'A Small Light' on National Geographic: Who is Miep’s husband Jan Gies played by Joe Cole?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Less than one hundred years ago, the Nazi regime rose to power, ushering in hateful rhetoric under the guise of “well-meaning” Germany-first ideologies. The average person—who fit into what the government viewed as the “ideal” citizen—was free to turn a blind eye to the ugly truth of the situation. The regime-backed notion of “us vs. them” divided a country, and eventually, a continent, driving out rational thought from otherwise sensible people. The story of Anne Frank, the Jewish teenager who hid in a cramped attic with her family during the Nazi occupation in Amsterdam, is widely known, and amid the atrocities of the Holocaust, Anne’s diary presents a story of resilience and unrealized dreams. Nat Geo’s new limited series 'A Small Light' isn’t Anne’s story, though the precocious teen’s legacy is embedded throughout. The brainchild of former 'Grey’s Anatomy' showrunners Tony Phelan and Joan Rater, the series is a tale of resistance, activism, and humanity. The narrative centers on one tenacious young woman, Miep Gies, Otto Frank’s secretary, who risked everything to save the Frank family, and countless others.
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Who is Joe Cole's Jan Gies?
Jan Augustus Gies was a member of the Dutch Resistance who, with his wife, Miep, helped hide Anne Frank, her sister Margot, their parents Otto and Edith, the van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer from Nazi persecution during the occupation of the Netherlands by aiding them as they resided in the Secret Annex.
How did Jan Gies die in real life?
In 1993, Jan Gies died at home from kidney failure, aged 87. He was survived by his wife, Hermine "Miep" Gies, who died at the age of 100 in 2010, and his son, Paul Gies, who was born in 1950, daughter-in-law Lucie, and three grandchildren, Erwin, Jeanine, and David.
You can watch 'A Small Light' on National Geographic and stream on Disney+ and Hulu the following day.