STEPHEN FRY: WILLEM AND FRIEDA - DEFYING THE NAZIS

This was no mean task as, at the time, the Dutch had the most sophisticated identity card system in the world and, what’s more, the Nazis had a clever backup: each card they issued had a duplicate stored in the Amsterdam Central Records Office to prevent forgery.

Willem realised he had to take action and, with a rag-tag gang of fellow artists, he led a daring raid to blow up the Central Records Office and destroy the duplicate cards. There was only one proviso: no one could be harmed in the process because “We are not like them”.

Stephen Fry goes on a very personal journey to Amsterdam to discover why this incredible story has remained largely hidden to the present day.