What did the aristocrat Audrey Hepburn do during World War II: The Secret Life of a Hollywood Star

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

This is the gripping life story of a Dutch aristocrat raised by parents with controversial political affiliations. She selflessly helped her country to resist the Nazis, she survived all the horrors of war and famine. Despite all this, Audrey Hepburn became a megastar, a foreigner who conquered the impregnable Hollywood. Few people know that Audrey led a double life. Her secret was that she was an activist in the Dutch Resistance during World War II. With the help of his extraordinary talent, Hepburn managed to provide assistance to the underground.

Hepburn family history

Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929. At birth, the girl was named Audrey Kathleen van Heemstra Ruston. She was aristocratic on both sides. Audrey's Dutch grandfather, Baron van Heemstra, was the former governor of the South American colony of Suriname and the former mayor of Arnhem. The dad of the future star was English and claimed kinship with the royal house through his ancestor James Hepburn, the third husband of Queen Mary Stuart of Scots. Young Audrey, or Adriaantier, as her family members called her, grew up constantly moving from Belgium to England, from England to the Netherlands.

The Hepburns visited Germany in the 1930s. They met there not only with prominent British fascists (including Sir Oswald Mosley), but also with Hitler himself. Thereafter, Audrey's mother, Ella, attended the Nazi Party Congress. After returning to England, she praised Hitler in British fascist publications. That short time when Ella was fascinated by the Nazis, Audrey tried her best to forget.

The Baroness completely changed her mind during the brutal Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in 1940. She began to help the Dutch Resistance. After the Nazis executed Audrey's beloved uncle Otto Ernst Gelder, Count van Limburg-Stirum, the family's grief knew no bounds. The pain of the loss was so intense that Hepburn tried never to mention her uncle's name.

Audrey spent most of her childhood in the occupation

At first glance, the future film and fashion icon seems too fragile to be able to challenge the German troops. Audrey Hepburn was an aristocrat by birth. As a child, she became interested in ballet and dreamed of becoming a great ballerina. The Second World War intervened in the girl's ambitious plans. The war not only destroyed plans for life, it took the lives of many people. The tragedy also affected the Hepburn family.

Audrey was born in Brussels. The family later moved to Holland. The mother of the future actress, Ella, believed that this was neutral territory. She, like many, was wrong. In 1940, the Germans invaded the country. A completely different life began, if it can be called that. There was a local bank branch near Audrey's house. The Nazis set up a prison there. The young girl heard the terrible screams of the torture victims. This had an extremely powerful effect on her.

Ella initially continued to support the Nazis. She started an affair with a German official. In late 1941, she even planned and organized a German-approved musical evening in Arnhem. Audrey and her brother Jan performed at it. Ironically, Hepburn's ballet teacher, Vinya Marova, was Jewish. Of course, the woman carefully concealed this fact from the invaders. Like many others, Audrey believes that her mother supported the Nazis during this period for her and her brothers. Ella saw this as the path of least resistance. This did not save them. Son Alex became an underground member, a member of the resistance, Yang too. They were arrested and sent to a concentration camp. For disagreement with the policy of the Nazis, Ella's brother-in-law and Audrey's uncle, Otto's prosecutor, were executed. This was the last straw for everyone.

In the village of Velp, near the town of Arnhem, the local population had no food. The Germans took everything. Whole families were dying of hunger. Audrey survived by eating tulip bulbs. She and her mother hid in the basement from the bombing. There were many dungeons. They helped the Resistance a lot - they could hide in them safely. Once the group hid there a downed British pilot, nicknamed the Red Devil.

How Audrey Hepburn worked for the Dutch Resistance

The most prominent citizens of the village where the Audrey family lived were executed or sent to camps. The local underground fighters were headed by a certain doctor Hendrik Vissert Hooft. He was an incredibly desperate man. Comrades said about him that he was "brazen enough to personally steal the motorcycle of a German officer and safely ride it."

Details of Audrey Hepburn's participation in the underground organization are accurately described in the book by Robert Matzen "The Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and the Second World War." The writer collected valuable information bit by bit, repeatedly visiting the Netherlands for this purpose. He drew a lot of information from the archives, interviewed people who knew about Hepburn's life during the war. The book opened the star from a completely new, unexpected side, giving new insight into her own statements about her military past.

Audrey Hepburn was helping Dr. Hooft. She became his assistant. From the outside it only looked like being a nurse. In fact, everything was much more dramatic - Audrey was a courier and a messenger. The young girl repeatedly delivered messages to underground workers and pilots shot down in this area. One day she came face to face with a squad of punishers. Audrey pretended to be a frankly naive fool, collected a bouquet of flowers and presented the Germans, completely charming them. Hepburn perfectly played her role, they believed her. These acting qualities helped her to conquer Hollywood in the future.

Dr. Wissert Hooft and other underground activists made the most of the young people. They had to take great risks. Audrey, educated in Kent and fluent in English, was an invaluable agent. The girl played a key role in most of his plans.

Hepburn, meanwhile, continued to dance. She has performed at the Municipal Theater in Arnhem. It was called "zwarte avonden", which translates as "black evenings". This was said because the windows of the halls were darkened or closed to avoid detection. The audience was even afraid to applaud, fearing that the young ballerina would be captured. Audrey thus tried to raise the spirit of the people in the occupation. Among other things, by dancing, she earned money for the Resistance and in order to feed the Jews who were hidden by the underground. One day, it still attracted the attention of the Nazis on duty. Hepburn once again used her brilliant acting talent with success.

The war left many scars on Audrey's life

After Holland was liberated by the Allied forces, the restored authorities sought to punish all collaborators. Ella Hepburn was summoned for questioning. After lengthy proceedings, the family name was cleared of all charges. Mother and daughter left for England. Due to the health undermined by hunger and nervous life, the ballerina's career had to end. A girl with an angelic appearance caught the attention of Hollywood. After her first role in the movie "Roman Holiday" she woke up famous. It seemed that playing a carefree princess was so natural for Hepburn.

After that, there were many films and memorable roles. One role that Audrey did not take on was Anne Frank. She was offered it because both girls were about the same age and had fought the war in the Netherlands. Hepburn read the script and refused. Much later, she will tell you that she didn’t want to, that her mother’s past came to light. In the light of the events of the picture, many would like to delve into its past.

It was always hard for Audrey to think about the war. In her film career, there are no roles about the Second World War. She chose to diligently avoid this topic. Hepburn completely turned the image of the busty blonde Hollywood star upside down, presenting millions of moviegoers with a new ideal of beauty. Audrey was incredibly fragile and slender, but viewers were unaware that years of malnutrition during the war contributed to this.

Both Audrey Hepburn herself and Hollywood bosses kept secret such details as Ella Hepburn's support for the Nazis at the beginning of the war and the fact that she herself danced for the enemy. Although, what choice did she have?

Audrey Hepburn has played many great movie roles. But her best performance probably took place before she earned her place in the Hollywood sky. Hepburn eventually came to terms with his past. Years after becoming a megastar, Audrey took part in the public readings of Anne Frank's Diary and served as UNICEF Ambassador. Shortly before her death, she was, including in war-torn Somalia.

The life story of another true Hollywood legend, read in our other article the star of "Gone with the Wind" passed away at 105, which broke the heart of the magnificent Olivia de Havilland.