stephen Fry presents new documentary about heroic queer WW2 artists". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  4. Mulligan, Euan O'Byrne (2 March 2023). "The extraordinary true story explored in Stephen Fry's documentary Defying the Nazis". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023. (subscription required)
  5. Midgley, Carol (2 March 2023). "Willem and Frieda review: Defying the Nazis review — remarkable courage in the face of evil". The Times. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023. (subscription required)
  6. Craig, Gillean (10 March 2023). "TV review: Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda — Defying the Nazis, The Mormons are Coming, and Bronson: Fit to be free?". Church Times. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  7. Cartmill, Claire (1 March 2023). "Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying the Nazis". News Letter. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  8. Singh, Anita (2 March 2023). "Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda – Defying the Nazis, review: a moving story of wartime defiance". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023. (subscription required)
  9. Howie, Josh (10 March 2023). "Stephen Fry: Willem And Frieda – Defying The Nazis TV review". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

See also
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