Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda - Defying The Nazis | Preview (Channel 4)
During the occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, Willem Arondeus, a painter, and Frieda Belinfante, a cellist, used their artistic skills to forge identity cards that saved thousands of Jews from the death camps.
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This was no mean task as at that time the Dutch had the most sophisticated identity card system in the world and, what's more, the Nazis had a clever backup: each card they issued had a duplicate stored in the Amsterdam Central Records Office to prevent forgery.
Willem realised he had to take action and with a rag-tag gang of fellow artists, he led a daring raid to blow up the Central Records Office and destroy the duplicate cards. There was only one proviso: no one could be harmed in the process because: 'We are not like them'.
Stephen Fry goes on a very personal journey to Amsterdam to discover why this incredible story has remained largely hidden to this day.
Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda - Defying The Nazis airs Thursday 2nd March at 9pm on Channel 4.