How Surviving Nazi Occupation Created a Feminist

The Femtastic Podcast

Hendrika de Vries lived in Amsterdam during five years of Nazi occupation during World War II. On the podcast, she tells the story of how her idyllic childhood changed overnight when the Nazis began their occupation in 1940. Her strong, determined mother risked their lives by hiding a Jewish girl in their home - until Nazis kicked down their door and dragged the girl out from her hiding place at gun-point, sending her off to a concentration camp. Hendrika describes how her own feminism was shaped by witnessing the resilience and power of women during wartime. Women like her mother, who fought for what was right and went to heroic lengths to keep their families alive during a winter in which 20,000 Dutch died from starvation and cold - and millions of Jews perished in concentration camps. She tells Femtastic listeners what we can learn from her story during a time of rising hatred and bigotry, and why she has hope for the future.

Fans can read more about Hendrika's story in her newly published memoir, When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew.