1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: So regular listeners to the podcast might recall a while 5 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: back when we talked in one of our listener mail 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: segments about a fantastic gift that we got, which was 7 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: a set of the Rootzpau comic books that were produced 8 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: by the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. Well, uh, that listener 9 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: segment led to us talking with the Holocaust Center about 10 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: their upcoming volume of the comic, which focuses on women upstanders, 11 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: real life superheroes who stood up against wrong, and we 12 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: decided to do an episode on one of the women 13 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 1: featured in that comic. And we're also going to have 14 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: interviews with some of the team behind the Rootzpau comic 15 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: on an upcoming episode. But today we are covering frieda Belinfante, 16 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: a woman who is inspiring both as a musician and 17 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: as a member of the Dutch Resistance who risked her 18 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: life again and again during World War Two in defiance 19 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,199 Speaker 1: of the German occupation of the Netherlands. She was born 20 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: on May tenth, four in Amsterdam, the third daughter in 21 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 1: her family. Her older sisters were Dorothea who went by Dolly, 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: and Renee. The fourth Belonfanta child was a boy named 23 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: Robert Paul. Frieda would later say that her mother had 24 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: wanted a boy when she was born and quote, I 25 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: have a lot of qualities that could have been a boy, 26 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 1: but I was a girl. Frieda learned around age ten 27 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,040 Speaker 1: that she had another brother as well. This was a 28 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: child of her father's that he had before marrying their mother, 29 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: and this half brother was named Hugo. Yeah, Hugo was 30 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: not a constant part of their lives, but kind of 31 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: came in and out as their their half brother, and 32 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: she knew him for the rest of his life. Frieda's 33 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: family is very large. Her father, Aarin Belonfanta, had nine 34 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: siblings and her mother, Georgine Antoinette Hess had either eight 35 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: or nine siblings, uh. Frieda could not recall for sure 36 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: in the interview she gave where she laid that although 37 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: the two sides of the family didn't really have much 38 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: in common and so they weren't particularly close, like, they 39 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: didn't all gather together. Though her father had initially been 40 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: on track for a career in medicine, he decided at 41 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: twenty one that music was actually his life's path, and 42 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: by the time Frieda was born, her father headed an 43 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: Amsterdam music school and was a very prominent pianist. According 44 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: to her account, her parents didn't raise their children in 45 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: any particularly religious manner, although her father was Jewish. When 46 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: she asked her father about religion, he told her that 47 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: she should read up on all kinds of religions and 48 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: see if there was something that appealed to her and 49 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: that she could believe in. And from an early age, 50 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: all of the Lanfonte children played music. Aarin decided that 51 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: Freeda should play the cello, and Freda's sister Renee once 52 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: noted in an interview that this was kind of a 53 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,359 Speaker 1: strange choice to give Frieda cello because Frieda's hands were 54 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: fairly small and she quote had to wrestle with that instrument. 55 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: But Dolly played violin already and Renee played the piano. 56 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: Their father wanted Frieda to play a different instrument. In 57 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen, when Frieda was eleven, her sister Dolly died 58 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: of paraitonitis, and Dolly was just fourteen at that time naturally, 59 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 1: as their parents mourned. This put a lot of strain 60 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,359 Speaker 1: on the family, and they really didn't speak about their 61 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: loss very much. Within a year, though, Frieda's parents divorced, 62 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: although the two of them had a cordial relationship from 63 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: this point. As a teenager, Frieda, according to her sister, Renee, 64 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: grew up very fast. Renee also noted that her sister 65 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,560 Speaker 1: was very popular and that both boys and girls were 66 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: crazy about her. Frieda was her father's favorite child, but 67 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: when her naughty behavior put her in peril of being 68 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: kicked out of public school, he gave her a stern 69 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: talking to because he could not afford a private school 70 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 1: as a music teacher, so if she got kicked out, 71 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: there were no other options for her education. In nine 72 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: Frieda's father, Aaron, died of colon cancer. He had been 73 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 1: sick for several years, and at first he had let 74 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: his up die mominal pain go untreated. After an emergency 75 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: surgery in nineteen twenty, he recovered for a time, and 76 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: during that brief reprieve, he insisted that he and free 77 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: to give a concert together. That was actually her first concert. Yeah, 78 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: she did not feel ready for it, but he kind 79 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: of pressed the issue, and they went ahead with it. 80 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: Frieda studied cello, not that much with her father, but 81 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: with a number of other teachers, and it was through 82 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: one of them in nineteen twenty that she met a 83 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:28,160 Speaker 1: woman named Ariette Boseman's. Frieda had been at the teacher's 84 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: house when she met Ariette, who was romantically involved with 85 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: the teacher. That teacher was the first cellist of the 86 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: Holland Orchestra, and when Henriette and the man had a 87 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: falling out because he had been cheating on her and 88 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,040 Speaker 1: she feared at the time that she was pregnant. Frieda 89 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: was then left alone with Ariette and told the obviously 90 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: upset woman that she could tell her everything. Frieda and 91 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: Henriette were soon romantically involved, and they lived together for 92 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 1: seven years. Henriette was already a well known composer. She 93 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:58,920 Speaker 1: was in her twenties when the two women met, so 94 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: she was older than the teen year old Bill in 95 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: Fonta was. Their relationship wasn't exclusive, though Henriette had relationships 96 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: with men, which Frieda said she wasn't jealous of, and 97 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: then Frieda later said that their relationship wasn't particularly sexual. 98 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: It seemed to be really founded more than anything else 99 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: on a very deep emotional bond and on Frida's fulfillment 100 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,559 Speaker 1: in the role of caretaker to the composer. She later 101 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: said of Honriette quote, I loved her for a long time, 102 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 1: many many years. She was a person who took more 103 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: than she gave, which was fine with me because I 104 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: had an abundance of devotion to give. Henrietta Boseman's second 105 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 1: Concerto was dedicated to Frieda. As Aaron belan Fonta's illness 106 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: had progressed, he had become unable to work, So Frieda 107 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: started working in those years between three professionally as a 108 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: cellist with the Holland Orchestra, and she and Bozeman's had 109 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: a wide range of friends who were also musicians, and 110 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: it was through this circle that freedom meta floutist named 111 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: Johann felt Coomp, who also went by Joe Felt Calm, 112 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,840 Speaker 1: was quite taken with Frieda and with her musicianship. Initially 113 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: their story sounds kind of sweet. Frieda had always been 114 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: the type to look out for other people, but Joe 115 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: wanted her to have the same benefit in her career. 116 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: But then his affection for her really became obsessive. He 117 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,679 Speaker 1: wanted to get married, and she explained that that wasn't 118 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,279 Speaker 1: really for her. And then at one point he brought 119 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: a revolver into the room with him and put up 120 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,119 Speaker 1: on the mantel. Frieda asked him, what are you trying 121 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: to do, and he said, quote, I don't want to 122 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: live without you. Her response to him at this point 123 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 1: was I'm not the marrying type. I don't think that 124 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,840 Speaker 1: I can love a man that way. But he responded, 125 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: I want to be where you are, and so she 126 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: agreed to the marriage, feeling like there was really no 127 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: other choice in the matter. She later told an interviewer, like, 128 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: what was I supposed to do when faced with the 129 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: possibility that this man would kill himself or I could 130 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: marry him. I wasn't going to be responsible for that, 131 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: which is a horrible position to put someone in. Uh. Surprisingly, 132 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: in many ways, they initially actually appeared to be a 133 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: fairly happy couple together. They were kind of like these 134 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:09,360 Speaker 1: two chic musicians, and they were both very popular, and 135 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: Frieda legitimately did like Joe as a person and she 136 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 1: enjoyed his company. But she also noticed that almost as 137 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: soon as they got married, Joe Jouadeviev seemed to vanish. 138 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: He had been very fun and and kind of boisterous 139 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: and a little bit of a trickster, and then all 140 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: went away, and he only grew more withdrawn as time 141 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: went on. They had been married in nineteen thirty one, 142 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,119 Speaker 1: and they divorced five years later in nineteen thirty six, 143 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: And in the meantime, Frieda and Henriette had also grown apart. Yeah, 144 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: when Frieda had married Joe, Anriette was still very much 145 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: in their lives, but she and Freda started drifting apart. 146 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: Freeda speculated that Henriette just wasn't able to manage the 147 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: idea of not having Frieda entirely to herself, even though 148 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: the rules were different for Arietta's own additional romances. Freda 149 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: took a job teaching high school music. She had actually 150 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: not been the school's first choice. A friend of hers 151 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: had been who was a man, But after working in 152 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: the position for a brief time, that first choice candidate 153 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: found that he could not handle the kids and he quit, 154 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: and Freda was called and asked if she still wanted 155 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 1: the job, and she took it. Conducting a high school 156 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: orchestra actually changed everything she had found her passion in conducting, 157 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: and she also reported that she had no problem handling 158 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: the kids. After the school kids put on a performance 159 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: that Freda conducted, the Amsterdam University choir asked her to 160 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: conduct them, and she did that. Also. As she kept 161 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: working with kids, they also felt like they wanted to 162 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 1: work with her even more, and so soon she assembled 163 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: this amateur orchestra, not just with the students that she 164 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: was teaching, but also with adults who were trying to 165 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: pursue music as a hobby. This amateur orchestra put on 166 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: a concert and that was attended by a booking agent 167 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 1: who arranged larger performances, and that agent approached Melin Fonta 168 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: and said, quote, if you can do that with an 169 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:01,959 Speaker 1: amateur orchestra, can you imagine what you can do with professionals? 