When all the Jews had been deported from Amsterdam, Suskind was given the choice of either going to a safe house or joining his wife and daughter in Westerbork. He chose to follow his family. Together they were sent to Auschwitz where Hannah and Yvonne were immediately gassed. The circumstances of Suskind’s death remain a mystery. It is believed that the Dutch inmates in Auschwitz – thinking he was indeed a collaborator – killed him. Another version of his death portrays Suskind’s demise on a death march.

Secret Courage – The Walter Suskind Story encompasses Suskind’s last years in Germany, his supremely courageous efforts in Amsterdam and the social and cultural impact of the rescue effort on post-war Holland. It will be told by resistance workers, saved children, people from Amsterdam who knew Suskind or knew of him, and his two remaining relatives. The film will include details of meetings with his trusted accomplices, the soliciting of parents willing to relinquish their children in order to save the children’s lives, a chance meeting of Suskind with Commandant Aus der Fuenten while Suskind was carrying a Jewish baby to safety in a backpack, images of Suskind distracting German guards while babies were smuggled out of the crèche, the reunion of Suskind with his wife and daughter and their deportation to Auschwitz.

In an era where the word 'hero' is so casually used, Secret Courage will bring to audiences the portrait of ordinary man, a salesman by profession, who chose to conduct this extraordinary rescue operation. Although vilified by those who never knew his secret, he was – in the end – a true hero.