Secret Courage, The Walter Suskind Story

Walter Suskind was a German Jew living in Amsterdam who was forced by the Nazis to serve as the Jewish head of deportation at the Hollandsche Schouwburg (the Jewish Theater in Amsterdam), used as the main deportation site in Holland.

Using his fluent German, his skills as an actor and a businessman, and unfathomable courage and tenacity, he and an intrepid group of resistance workers orchestrated the escape of close to 1000 Dutch children who were marked for transport to the death camps.

In Secret Courage , we hear the stories of five of the saved children in their own words. Eleven of the resistance workers interweave their own stories, painting a picture of an incredible rescue operation fraught with intrigue and danger, but also carrying the moral and ethical dilemma of deciding who could be saved and who could not.

Although Walter took the secret of this mission to his death, these survivors tell his story and reflect on his ability to carry on when others gave up. They leave us to question our own moral code and what each of us might do when faced with such choiceless choices.

Secret Courage was shot in the Netherlands and the United States. It is 82 minutes long and was completed in September 2005. A DVD is available for $20. For educators, a complimentary DVD with Study Guide is available free of charge. Please use Contact Us to request a DVD of the film.

The film also has its own website with more background and information about the production and distribution of the film. In addition, many related stories have surfaced since the film was completed; they can be found in the section called “How the Film has Connected People”. Click here to open the Suskind Film website in a new window..