170 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: And Freda balked at this idea. She didn't think that 171 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,319 Speaker 1: any professional musician would play for her, and also Amsterdam 172 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: had actually seen two other professional orchestra's form and fall 173 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: apart in a pretty short period of time. But after 174 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 1: she was promised bookings, if she could just get a 175 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: successful professional concert together, Frieda, always up for the challenge, 176 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: did exactly that she added attractors with this. Even among 177 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:30,080 Speaker 1: her close friends, there were concerns that she would kill 178 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: her career as a cellist if she tried to become 179 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: a conductor as a woman. Her best friend pointed out 180 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,600 Speaker 1: that she had never been trained as a conductor, and 181 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: Freda responded, quote, I have had my eyes and ears open. 182 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,440 Speaker 1: I think I can do it. Frieda's Klina Orchestra, her 183 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: little orchestra got good reviews, and so in ight she 184 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 1: had become a professional conductor. And coming up, we're going 185 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: to talk about the next phase of Frieda's life, which 186 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: unfortunately detoured away from music by necessity. But first we're 187 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: gonna pause for a word from one of our sponsors. 188 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: In nine Frieda took a drive to Switzerland and she 189 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: was going there to take a series of lessons in 190 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: conducting that ended with the twelve enrolled students in the 191 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: program competing as their final exam, and the winner of 192 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,240 Speaker 1: that competition would get to conduct a professional Swiss orchestra. 193 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: Frieda was the top student and she won. She never 194 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 1: got to claim her prize because World War Two put 195 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: an end to her conducting. German troops occupied Holland on 196 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: May tenth. Frieda's brother, Robert, who was a doctor, went 197 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: silent after this invasion, and with no communication from him, 198 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: the family understandably became very concerned. It turned out that 199 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,559 Speaker 1: Robert and his wife had died by suicide. The family 200 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: found out when a stranger told them Robert had left 201 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 1: his mother a note explaining that they had made the 202 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: choice to die rather than to live in the world 203 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: as it was. Frieda said in an interview late in 204 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 1: her life that if she had been there, she would 205 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:05,440 Speaker 1: have told her brother that the world hadn't changed. Quote. 206 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: The bad part just came too close, and while the 207 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:13,440 Speaker 1: family reeled understandably, Frieda was pretty quick to tell them 208 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: that she was not ever going to handle things the 209 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:18,320 Speaker 1: way that her brother had. That she was going to resist. 210 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 1: She told her sister Renee, quote, if the Germans catch me, 211 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:23,839 Speaker 1: they can chop me into little pieces if they want, 212 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: but I'm fighting. As part of the occupation, all artists 213 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: were required to join the National Socialist Culture Chamber, but 214 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: Jews were forbidden to join. The orchestra that Frieda was 215 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 1: conducting had a lot of Jewish musicians in it, so 216 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,600 Speaker 1: she gathered them together and said, boys, there's no orchestra, 217 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 1: we have never existed. She preferred to give up her 218 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 1: dream job as a conductor then to risk the safety 219 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,720 Speaker 1: of her musicians, and they weren't working artists in an orchestra. 220 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: They weren't artists by professions, so she could hopefully avoid 221 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: registration in the culture chamber that would have had to 222 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 1: identify which of the members were Jewish. Playing music written 223 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: by Jewish composers was also forbidden, and then Jewish musicians 224 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: were forced out of music schools and conservatories and orchestras, 225 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:14,199 Speaker 1: which was what Frieda had foreseen. Yes, she was very 226 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: quick to see the path that lay ahead of them, 227 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 1: faster than a lot of other people, because there there 228 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:22,440 Speaker 1: were other people in the music scene. They were like, no, 229 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: we can all just register. It'll be fine. We just 230 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: had to register, and she's like, nope, this is how 231 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,319 Speaker 1: it starts um and that culture chamber had existed before 232 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:36,319 Speaker 1: the occupation but became a mandatory thing. She later spoke 233 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: about her shift in focus during this time by saying, quote, 234 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:43,240 Speaker 1: I completely disappeared from the musical life and immediately started 235 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: to prepare myself to do other things that needed doing. 236 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: In October nineteen forty, a law requiring identification to be 237 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,599 Speaker 1: carried at all times was enacted. Jews had a J 238 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 1: stamped on their papers, and this is when Frieda started 239 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: forging papers. This was actually not her first time forging documents. 240 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 1: When she was much younger, she had forged papers for 241 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: a close friend who was Russian to get back into 242 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union to meet up with her betrothed Free 243 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 1: to learn to carefully switch out parts of the documents 244 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 1: to create new ones. By May of nineteen forty one, 245 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: there were no Jews left in the Amsterdam music community. 