Audrey Hepburn is a name most of us associate with classic films and timeless style. But beneath the gentle demeanour and enchanting gaze that charmed audiences in movies like Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s lingered a harrowing past shaped amidst the brutalities of World War II. Before the bright lights of Hollywood beckoned, a young Hepburn was entwined in a covert rebellion, courageously engaging in secretive activities to resist the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands.
Living in Velp during the Nazi occupation, Hepburn displayed profound courage beyond her years. Rather than succumb to the enveloping fear, she embraced secret resistance, delivering the Oranjekrant – an underground newspaper, and becoming a clandestine courier. Under the thick blanket of night, she cycled through perilous landscapes, risking her safety to disseminate crucial messages and news across resistance networks.
Ballet, a discipline synonymous with elegance and finesse, took on a deeper, more vital meaning during these dark times. Hepburn participated in what was known as “zwarte voorstellingen”, secret performances, crafting her dancing into a subtle act of rebellion. These hushed, intimate shows were more than mere exhibitions of her burgeoning talent – they were instrumental in raising money for the resistance, with each silent, graceful movement declaring a quiet yet bold defiance against Nazi rule.
Hepburn’s experiences in the dark shroud of war would seem to permeate her subsequent Hollywood career – imbuing her performances with an unspoken depth and nuanced understanding of pain and hardship. Despite enveloping herself in roles that epitomised grace, charm, and light-heartedness, the spectre of her past silently influenced her cinematic portrayals. It would eventually inform her well-documented philanthropic endeavours.
In 1988, Hepburn became a devoted ambassador for UNICEF. Deeply moved by her own experiences of hardship during the war, Hepburn worked tirelessly to advocate for suffering children in the most desperate of global situations. Travelling to impoverished or war-torn areas, such as Ethiopia and Somalia, she leveraged her international fame to shed light on crises, focusing on providing clean water, nutrition, and education to vulnerable children, believing fervently in aiding those who endured struggles akin to those she faced in her youth.
Reflecting on these formidable years, Hepburn revealed a gravely astute awareness of the myriad horrors birthed by the war. In Ian Woodward’s Audrey Hepburn: Fair Lady of the Screen, she divulged, “The war left me with a deep knowledge of human suffering which I expect many other young people never know about. The things I saw during the occupation made me very realistic about life, and I’ve been that way ever since.”
Don’t,” she implored, “discount anything awful you hear or read about the Nazis. It’s worse than you could ever imagine. I came out of the war thankful to be alive, aware that human relationships are the most important thing of all, far more than wealth, food, luxury, careers, or anything you can mention.”
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