Foreign TV show about Jewish author Etty Hillesum will go into production

The Dutch Jewish writer Etty Hillesum, who kept a diary during the World War II, will be the subject of a new international TV show. The filming of the six-part drama, The Girl Who Learned How to Kneel, will be set in Amsterdam in the autumn, production company Topkapi Films announced on Thursday.

Hillesum wrote a diary that showed a deep and indestructible faith in humanity when she was a 27-year-old student in Amsterdam. While the war threatened her freedom and life, and everything around her was filled with hatred, the author continued to see the beauty in life and believe in the good in people.

Eventually, Hillesum voluntarily went to Kamp Westerbork to support the people there until she was deported to Auschwitz where she was killed. Her bundled diaries were released four decades later. Het Verstoorde Leven, known as The Disturbed Life in English, was published in over 20 countries.

Hagai Levi will write and direct the series. Levi is internationally known for the hit shows, The Affair and In Treatment, which also includes Dutch version In Therapie. “Etty’s firm position against hatred, the inspiration that she offers to find a space in yourself where you are free and protected, and the radical solidarity that she offers to us show that she has never been as relevant as she is now,” the director said.

The show is scheduled to appear on television in 2026. The casting will be announced later. The Girl Who Learned How to Kneel will be produced by Les Films du Poisson in a co-production with Topkapi Films, the German company, Komplizen Films, and the Italian company, Quiddity.

Topkapi was already involved in internationally successful films as a co-producer, like the Oscar-winning Druk made by Thomas Vinterberg and Close by Lukas Dhont.