246 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: Frieda had started distributing forged passports from her home and 247 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: she helped a lot of people flee. And then as 248 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: time went on, her methods became more and more refined 249 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,680 Speaker 1: and she was able to print entire fake identification. Yeah, 250 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: prior to that, they had kind of been cutting and pasting, 251 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,920 Speaker 1: you know, cutting apart some identification and making new ones, 252 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:42,479 Speaker 1: but they basically had a whole system going on by 253 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,360 Speaker 1: But all of this defiance and all of her work 254 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:48,600 Speaker 1: in the resistance eventually caught up with Freedom. After a 255 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: passport pick up appointment was missed by a couple that 256 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: she had agreed to give forged documents she wanted to 257 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: check on them. They lived in her neighborhood and she 258 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,080 Speaker 1: knew who they were. And when she went to their home, 259 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: the Gestapo was waiting and for to was arrested. She 260 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,199 Speaker 1: purposely talked to this officer who had taken her into custody, 261 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:06,559 Speaker 1: like she didn't know what he was talking about. She 262 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 1: asked him to explain the laws around who was and 263 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:14,080 Speaker 1: wasn't considered Jewish. For example, Frida's father, as we explained earlier, 264 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: was Jewish, but her mother wasn't. So Frieda wasn't considered Jewish, 265 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: but her brother, who had married a Jewish woman, was 266 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 1: considered Jewish. She peppered the officer with all these questions, 267 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: asking him to explain all the rules about who could 268 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: and couldn't interact with each other. She claimed to do 269 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: not understand any of them. She acted very innocent and 270 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 1: confused by the whole situation, until he got so tired 271 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: of trying to answer her questions that he pulled the 272 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: car over and told her to get out and go home. 273 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 1: In two Freda performed her last concert as a conductor 274 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: in Amsterdam. This was held in a Jewish community center 275 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 1: and it was performed by a mix of Jewish and 276 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 1: non Jewish students, and this was really a huge act 277 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: of defiance on Freda's part. She was not legally allowed 278 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: to conduct Jewish musicians during all of this. One of 279 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 1: Frieda's best friends, Ellen Sports, trusted the wrong people who 280 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: had promised to get Ellen and her Jewish husband out 281 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 1: of Amsterdam for a price, but it turned out this 282 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: whole thing was a scamp. The couple was taken instead 283 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: to a concentration camp. Knowing that her friends had been 284 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: betrayed in this way and sent to be murdered infuriated 285 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: Freda for the rest of her life. She would later 286 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: say quote that is so low, so far down in 287 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: the depths of evil, that I hate to talk about it. 288 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: I hate to think about it. Myself free to realize 289 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: that she and some of her colleagues in the Resistance 290 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: could keep forging documents, but the problem was that there 291 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: couldn't be duplicate documents in city Hall. The I D 292 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: s were all enumerated, and that number series made it 293 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 1: easier to check for fake i D. So she decided 294 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 1: that the solution was to destroy the files in city Hall, 295 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: and the logic was that if one duplicate was discovered 296 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 1: and identified as fake, it would make clear to German 297 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: authorities that there were a lot of fakes probably in circulation, 298 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 1: and it would up the chances of people getting caught 299 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: and of course all of the horrible ramifications of that. 300 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,560 Speaker 1: So in March of nineteen forty three, the Dutch Resistance 301 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 1: made their move to resolve this. They attacked City Hall 302 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:18,680 Speaker 1: and destroyed the Idea records. This was really no small feet. 303 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: The building was guarded. Frieda's team did all kinds of 304 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 1: research to find out how the whole operation worked, including 305 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 1: the names of all the guards and the shift schedules. 306 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: They also had a tailor make to replica police uniforms. 307 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: To pull off the mission, they found a leak on 308 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: the police force. You could give them details and then 309 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 1: free to watch the whole thing from a nearby roof. 310 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 1: But even though they were able to set fire at 311 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: City Hall and that plan ultimately was a success in 312 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: destroying records, there was fallout because someone betrayed the group. 313 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: Because of all of the preparation and information gathering that 314 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 1: had been involved, there were just too many people who 315 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: had been talked to and thus too many people who 316 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,720 Speaker 1: knew about it. So everyone had to go into hiding 317 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: and free to learn of her co conspirators being arrested 318 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:06,480 Speaker 1: one by one and sentenced to death for their part 319 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 1: in the attack. One man, in particular, Rudolph Rudy Bloomgarten, 320 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 1: had been Frieda's right hand man in planning the sabotage, 321 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: and his death in particular was an especially hard blow. 322 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 1: After the destruction of the population register at city Hall, 323 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 1: the Germans were really intent on capturing all of the conspirators, 324 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: but Frieda was always determined to keep going. She stayed 325 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:30,199 Speaker 1: on the move. She never stayed in one place for 326 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 1: too long. She also disguised herself as a man, pitching 327 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 1: her voice lower to complete this illusion whenever she tried 328 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 1: to move around in the open. Frieda had some wealthy contexts, 329 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,360 Speaker 1: partly through her career in the arts and partly through 330 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:46,199 Speaker 1: family connections, and so that offered her an avenue to 331 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,320 Speaker 1: secure additional funding for the resistance as things got more 332 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 1: and more difficult and times got leaner. One of the 333 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: things that she talked about later in her life was 334 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: that she went to the head of the Heineken family, 335 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,600 Speaker 1: who was running their successful beer business, to ask for help, 336 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: and this was a huge risk. She didn't know for 337 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,440 Speaker 1: certain if he was sympathetic to the resistance. She talked 338 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: a lot over the years about how she felt like 339 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: she got really really good at being able to read 340 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: a person just by looking in their eyes, and in 341 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,200 Speaker 1: this case her instinct had been correct. He was sympathetic. 