Episode 125: Making Gay History, the Nazi Era: Frieda Belinfante (Special Episode)

In honor of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, we're sharing a podcast episode from Making Gay History’s current series about the Nazi era.

Frieda Belinfante was a Dutch musician and underground activist who risked her life to help save hundreds of Jews from the Nazis. She’s one of several LGBTQ people whose testimonies are featured in this Making Gay History series. Check out the rest of the series at makinggayhistory.org.

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Released April 22, 2025

Frieda Belinfante, ca. 1943. Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Toni Boumans.
Studio portrait of Frieda Belinfante with her cello, Amsterdam, ca. 1920. Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Frieda Belinfante.
Frieda Belinfante conducting the Orange County Philharmonic Orchestra, Garden Grove, California, 1958. Credit: Private collection.
Frieda Belinfante conducting the Pacific Orchestra as guest conductor at the Irvine Bowl, Laguna Beach, California, 1988. Credit: Private collection.
Frieda Belinfante in male disguise, Amsterdam, 1943. Credit: Atelier J. Merkelbach Collection, via Amsterdam City Archives.
Photo taken on behalf of the SD of persons suspected of the resistance. Top row: Helena Suzanna van Hall and Maarten van Gilse. Bottom row: Frieda Belinfante, Gustave Rubsaam, and Willem Sandberg. Credit: Amsterdam City Archives.