Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying the Nazis
{{short description|Documentary about the Dutch resistance}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| image_alt =
| caption =
| alt_name = Willem and Frieda: A Story of Resistance
| genre =
| creator =
| showrunner =
| writer = Rik Carmichael
| executive_producer = Glenn Kendrick Ackermann
| director = John Hay
| presenter = Stephen Fry
| starring =
| runtime = 68 minutes
| company =
| network = Channel 4
| released = {{Start date|2023|03|02|df=y}}
}}
Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying the Nazis (working title: Willem and Frieda: A Story of Resistance{{cite news |title=New Stephen Fry documentary to centre queer WWII heroes |url=https://gcn.ie/stephen-fry-documentary-queer-wwii-heroes/ |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=GCN |date=27 May 2022}}) is a 2023 Channel 4 documentary film presented by Stephen Fry and directed by John Hay.{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Ellen E. |title=Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda – Defying the Nazis review – oh, what an astounding story this is! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/02/stephen-fry-willem-and-frieda-defying-the-nazis-review-oh-what-an-astounding-story-this-is |work=The Guardian |date=2 March 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Gregory |first1=Elizabeth |title=Stephen Fry presents new documentary about heroic queer WW2 artists |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/willem-and-frieda-defying-the-nazis-stephen-fry-channel-4-documentary-b1063911.html |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=Evening Standard |date=15 March 2023}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Mulligan |first1=Euan O'Byrne |title=The extraordinary true story explored in Stephen Fry's documentary Defying the Nazis |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/willem-frieda-true-story-stephen-fry-documentary-defying-nazis-2182235 |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=inews.co.uk |date=2 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307220158/https://inews.co.uk/culture/willem-frieda-true-story-stephen-fry-documentary-defying-nazis-2182235 |archive-date=7 March 2023}} {{subscription required}} 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;{{cite news |last1=Midgley |first1=Carol |title=Willem and Frieda review: Defying the Nazis review — remarkable courage in the face of evil |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/willem-and-frieda-review-defying-the-nazis-review-remarkable-courage-in-the-face-of-evil-0bffkwsxs |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=The Times |date=2 March 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230303003934/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/willem-and-frieda-review-defying-the-nazis-review-remarkable-courage-in-the-face-of-evil-0bffkwsxs |archive-date=3 March 2023}} {{subscription required}} 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."{{cite news |last1=Craig |first1=Gillean |title=TV review: Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda — Defying the Nazis, The Mormons are Coming, and Bronson: Fit to be free? |url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/10-march/books-arts/tv/tv-review-stephen-fry-willem-and-frieda-defying-the-nazis-the-mormons-are-coming-and-bronson-fit-to-be-free |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=Church Times |date=10 March 2023}}
Arondeus and Belinfante
{{Multiple image
| total_width = 250
| image1 = Willem Arondeus - portrait from the right side.jpg
| alt1 = Image of Arondeus from the right-hand side
| image2 = Ita Rosenzweig and her cousin Frieda Belinfante.jpg
| alt2 = Image of Frieda Belinfante walking down the street with another woman, identified as her cousin Ita Rosenzweig
| footer = 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. Arondeus 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. Fry then meets with Boris Dittrich, a Dutch politician and gay rights activist, to discuss Arondeus.
The documentary then talks about Belinfante, the first woman in Europe to conduct an orchestra. Belinfante came out as gay early on in life, and soon met Arondeus in Amsterdam. The two meet, and produce forged documents to hide the identity of Jewish people during the Holocaust in the Netherlands. 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.
File:Brandaanslag op Amsterdams Bevolkingsregister; de dag erna 28 maart 1943.jpg
At the time, the Dutch identity card system ({{ill|persoonsbewijs|nl}}) 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.{{cite news |last1=Cartmill |first1=Claire |title=Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying the Nazis |url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/stephen-fry-willem-frieda-defying-the-nazis-4044720 |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=News Letter |date=1 March 2023}}
Tijssen survived the war, and later married a woman and had children – one of his boys was named Willem. Belinfante managed to leave the Netherlands for the United States, where she became a well-known and respected musician in California.
Reception
The documentary was well-received. The Guardian gave the documentary 5 stars, while The Times, The Telegraph{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Anita |title=Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda – Defying the Nazis, review: a moving story of wartime defiance |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/03/02/stephen-fry-willem-frieda-defying-nazis-review-moving-story/ |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=The Telegraph |date=2 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302225121/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/03/02/stephen-fry-willem-frieda-defying-nazis-review-moving-story/ |archive-date=2 March 2023}} {{subscription required}} and The Jewish Chronicle{{cite news |last1=Howie |first1=Josh |title=Stephen Fry: Willem And Frieda – Defying The Nazis TV review |url=https://www.thejc.com/life-and-culture/all/stephen-fry-willem-and-frieda-defying-the-nazis-tv-review-3nbjGnFI0cPWnM3eSBYu44 |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=10 March 2023}} gave the documentary 4 stars.
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.channel4.com/programmes/stephen-fry-willem-frieda-defying-nazis Stephen Fry: Willem & Frieda – Defying Nazis] (documentary film – also available [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drq4TYW9gpM on YouTube])
- {{IMDb title|22087176|Willem & Frieda}}
Category:2023 documentary films
Category:2023 LGBTQ-related films
Category:LGBTQ rights in the Netherlands
Category:Films about Dutch resistance