342 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:19,280 Speaker 1: But still there were obstacles. So the Germans were tracking 343 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 1: the company's finances, checking to see where all the money 344 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,359 Speaker 1: came from into the business and how that money was 345 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:28,000 Speaker 1: being spent. So finally he asked Freda, do you have 346 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: an idea? And she actually did. She said, by my cello. 347 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: They're pretty costly, you know. So they were able to 348 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:37,120 Speaker 1: have this completely above board transaction where she gave him 349 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:40,199 Speaker 1: her cello and exchange for the money that the resistance needed. 350 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: She also got that cello back when the war ended 351 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:47,520 Speaker 1: with no problems whatsoever. Even as her efforts were leading 352 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 1: to really meaningful actions and successes for the Dutch Resistance, 353 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: Frieda also recognized that she was soon going to run 354 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: out of luck. She also knew that anyone that was 355 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 1: even suspected of an association with her would be in 356 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:03,359 Speaker 1: day Germ to further complicate matters, While lifting a heavy 357 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,679 Speaker 1: iron bed that concealed the trap door in one of 358 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,640 Speaker 1: the houses that she sheltered in. Freda got a hernia 359 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:10,920 Speaker 1: and needed to have it operated on. Was just made 360 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:14,440 Speaker 1: all of this very delicate, time of being nearly discovered 361 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,679 Speaker 1: all the time even more complicated. She used a false 362 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 1: name and she went to a doctor that had been 363 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: recommended that she later described as being quote on the 364 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,440 Speaker 1: right side. But fewer than ten days after this surgery, 365 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,240 Speaker 1: the plan for her to flee had to be put 366 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:31,520 Speaker 1: into motion. It was time for her to move, and 367 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: she did. She was supposed to go from Brussels to 368 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:37,439 Speaker 1: Paris to Switzerland and her escape. And this was not 369 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: an easy trip. This was in winter, A lot was 370 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 1: on foot. She had to follow contacts at various points 371 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:47,000 Speaker 1: who couldn't actually acknowledge her. So there was this just 372 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: a lot of guesswork and risk in the whole plan. Yeah, 373 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: there was one uh section where she's describing this plan 374 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:55,920 Speaker 1: where she said she had to go to a train station, 375 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:58,159 Speaker 1: wait for two men to get off the train. They 376 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,080 Speaker 1: wouldn't look at her, but they would go off in 377 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 1: a direction and she would have to follow them. But 378 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:04,760 Speaker 1: I was just singing, this could be any two dudes 379 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,679 Speaker 1: that get off a train. She doesn't know necessarily that 380 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,000 Speaker 1: she's following the right men. Like every single step of 381 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: this had huge question marks around it, and by the 382 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 1: time Freda reached Brussels, the planned Brussels Paris, Switzerland path 383 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:22,160 Speaker 1: of moving refugees out of the Netherlands had been discovered 384 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 1: by the Nazis and it was no longer useful, so 385 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: Freda traveled instead to Lelle, France, where she had the 386 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: contact information for another safe house. When she got there, though, 387 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:36,159 Speaker 1: there was a huge and terrifying coincidence that same Gestapo 388 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: officer that she had duped in Amsterdam by pretending she 389 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,919 Speaker 1: didn't know all the laws, that was the very same 390 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,439 Speaker 1: person who opened the door of this safe house and 391 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: told her to enter. She put it very plainly when 392 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,239 Speaker 1: she was telling this story later quote, I ran for 393 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: my life. She ran into a nearby store and hid there. 394 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:57,560 Speaker 1: Once she was convinced that the coast was clear, she 395 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: left and she made her way to Paris. After several 396 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,159 Speaker 1: weeks in Paris, she traveled with a contact in the 397 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: resistance she had made their named Tony, to the Swiss border, 398 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: and this was in February of nine Tony was pretty 399 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 1: open with her that he was fearful because he looked 400 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 1: obviously Jewish and he thought he might put her in 401 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: jeopardy as a consequence, but she responded to his concern 402 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 1: with quote, Tony, by the time they see us, it 403 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 1: doesn't matter whether you look Jewish or not. And when 404 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:28,160 Speaker 1: they reached the Swiss border, despite being unable to swim, 405 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: she and Tony had to cross a river carrying their 406 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 1: clothes over their heads. And then when they got to 407 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:36,200 Speaker 1: the Swiss side of the river and regrouped, they realized 408 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 1: that they were at the base of a steep mountain 409 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:39,159 Speaker 1: that there was no way they were going to be 410 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,919 Speaker 1: able to climb, and so they didn't have anywhere to hide. 411 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 1: They had to walk along the river with no cover. 412 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,720 Speaker 1: Their long walk through the snow was though, in Frieda's 413 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,640 Speaker 1: own words, gorgeous, and it was something she never forgot. 