Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II is a biography that chronicles Audrey Hepburn’s early life and experiences through five years of Nazi occupation in the Netherlands.
I have to confess, I didn’t know much about Audrey Hepburn’s life or upbringing before reading this book. I only knew Audrey from such movies as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Funny Face, and My Fair Lady, and from her role as a UNICEF ambassador. I was unaware that she lived and suffered in the Netherlands during World War II.
The book is a well-researched account of Audrey’s early life that at times reads more like a history book. There are detailed accounts of soldier movements, their tactics, and their plans for infiltration. There is discussion of aircraft and bombs. We learn a bit about Audrey’s family history and the history of the Netherlands. There are extensive details about what life was like in the towns where Audrey lived. Private diaries and documents were used to bring to life the experiences Audrey had during those 5 years.
Audrey’s early childhood was spent at a boarding school in England where her love of ballet would begin. When Audrey was 10, Britain declared war on Germany so her mother moved Audrey to Arnhem and later Velp in the hopes that the Netherlands would remain neutral like in the First World War. Audrey continued to take ballet lessons and dreamed of becoming a prima ballerina. Unfortunately, the Germans invaded the Netherlands and soon, the school that Audrey had taken lessons at was closed.
Audrey and her family witnessed the terrible events of the war first hand. In 1942, Audrey’s uncle was executed in retaliation for an act of sabotage by the resistance movement. Her half-brother Ian was deported to work in a German labor camp while her other half-brother Alex went into hiding to avoid the same fate.
The family witnessed Dutch Jews being transported to concentration camps, people dying from starvation, and saw neighbors killed in front of them when bombs were dropped on their town. For a while, Audrey and her family lived in the cellar of their home as it was too unsafe to be out in the open. During the Hunger Winter of 1944-45, when the Germans blocked the train routes so that no food could be delivered, the family resorted to making flour out of tulip bulbs to bake bread.
Audrey did what she could to help her neighbors. She would dance in performances in people’s homes to raise money for the Dutch resistance effort and would give lessons while she could. She worked as a doctor’s assistant at the hospital where she assisted one of the leaders of the Dutch resistance.
After the war, Audrey moved to Amsterdam and then London, where she began ballet training again. Unfortunately, due to her height (Audrey was 5′ 7″) and her weak physique due to the wartime malnutrition, Audrey was told that she would probably never be a prima ballerina. As a result, Audrey decided to focus on acting.
This book is not a book to read if you are looking to read about the glamorous life of a movie star. While I liked this book, I have to admit it was at times a bit of a slough to get through. Still, I was captivated reading what Audrey experienced during that time.
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