Willem and Frieda: Defying the Nazis (2023) on Netflix
NR20231h 8mDocumentaryHistory
Willem Arondeus, an artist, and Frieda Belinfante, a musician, are gay members of the Dutch resistance in the Second World War. They forge documents to hide Jewish people's identities.
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- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.4/10146 votes
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Plot summary
In the Netherlands, Willem Arondeus is an artist who lives openly as a gay man when few do. His father throws him out at seventeen. He meets Jan Tijssen, a market gardener, and they become romantically involved until a German bomb near Willem's home separates them in 1941. Frieda Belinfante is a musician who becomes the first woman to lead an orchestra. She comes out as gay early and meets Willem in Amsterdam. Together they produce forged documents to hide Jewish people's identities during the Holocaust. To avoid Nazi attention, Frieda lives as a man for three months and persuades Freddy Heineken, a brewer, to fund the forgery work. The Dutch identity card system is sophisticated, and the Nazis keep duplicate records in Amsterdam's civil registry office to stop forgeries.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Willem and Frieda: Defying the Nazis (2023)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Frieda Belinfante 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 of documents, ultimately saving numerous lives.
- Willem Arondeus came out as gay at the age of 17, and his father kicked him out of the house because of it.
