Fries Verzetsmuseum (Frisian Resistance Museum) has made a new presentation with the theme ‘freedom today’. Eleven Frisians with diverse backgrounds tell their own story about freedom in the museum. How free do they feel to be themselves, practice their profession or follow a religion? The photo portraits and interviews were commissioned by the museum by Sjoerd Litjens, who previously worked on the Iepen Doar(p) project.
It has been 75 years since the Second World War ended. Soon after the liberation, we established a number of laws and rights that should guarantee the freedom of every human being. A famous example is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which lays down the fundamental rights of every individual. In the context of 75 years of liberation, we asked eleven people from Friesland the same question: how free are you? Because of who they are, their background or situation, they sometimes still have to fight for rights that most people take for granted.
frisians about freedom
The result is a series of intimate portraits and stories. For example from Gerda from Leeuwarden. She has a long and dedicated church life behind her. She was married to a pastor until she was fifty. The decision to share her life with a woman had and still has major consequences. Or Meysam, who discovered his passion for dancing at a young age. In Iran, within the strict Islamic family in which he grew up, there was and still is no room for dancing. Now he has his own dance school and gives dance lessons to children in various places in Friesland.
Discover the story of Gerda, Meysam and nine others in the Frisian Resistance Museum through portraits by Marieke Kijk in de Vegte and Kees Muizelaar. The candid interviews by Sippy Tigchelaar and Sjoerd Litjens can be read and listened to alongside the portraits.
75 years of freedom
With the new presentation, the Frisian Resistance Museum is ready for the future and the commemorative year 2020. A number of objects have been exchanged and exhibition texts will now be offered in four languages. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Netherlands. Special activities, commemorations and events are organized throughout the year. The Frisian Resistance Museum is also participating. In addition to the permanent display, the museum offers a platform for various projects from 11 April 2020 to 6 September 2020 in the context of 75 years of freedom in Friesland.
The Frisian Resistance Museum is part of the Fries Museum.
The Fries Museum is co-financed by Ir. Abe Bonnema Foundation, the Province of Fryslân, the Northern Netherlands Partnership, EZ/Kompas, the BankGiro Lottery and Aegon.