414 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: But they were discovered when they stopped at an end 415 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: to try to call the Dutch consulate. They were arrested 416 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:00,399 Speaker 1: by Swiss border police and taken once A in on 417 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,400 Speaker 1: foot to show de font to be imprisoned. Frieda gave 418 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: a Swiss reference to prove that she was Dutch. And 419 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: that checked out. But Tony, on the other hand, was 420 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 1: sent back into the cold on the French side of 421 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,399 Speaker 1: the border. When she was asked if she and Tony 422 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: were a couple, Frida answered truthfully that they were just friends, 423 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 1: and she realized only later that if she had just 424 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,440 Speaker 1: lied and said that they were together, that she might 425 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,520 Speaker 1: have saved him. Frida was moved to a Dutch refugee 426 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,120 Speaker 1: hotel camp, and this was actually a very difficult time 427 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,120 Speaker 1: for her. She didn't really have any sense of connection 428 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: or camaraderie with her fellow refugees. Some of them gossiped 429 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: about her, largely around speculation about whether she was a lesbian, 430 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 1: and she felt like a complete outsider. She later said 431 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: that she felt dead inside when she was there with 432 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,720 Speaker 1: the other refugees at montrou and thought that she would 433 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:49,919 Speaker 1: never be able to make music again. When the war ended, 434 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,919 Speaker 1: Freda returned to Amsterdam. She went by convoy in a 435 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 1: journey that she described as misery. When she got there, 436 00:22:57,320 --> 00:22:59,479 Speaker 1: she found that her apartment had been sealed up by 437 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: the Gesta bo, but everything inside it was as she 438 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:05,399 Speaker 1: had left it. As the city of Amsterdam tried to 439 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 1: resume a life that was something like normal. There was 440 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,880 Speaker 1: really a lot of difficulty and strife. Because there were 441 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 1: a lot of people who had worked with the Germans 442 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,159 Speaker 1: and were still part of the city, they seemed to 443 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,400 Speaker 1: face no repercussions. The conductor Edward von Bynum was one 444 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,440 Speaker 1: such person, and he went right back to work. Freed 445 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:26,359 Speaker 1: To described seeing the people who had collaborated with the 446 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,320 Speaker 1: Germans and such good standing in the city as quote 447 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 1: a very cold shower frieda bel and Fonte made a 448 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,879 Speaker 1: significant change in her life after the war, and we're 449 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 1: going to talk about that right after we take a 450 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: quick sponsor break. Freed To understandably did not really feel 451 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,119 Speaker 1: like herself after the war ended and she returned to 452 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,400 Speaker 1: her home. She described this period as a time when 453 00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 1: she felt no joy and she didn't want to build anything, 454 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,000 Speaker 1: And for a woman who had been so driven all 455 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,439 Speaker 1: of her life, this was a very sharp contrast. And 456 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: as time went on she knew that she just she 457 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:08,000 Speaker 1: needed a change. So in seven she decided to make 458 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,840 Speaker 1: her way to New York, which she did with the 459 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,439 Speaker 1: help of a sponsor. But when she got there, she 460 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: found she didn't really like New York all that much. 461 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:17,360 Speaker 1: She had tried to make connections to get a job 462 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: as a cellist, but after an agent told her that 463 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: the cellis she already represented couldn't get enough work. That 464 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:25,119 Speaker 1: woman then asked Freda what else she could do, and 465 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: Belinfanta offered up a headshot that listed her as a conductor, 466 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,640 Speaker 1: and the agent said that's worse, and so Freda said 467 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:34,920 Speaker 1: goodbye and she left the office. After that, she decided 468 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 1: to travel the United States and to see where felt 469 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: like the right place to make a new home. She 470 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: was staying with the sister of one of her friends 471 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:45,240 Speaker 1: from school. This is a woman named Many. Many bought 472 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,439 Speaker 1: a little car and took some vacation time, and the 473 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:49,919 Speaker 1: two of them set out to see the United States together. 474 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:55,640 Speaker 1: Frida found these travels incredibly refreshing and restorative. As they traveled, 475 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:57,560 Speaker 1: no one knew who she was or what she had 476 00:24:57,560 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: been through, so she didn't feel the oppressive shadow of 477 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: the war in the same way that she had back 478 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,200 Speaker 1: in Europe. When Frieda and Many got to California, Many 479 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,359 Speaker 1: sold Free to the car This is a cross ley 480 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: that Frieda described as being like a sewing machine. Many 481 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 1: went back to New York and Freeda stayed with a 482 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: friend that she had made when she was crossing over 483 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,080 Speaker 1: from Europe. This was a woman named Ivy Fraser. Frieda 484 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:21,119 Speaker 1: and Ivy bought a house together, and similarly to her 485 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:25,000 Speaker 1: relationship with Henriette Bosmans, she said that her relationship with 486 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:27,879 Speaker 1: Ivy was quote low gear sexually, but the two of 487 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: them were very close. Freda worked for a while at 488 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 1: a university as an assistant conductor and a music teacher, 489 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 1: but soon she realized she could make better money playing 490 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,560 Speaker 1: for movie studio orchestras, and during this time, while she 491 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,440 Speaker 1: was taking a lot of freelance work, someone recognized her 492 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:44,880 Speaker 1: name and asked if she was related to the famous 493 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: woman conductor from Amsterdam. When she told him no, she 494 00:25:48,359 --> 00:25:51,159 Speaker 1: was not a relative, she was that woman conductor. He 495 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: was at first incredulous because she was taking these little, piecemeal, 496 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,760 Speaker 1: cheap jobs in Hollywood and it just didn't match up 497 00:25:57,760 --> 00:25:59,920 Speaker 1: in his head. Then he offered freed to the chance 498 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: to