Audrey Hepburn is remembered as one of Hollywood’s brightest stars, but her teenage years were far from glamorous. Born in Brussels in 1929, Audrey grew up in a privileged family. Her father left the family when she was six, and her mother moved them to the Netherlands, thinking it would be safer from the threat of war. However, in 1940, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, and life became harsh and dangerous.
Audrey didn’t fit in at first. She couldn’t speak Dutch and struggled in a new school where children teased her. As the war dragged on, her family, once wealthy, faced severe food shortages. Her mother, who had admired Adolf Hitler before the war, soon saw the horrors of the Nazi occupation firsthand.
When Audrey was 15, the Nazis demanded that all artists join a union called the “Kulturkammer” to continue performing publicly. Audrey refused. She gave up public dance performances and chose instead to help the Dutch resistance in secret.
A Secret Spy in the Shadows
During the war, Audrey’s love for dance became a tool for survival and resistance. She performed in secret “blackout” ballet shows to raise money for the resistance. These performances were held in hidden locations, with curtains drawn tight and candles providing dim light. There could be no applause—only whispered thanks and hidden donations. The money raised went to fund the resistance’s efforts to fight back against the Nazis.
As the war grew more intense, Audrey took on even riskier roles. She volunteered as an assistant to a doctor who was secretly part of the resistance. Her work included delivering secret messages. Audrey, a young girl the Nazis would never suspect, would hide notes in her shoes or socks and travel through forests and checkpoints.
One time, she had to meet a British paratrooper hiding in the woods to deliver a coded message. On her way out of the forest, she spotted Nazi-allied police approaching. Thinking quickly, she bent down to pick wildflowers and offered them flirtatiously to the officers. Her charm and quick thinking saved her from being searched.
Audrey’s courage was vital. Children were often used by the resistance because the Nazis didn’t see them as threats. Despite the danger, Audrey and others like her felt it was their duty to help. She believed, as her son later shared, that the fight between good and evil required everyone to take a stand.
Surviving Hunger and War
By 1944, life in the Netherlands had become unbearable. The Nazis took food and supplies from the Dutch people to feed their armies. Audrey and her family, like many others, faced severe hunger. She became dangerously ill from malnutrition, suffering from anemia and swelling caused by starvation.
During the Allied Operation Market Garden in September 1944, Audrey witnessed a massive attempt to free the Netherlands. Thousands of paratroopers descended near her town, but the operation failed. For nine days, Nazi tanks rumbled through the streets, and her family hid in their cellar. When the fighting ended, they emerged to a grim reality: more suffering and brutal Nazi reprisals. Audrey even heard the terrifying screams of resistance members being tortured nearby.
In early 1945, food shortages worsened, and hundreds of people in the Netherlands were starving each week. Audrey’s family spent three weeks hiding again as fierce battles raged outside their home. One day, they heard unfamiliar voices and smelled tobacco, a luxury during the war. When they opened the door, they saw Canadian soldiers standing there, announcing liberation. Audrey immediately spoke to them in English, earning their surprise and joy.
Though the war ended in victory for the Allies, it left deep scars on Audrey. Her health was permanently affected by the years of malnutrition, and she never forgave her mother’s early sympathies for the Nazis. However, she found solace in the arts. She earned a scholarship to a prestigious ballet school but had to abandon her dream of becoming a dancer due to her weakened body. Instead, she turned to acting, eventually becoming one of the most celebrated stars in history.
Audrey Hepburn’s story during World War Two is a powerful reminder of how even the smallest acts of courage can make a difference in the darkest of times.
