wfn.org | [CRC NEWS] Film chronicles Dutch resistance in WWII

["Henry Hess" <hessh@crcna.ca>]

April 27, 2005, Grand Rapids, Mich. - Seeing the film Schindler's List
was a pivotal moment for Rob Prince, a moment that years later has led
to his own Holocaust film.

"I knew a little but not a lot about the Holocaust before Schindler's
List," says Prince, a video producer for Calvin College who was a
21-year-old college student when he first saw the film. "It created in
me a big desire to learn more."

That desire ultimately led to an hour-long documentary by Prince on the
Holocaust and the Netherlands called "Making Choices." It will air
locally on WGVU television (the West Michigan PBS affiliate) at 10 p.m.
on May 5.

Prince picked that day because it marks the 60th anniversary of the
liberation of the Netherlands, and his film centers on the role of the
Netherlands in resisting the Germans during World War II - and the
country's role in saving the Jews.

The documentary, which he began four years ago at the age of 24,
features interviews with four West Michigan residents who were part of
the Resistance Movement in the Netherlands during the war: Diet Eman,
John Muller, John Timmer and John Witte.

In fact, Prince first heard Eman's story after a visit to the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. During his time
there he was astounded to learn about the significant Resistance efforts
of the Netherlands during World War II.

"I'm Dutch," he says, "but I was not aware of the heroic efforts of so
many in the Netherlands during the war."

Wanting to know more he visited the Museum bookstore and asked if they
carried any books about the role of the Dutch in the resistance
movement. He was handed a copy of "Things We Couldn't Say," the true
story of Eman, who as a young Dutch woman worked with her fiancé, Hein
Sietsma, to rescue imperiled Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland.

"The book tells how Diet and Hein aided the Resistance," says Prince.
"Their efforts cost Diet her freedom and Hein his life. But they and
their fellow Resistance members saved hundreds of Dutch Jews."

When Prince, a 1999 Calvin graduate, found out that Eman lived in Grand
Rapids he sought her out and she agreed to be interviewed for what then
was becoming the beginnings of his documentary. Through her and her
stories he made further connections. Eventually the film became Prince's
master's thesis at Michigan State University. It also became a consuming
passion.

"I've spent a lot of time and a lot of money on it," he admits with a
wry smile. "But it's an important topic. Near the end of the film Diet
talks about making choices, making the right choices. For many years the
people involved in the Resistance were reluctant to talk about what they
had done. It was too hard. Now, as they enter the twilights of their
lives they are more willing to tell the next generations about what they
did, not for their own glory, but so that we too might consider these
issues and make the right choices when we are confronted with evil."

Prince hopes to continue his work in the future, noting that he has a
list of about 200 other people in North America who were in the
Netherlands during World War II and were involved in the Resistance.

"Someday," he says, "I'd love to create a visual archive of their
stories. I think it's a really important chapter in worldwide history
and one we need to remember."

Calvin College, located in Grand Rapids, Mich. is one of the largest
Christian colleges in North America and is internationally recognized as
a center for faith-based liberal arts teaching and scholarship. It is
affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

Contact Rob Prince at rprince@calvin.edu

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---------------------------------
Henry Hess
Director of Communications
Christian Reformed Church
905-336-2920 ext.236
hessh@crcna.ca

To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church, visit www.crcna.org