conduct again, although he was clear that it would 499 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,919 Speaker 1: not be for pay. She didn't entirely believe him, but 500 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:07,800 Speaker 1: then he told her that there were a lot of 501 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:11,680 Speaker 1: musicians in Hollywood who were making a living playing fully 502 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:15,280 Speaker 1: and doing accents sound for film, but they never got 503 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:17,440 Speaker 1: to play in concert, and he said that he could 504 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,359 Speaker 1: pull an orchestra together from these folks, and he was 505 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,240 Speaker 1: true to his word. He put together in orchestra and 506 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:25,200 Speaker 1: they all met for the first time in the Highland 507 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,879 Speaker 1: Avenue High School auditorium. And just as Frieda had found 508 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,199 Speaker 1: her passion for conducting in a high school initially, that 509 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,919 Speaker 1: spark was reignited in another high school, this time in 510 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: Los Angeles. And when the first session ended with these 511 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,400 Speaker 1: new musicians, Freda asked all of them if they would 512 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:42,160 Speaker 1: like to come back the next week, and they all 513 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,560 Speaker 1: said yes. Soon their little orchestra was booked at the 514 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:49,240 Speaker 1: Redlands ball in Redlands, California. Frieda called it quote the 515 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:54,360 Speaker 1: most poetical concert that I remember. She gave twelve curtain calls. 516 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:58,080 Speaker 1: After this triumph, people in Orange County started asking why 517 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,800 Speaker 1: they didn't have events like this one that hosted Frieda 518 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,560 Speaker 1: and her orchestra, and that was a catalyst for the 519 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:07,360 Speaker 1: formation of the Orange County Philharmonic, which named Frieda Belinfanta, 520 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,639 Speaker 1: who was fifty at the time, as conductor. She was 521 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,240 Speaker 1: the first woman principal conductor of a professional symphony orchestra, 522 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,800 Speaker 1: and by her account, she initiated every program that they 523 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:21,679 Speaker 1: ever had. She also had to educate the community about music, 524 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: and one year she gave seventy five speeches trying to 525 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 1: do so to drum up support for the orchestra. They 526 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 1: had really rave reviews and well attended shows, but when 527 00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:34,160 Speaker 1: Frieda's first five year contract was up, she was told 528 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:36,199 Speaker 1: it was not going to be renewed and that the 529 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 1: symphony was being disbanded. There are different versions of exactly 530 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,639 Speaker 1: how things played out. Free to believe that gossip about 531 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,639 Speaker 1: her lesbianism was part of it. She said of this 532 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:49,240 Speaker 1: time quote, I've always been approached by the women. I 533 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:51,680 Speaker 1: never had to go after anyone because they were always 534 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,479 Speaker 1: after me. I was plagued by it an Orange County. 535 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:57,679 Speaker 1: These people I didn't ask for. I wasn't after people. 536 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:00,040 Speaker 1: They were after me all the time. But then of 537 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,440 Speaker 1: course when I didn't follow through, they became nasty. Arts 538 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:07,199 Speaker 1: advocate and Orange County Philharmonic founder Elaine Redfield told a 539 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,679 Speaker 1: different version of the story, one that had more to 540 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 1: do with community politics in the arts in the Los 541 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: Angeles area. She said in a documentary interview years later 542 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,240 Speaker 1: that the director of the l A Philharmonic had been 543 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,400 Speaker 1: threatened by the Orange County Philharmonic and that he had 544 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,840 Speaker 1: simply used his influence to push the O c P 545 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,520 Speaker 1: out of existence. This was the time with a lot 546 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:30,240 Speaker 1: of changes for Frieda. In addition to her job in 547 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,640 Speaker 1: Orange County ending, she also split up with Ivy Fraser 548 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:36,159 Speaker 1: and the house that they bought together was sold. Freda 549 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,200 Speaker 1: moved into her own place in Laguna Beach. Freeda gave 550 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,760 Speaker 1: her last concert as a conductor in the late eighties 551 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,920 Speaker 1: and Laguna Beach, and soon after that it became apparent 552 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: that her hearing was failing. She started to think that 553 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 1: the musicians were playing out of tunes, specifically the strings, 554 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 1: but it was actually her hearing that had changed, and 555 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 1: that was a painful realization for someone who so deeply 556 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,200 Speaker 1: loved music. Frieda and her partner at the time, time 557 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,960 Speaker 1: Bobby Chambers, moved to Santa fe when Frieda retired from conducting, 558 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: but then she was diagnosed with cancer not long after that, 559 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 1: and that quashed Freda's plan for a languid and quiet retirement. 560 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: On May thirty, at the age of ninety, free To 561 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,680 Speaker 1: gave a long form interview to Klaus Mueller for the 562 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:21,400 Speaker 1: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and in that interview she 563 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 1: told her entire life story. That interview was a significant 564 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:27,479 Speaker 1: part of the research for this episode, and you can 565 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 1: see videos of it online as well as read a 566 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: full transcript, and we're gonna link to that in the 567 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,800 Speaker 1: show notes. A few days before her death, free To 568 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:37,320 Speaker 1: told Bobby that she had a beautiful dream that she 569 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:39,440 Speaker 1: was in a pool and that people from all the 570 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:41,640 Speaker 1: various times of her life got into the pool and 571 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: came to her and told her good job. Freda melan 572 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 1: Funta died nine months after her interview for the Holocaust Museum, 573 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: and after her death, Elaine Redfield said of her quote, 574 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,320 Speaker 1: she was an excellent conductor by any standard, but the 575 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:56,520 Speaker 1: world wasn't ready at that point in time for a 576 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:00,440 Speaker 1: lady conductor. It was a shame. She was enormously able. 577 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: Eric Vulmer, former Orange County Philharmonic Society executive director, said 578 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,160 Speaker 1: of Frieda quote, she was really a trailblazer in the 579 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:12,640 Speaker 1: arts for Orange County. She was feisty, indefatigable, single minded, 580 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: but more than anything, she really cared about music and 581 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 1: she wanted to share the art with a broad based community. 