A Small Light
Follows twentysomething Miep Gies who, when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II, didn't hesitate. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls (Otto Frank, his wife Edith and daughters Anne and Margot as well as four others) in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne's Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.
- Metascore83
- 2023-2023
- 1 season
- National Geographic Channel
- Documentary, Drama, Action & Adventure
- TV-14
Follows twentysomething Miep Gies who, when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II, didn't hesitate. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls (Otto Frank, his wife Edith and daughters Anne and Margot as well as four others) in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne's Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.
Season 1 Episode Guide
8 Episodes 2023
Episode 1
Pilot
Mon, May 1, 2023 56 mins
Miep Gies was a Dutch office worker for Otto Frank at his Amsterdam spice company. When the Nazis occupied the Netherlands in WWII, she agreed to help hide Otto Frank, his family, and 4 others in a secret annex behind her office. The show follows Miep from 1942-1944 as she risks her life to smuggle food, news, and supplies to the 8 people in hiding. She juggles constant danger, betrayal, raids, and her own marriage, while trying to stay "small" and unnoticed. After the annex is raided and the families are sent to camps, Miep finds Anne Frank's diary in the wreckage and saves it. She gives it to Otto Frank after the war so Anne's story can be published. It's basically her story - not Anne's POV. It shows what it took to be one of the "helpers" who chose courage over safety.
Episode 2
Welcome to Switzerland
Mon, May 1, 2023 54 mins
Everything seems under control until Miep's Jewish dentist, Fritz Pfeffer, asks if she knows of a place where he can hide. Though she tries to say no, she's overcome by the need to help just one more person.
Episode 3
Motherland
Mon, May 8, 2023 48 mins
Laws against Jews are intensifying, landing two small children in Miep and Jan's care, strengthening Jan's ties to the resistance and bringing up Miep's issues with her past abandonment.
Episode 4
The Butterfly
Mon, May 8, 2023 52 mins
Miep tries to reconcile her old life with her new one but is forced to choose between her morals and her lifelong best friend while trying to bring some form of holiday cheer to the lives of those in the annex.
Episode 5
Scheißfeld
Mon, May 15, 2023 50 mins
Jan refuses to abandon a dangerous mission, and Miep fears for his life.
Episode 6
Boiling Point
Mon, May 15, 2023 50 mins
The Germans grow more ruthless towards civilians. The attic refugees have spent two years in hiding and make plans for after the war, but Mrs. Frank feels hopeless. NSB officer Ahlers offers Miep a reward if she gives up the Franks, but she continues to feign ignorance of their whereabouts. The Nazis raid the Jewish Council headquarters and send most of the remaining Jews in Amsterdam to work camps. Mrs. Stoppelman's two adult children and two JC nurses take shelter in Miep and Jan's home. Kuno is very ill until an abscess inside his head bursts and he recovers. With the help of a spy posing as a Nazi soldier, Jan smuggles his many house guests out of the city. News of the Normandy landings arrives, causing excitement in the attic. The next day, as the Opekta workers chat, an unseen man points a gun at Miep's head.
Episode 7
What Can Be Saved
Mon, May 22, 2023 40 mins
Miep's worst fear comes true when the Nazis raid the annex. Miep is determined to save the Franks and others at any cost, even if it means confronting the enemy head-on.
Episode 8
Legacy
Mon, May 22, 2023 54 mins
With the war ending, Miep and Jan try to find the Franks and other Jewish residents of the annex.
