The Jewish Council (2024)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Jewish Council is a historical drama which premiered on Dutch television in 2024. It is a miniseries with five episodes.

 

The topic of this drama is a highly controversial chapter of Dutch history: the case of the Jewish Council which existed for a short time in Amsterdam during World War Two. It was created in 1941 and dissolved only two years later, in 1943.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Director: Paula van der Oest

** Writer: Paul Jan Nelissen

** Languages spoken: Dutch and occasionally German

** Run time: 5 x ca. 50 minutes = ca. 250 minutes 

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Pierre Bokma as David Cohen (1882-1967)

** Claire Bender as Virginie (“Virrie”) Cohen (1916-2008)

** Halo de Kruijf as Walter Süskind (1906-1945)

** Jacob Diehl as Ferdinand Hugo aus der Fünten (1909-1989)

 

David Cohen is one of two presidents, who are in charge of the Jewish Council which is created in 1941.

Virrie Cohen is his daughter, who works as a nurse at a hospital in Amsterdam

Walter Süskind is a German Jew, who escapes from Germany to the Netherlands in 1938. During the war, he is a member of the Jewish Council in Amsterdam

Ferdinand Hugo aus der Fünten is the German officer, who is in charge of Jewish affairs in Amsterdam during World War Two

 

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Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. At first, they did not arrest and deport the Jewish population of the Netherlands.

 

At first, restrictions against the Jews were limited, but in 1941, the Germans began to take a more aggressive and more violent approach towards the Jewish population.

 

In Amsterdam, they suggested that a Jewish Council should be created.

 

Some Jews did not like this idea, while other Jews hoped that this might be a way to limit and control the German attack on the Jewish population.

 

David Cohen, a professor of ancient history, represents the latter group of Jews who were prepared to work with the Germans. But before long, he realises that the Germans do not consider the Jewish Council an equal partner.

 

He can see that the Germans only want to use the council as a tool to make it easier for the Germans to implement their policies towards the Jewish population. But he is unable to stop the Germans. And he is afraid to walk away from the Council. He fears the German response will be even more aggressive and violent.

 

He tries to negotiate with the Germans, even though he is not getting any positive results.

 

His daughter Virrie supports him in the beginning, but after a while, she can no longer do this. She feels she has to take another path.

 

The Dutch Jews were placed in a hopeless situation:

 

** If we collaborate, we will probably be arrested and killed anyway

** If we try to resist and if we are caught, we will surely be killed

 

There was no good option for them. There was no attractive solution available for them.

 

How many Jews were deported from the Netherlands during the war? Ca. 107,000.

How many returned when the war was over? Ca. 5,000.

This means ca. 102,000 lost their lives as a result of the deportation

The survival rate was extremely low. 

Only 5,000 out of 107,000.

 

*****

 

What do reviewers say about this historical drama?

Here are some answers:

 

** 74 percent = Letterboxd

** 83 percent = IMDb

 

Several user reviews are posted on Letterboxd. Two reviews offer four stars (80 percent), while two reviews offer five stars (100 percent).

 

Five user reviews are posted on IMDb. Four reviews offer a specific rating. Here are the headlines and the ratings offered:

 

** 70 percent = Beautifully made

** 90 percent = Very impressive

** 100 percent = Impressive, shocking

** 100 percent = The most impressive series I have seen in a long time

 

The fifth review does not offer a specific rating, but the general tone is positive. The review begins with the following words:

 

“A beautiful and realistic series of the problems, the dilemmas, and reality of living in the Netherlands at that time.”

 

This review seems to offer a rating of 60 or 70 percent.

 

I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with them.

 

The story is important. It deserves to be told, and in this five-part drama, it is done very well. 

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS. The German officer Ferdinand Hugo aus der Fünten quotes a passage in Latin during a meeting with the two presidents of the Jewish Council in Amsterdam: 

Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem

The Latin words are from a poem by Quintus Horatius Flaccus (known as Horace in English): Carmina, book 2, poem 3, lines 1 and 2. Translation: "Remember to keep a balanced mind in difficult situations." 

  

REFERENCES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riphagen

This historical drama premiered in 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Resistance Banker

This historical drama premiered in 2018

 

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