Hidden Heroes (Dutch Resistance,DVDrip,1999)

The rescue of Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland is a story of unimaginable courage and faith. As told by those who lived through the Nazi terror, this evocative documentary recounts what it was like for Dutch Jews to face systematic isolation, persecution...and elimination. Our subjects were mere children at the time. Children who witnessed their family and friends
being arrested and dragged away — and, for most, never to be seen again. Children for whom unbearable pain and loss was cruelly compressed into a single experience of overwhelming terror.

Hitler’s plan to eliminate an entire race of people may have succeeded if not for those who saw the lie in his quest for perfection, those willing to stand against the Nazi evil—the Dutch resistance. They were ordinary people willing to risk their lives and the lives of their family to shelter and save Dutch Jews. These were Holland’s Hidden Heroes.

Two Canadian women return to the Netherlands to recount the terrifying ordeal they experienced as children at the hands of the Nazis, and to connect with the individuals and families who risked their lives to save them.

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At the beginning of this documentary, there's a saying attributed to Mary Jo Leddy:" Although we know something about why people are cruel and violent, we need to learn more about why human beings are good and merciful." This forms the premise of the documentary, which recounts acts of rescue by ordinary Dutch people during the Second World War. These people who came from all walks of life put themselves at great personal risk to rescue and provide refuge to Jewish people who were fleeing the clutches of the Nazis. The focus here is primarily on the rescue of Jewish children, and these survivors who are grown adults in the present give their personal testimonies as to how they were rescued and recount their wartime experiences as well as describe their immense affection and gratitude towards their rescuers.

Many of the Dutch rescuers worked for the Dutch resistance and there is some coverage on the main leaders of the movement such as Mrs Kuipers and Pastor Frits Slomp. There is also mention of the crucial role played by women in the Resistance - as messengers, transporters of refugees, and some were even in the armed branch of the resistance. The Dutch people that provided shelter and acted as foster parents to Jewish children in hiding were mainly devout Christians who felt it was their religious duty to help these helpless and persecuted children.

One particular rescue effort really touched me - the Nazis had set up a 'nursery' for Jewish children who had been forcibly taken from their parents,and these kids were destined for extermination camps in Auschwitz and Sobibor. Well, in the documentary, we learn how members of the Dutch resistance managed to successfully rescue 232 of these doomed children and take them to safety.

Of the 110,000 Dutch Jews transported, only 6,000 survived the Holocaust, and the ones who survived the war in hiding owe their lives to the courage of ordinary Dutch civilians who went to extraordinary lengths to keep them safe. 28,000 Dutch resistance members were killed by the Nazis, and this documentary is a testament to their tremendous courage.


Film Info and Links

Video: XviD MPEG4, 29.97 fps, 872 Kbps, 50 minutes
Audio: MP3,Stereo, 48 KHz, 103 Kbps, English
Keywords=Documentary,War,WWII,Dutch,Resistance,Jews,Christian,Jewish,Holocaust
Tagline: They risked their lives to save Jews from Hitler's Horror.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412816/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00091QSSS/
http://windborneproductions.com/heroes.html
http://www.theverylongview.com/WATH/film.htm
https://www.visionvideo.com/detail.taf?_function=detail&a_product_id=33482


Cast

Karen Pascal ... Producer/Director/Writer
Sonja Smits ... Narrator
William Finlay ... writer