582 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,360 Speaker 1: Frieda was a very quotable woman. If you watch those 583 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 1: videos of her read that transcript, you realize she lived 584 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:26,880 Speaker 1: out a lot of singers, and not only was she 585 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 1: a resistance fighter and a top notch musician, she also 586 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 1: had a way of seeing the world with great personal 587 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:35,880 Speaker 1: confidence and clarity about her position in it. As an 588 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 1: illustrative example, I wanted to close out with a quote 589 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 1: of hers that I absolutely love. She said quote, if 590 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:43,960 Speaker 1: people have a conceived idea why they don't want to 591 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 1: have anything to do with me, I'm not inquiring of 592 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: trying to find out why, because if people don't want 593 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:51,360 Speaker 1: to have anything to do with me, then it's not 594 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:55,480 Speaker 1: my kind of people. I love her so much. Yeah, yeah, 595 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:58,280 Speaker 1: she's pretty great. Um. I found myself just down a 596 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 1: rabbit hole of like gazing at her, watching her do interviews, 597 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:05,120 Speaker 1: and uh, there are some great clips in a documentary 598 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: that was made about her in the late nineties where 599 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,800 Speaker 1: you see her teaching music and realize just how she 600 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 1: can be so straightforward and blunt with people, but also 601 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 1: very warm and encouraging at the same time, and like, 602 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: it's just it's beautiful. I have fun listener mail from 603 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:24,960 Speaker 1: our recent travels tell me so as people may know. 604 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:28,320 Speaker 1: We were recently on tour. We did the Texas leg 605 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,000 Speaker 1: of our tour this past week, and while we were 606 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:34,320 Speaker 1: traveling UH in Houston, one of our listeners named in 607 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:39,200 Speaker 1: Net brought us a beautiful out false Muka postcard and Uh. 608 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 1: She and her husband were both of the show, and 609 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,000 Speaker 1: they were absolutely lovely. And I feel so lucky anytime 610 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:46,680 Speaker 1: we get to do those shows and meet listeners and 611 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 1: spend time with them, and we all laughed together and 612 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 1: have meet and greets and it's super great fun. Uh 613 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:53,280 Speaker 1: and I really like this postcard and wanted to read it, 614 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 1: she writes. Tracy and Holly, we enjoyed listening to the 615 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,000 Speaker 1: podcast on the Defenstration of Prague before visiting Prague and 616 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,200 Speaker 1: Budapest earlier this year. There is so much we don't 617 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:04,320 Speaker 1: learn in history class about this part of the world. 618 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: For instance, I was an art history double major and 619 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,400 Speaker 1: never heard of the artist Alfonse Mucha until we planned 620 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,400 Speaker 1: our trip. A visit to the Mucha Museum was a highlight. 621 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:16,080 Speaker 1: I bought this postcard for you there and thank you 622 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:19,680 Speaker 1: for missed in history. UM. And then you're so cute 623 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:21,680 Speaker 1: and it was so wonderful to meet you. She and 624 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:24,400 Speaker 1: her husband. As I said, we're absolutely lovely as we're 625 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:28,720 Speaker 1: all of our awesome listeners that came out and saw us. Yes, Um, 626 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: we had such a great time on that tour. I 627 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,640 Speaker 1: can't even begin to describe what good, fortunate it feels like. 628 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:37,680 Speaker 1: And if folks are wondering, yes, an episode from it 629 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: will be an episode of the podcast. It's just not 630 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:45,440 Speaker 1: quite yet. Yeah, it will be out soon ish. Uh. 631 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:47,520 Speaker 1: We have a lot of stuff kind of in the schedule, 632 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: so it's maybe a little more delayed sometimes in terms 633 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 1: of when it goes live after when we've recorded it, 634 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:54,960 Speaker 1: but not by much. So it's coming. You two will 635 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,280 Speaker 1: hear all of our silly adventures. Uh. If you would 636 00:32:58,320 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 1: like to reach out to us and can't make it 637 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:01,640 Speaker 1: to a live show to hand us a postcard, you 638 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,600 Speaker 1: can email us. We have a new email address, so 639 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:07,600 Speaker 1: that has changed up from anything you've heard on previous episodes. 640 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: The new address is History Podcast at I heart radio 641 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:13,840 Speaker 1: dot com. Uh. The old address will work for a 642 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:15,640 Speaker 1: little while, but I don't know how long, and we 643 00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 1: are making the transition over fully to the I heart 644 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,960 Speaker 1: radio address. So again that is History Podcast at I 645 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:23,480 Speaker 1: heart radio dot com. You can still reach out to 646 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: us on social media as missed in History pretty much everywhere, 647 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:28,600 Speaker 1: and you can also visit us on our website at 648 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:30,800 Speaker 1: missed in History dot com. If you would like to 649 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:32,719 Speaker 1: subscribe to the show, we would like you to do 650 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:34,200 Speaker 1: that as well. You can do that on the I 651 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, at Apple podcast or wherever it is 652 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:43,920 Speaker 1: you listen stuff you Missed in History Class is a 653 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:47,560 Speaker 1: production of I heart Radios How Stuff Works. For more podcasts. 654 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 1: For my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 655 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:53,000 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.