Miep Gies and the Comprehensive Picture of Life in Amsterdam Under the Nazis

...By Jack Sylva for TDPel Media.

National Geographic’s A Small Light is a new eight-part series that offers a fresh take on Anne Frank’s diary.

The story has been notoriously difficult to dramatize because the Franks were confined to their attic hideout for two years, cut off from the outside world except for their connections to brave Dutch citizens who brought them food, news, and a little radio.

However, the series manages to overcome this challenge by focusing on Miep Gies, one of the people who played a significant role in hiding Anne and her family.

The series follows the life of Miep Gies, played by Bel Powley, a young woman who is struggling to find a job until Otto Frank, Anne’s father, hires her as his secretary.

As life becomes more challenging for Jewish residents, the Franks, along with their friends, the Van Pels and Fritz Pfeffer, are forced into hiding with Gies’s help, and she becomes essential to their survival.

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The series follows her courageous activities during the war, alongside her husband Jan (played by Joe Cole).

By following Gies, the series offers a more comprehensive look at life in Amsterdam under the Nazis.

It paints a clear and nuanced picture of the Franks as a family while weaving in stories about Dutch resistance activities, evacuations, and bombings.

It also touches on the role of the Jewish council and shows some of the anti-Semitism espoused by some Dutch citizens, as well as the difficulties of navigating rationing, deportations, and other Jewish families’ attempts to escape.

The series could be grittier aesthetically and emotionally, but it is forgivable as it means the series will likely reach a wider audience.

The design team deserves praise for their faithful recreation of Forties Amsterdam, right down to the sense of fear. As Gies puts her life in jeopardy with her daring activities, the terror is palpable.

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Despite knowing the tragic denouement of the story, A Small Light manages to be devastating without being mawkish.

It feeds us hope that the tenants of the attic will somehow survive, and moves from being funny to gripping, frightening to upsetting, and from breezy to thought-provoking with ease.

It is a rollercoaster of emotions that reflects how it might have felt to live in Amsterdam at the time.

In the end, the story of bravery and perseverance is a hammer-wallop round the head.

The series’ horrendous conclusion leaves a lasting impression, as it does every time you are reminded of it.

The Franks were sent on the very last train from the Netherlands to Auschwitz on September 3, 1944.

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Anne died in February or March 1945 in Bergen-Belsen, likely from typhus, just over a month before the camp was liberated by the British.

Margot had died a couple of days earlier.

However, this in no way diminishes Gies’s efforts. It is a pleasure to watch this series about her astonishing bravery.

Review at a Glance:

A Small Light is a new eight-part series that focuses on Miep Gies, who played an integral role in hiding Anne Frank and her family.
The series offers a more comprehensive look at life in Amsterdam under the Nazis.
It is a rollercoaster of emotions that reflects how it might have felt to live in Amsterdam at the time.
Despite knowing the tragic denouement of the story, the series manages to be devastating without being mawkish.

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