Hannie Schaft: The True WWII Story Behind The Red Head | Pendragon Pictures Film
There are moments in history when one ordinary person rises and becomes an unstoppable force against evil. Hannie Schaft was one of those people.
This is the true story of Hannie Schaft, one of the most famous female resistance fighters of World War II.
Watch the Hannie Schaft Concept Trailer
Join the Official The Red Head Patreon to bring Hannie's story to life.
Hannie Schaft was not a trained soldier.
She was not born into power.
She was not seeking fame.
She was a teenage university student when Adolf Hitler invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940.
And she chose resistance.
This is the true World War II story of Hannie Schaft, the young woman who saved Jewish lives, outwitted the Nazi regime, humiliated Hitler, and became the only woman ever placed on Hitler’s Most Wanted List.
She is remembered today as "the girl with the red hair.”
And she is the story we are bringing to the screen in the live-action war film action-thriller THE RED HEAD.
From University Student to Enemy of the Reich
Hannie Schaft was an ordinary Dutch teenager attending university when the Nazis occupied her country May 10, 1940. Almost instantly, her world shattered.
Her two closest friends, Sonja Frenk and Philine Polak, were expelled from school, stripped of their human rights, and marked for death for one reason: they were Jewish.
When the Nazis declared, “Jews are not Dutch,” Hannie made a declaration of her own:
“If they are not Dutch, then neither am I.”
As the Nazis destroyed decency all around, Hannie rose to retain it. With no military training and no protection, Hannie began stealing government identification cards, forging documents, and creating false identities to hide her Jewish friends and move them to safety.
Her friend Philine Polak survived the Holocaust and credited Hannie with saving her life.
Philine's testimony remains one of the most powerful survivor records of WWII. View her Oral History Interview at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Here:
https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn512184
Hannie's friend Sonja Frenk was not so fortunate. Sonya could not sustain life in hiding and contacted an organization that helped people escape in order to buy her way out of the country. Sonja was betrayed while trying to escape, captured by the Nazis, and murdered at Auschwitz on November 23, 1943.
That betrayal changed Hannie forever.
The Birth of a Resistance Legend
As Nazi genocide spread across Europe, Hannie did not retreat into fear.
She advanced into war.
She joined the Dutch Resistance and became one of its most daring and effective operatives:
Smuggling Jewish adults and children to safety
Sabotaging Nazi infrastructure
Assassinating collaborators responsible for hunting Jews
The Red Head © 2025 Pendragon Pictures
Gathering classified intelligence
Mapping German V2 rocket launch sites from within enemy territory
Smuggling that intelligence to Allied forces
These V2 rocket sites were a direct link to Hitler’s final weapons program, and the intelligence Hannie helped extract played a crucial role in the Allied push toward victory.
Hannie became an invisible force inside the Reich.
The Nazis could not catch her.
They could not identify her.
They could not stop her.
Hitler’s Humiliation- The Girl He Could Not Catch
Nazis Feared Her.
Hannie Schaft did something no other woman in WWII did:
She embarrassed Adolf Hitler.
So deeply, in fact, that she was placed on Hitler’s Most Wanted List as “The Red Head.” She was the only woman ever on that list.
To evade capture, Hannie dyed her hair dark and wore glasses to disappear among crowds.
But by then, her legend had already spread across the Netherlands and Europe.
Wherever Hannie struck, people whispered:
“Hitler will lose.”
She became a symbol of hope in the heart of terror.
Captured, Tortured — And She Never Spoke
In the final months of World War II, Hannie was captured at a routine checkpoint with:
An illegal resistance newspaper
A pistol hidden in her handbag
She was imprisoned.
For four weeks, she was:
Starved
Raped
Beaten
Tortured
Interrogated in isolation
When her dyed hair grew out and the red roots appeared, the Nazis realized they had captured The Red Head.
They arrested her parents and sent them to a concentration camp in hopes of breaking her.
She still remained silent.
Even after the Nazis executed 15 other prisoners in front of her and threatened more will be killed because of her unless she confesses, to stop further killings, Hannie offered only one statement:
“I am part of the resistance.”
She never gave a single name.
Her Final Defiance
On April 17, 1945, she was taken to the sand dunes of Overveen to be murdered.
She did not go quietly.
When the first bullets struck and she remained standing, she turned to her executioners and said:
“You idiots. I shoot better than you.”
She was then shot to death.
She was 24 years old.
The Face of the Dutch Resistance
Today, Hannie Schaft stands as:
The face of the Dutch Resistance
A symbol of youthful defiance
A martyr of anti-fascism
A heroine of Jewish resistance
A reminder that one person can bend the direction of history
She is not just a WWII figure.
She is a warning.
And she is a call to courage.
Why We Are Telling Her Story Now
The Red Head is not just a movie.
It is a declaration that:
Truth matters
Courage matters
Freedom is fragile
Silence empowers tyranny
One person still makes a difference
Film is the single most powerful storytelling force on Earth. It shapes hearts faster than books. It spreads truth faster than classrooms. It reaches millions who may never open a history textbook.
This is why The Red Head must be made now.
Watch the Concept Trailer
View the official concept trailer here:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/help-make-red-143452256
This film will be 100% live-action. No AI characters. No shortcuts. No historical compromise.
How You Can Become Part of History
If Hannie’s story moved you then you are already part of this mission.
By joining our Patreon, you can:
✅ Become part of the filmmaking journey
✅ Receive your name in the film credits
✅ Receive a digital copy of the completed movie
✅ Directly help bring this true story to the world
Support levels:
$5 (or any amount you choose)
You only need one month of membership to receive all rewards
— and you may switch to Free afterward and stay with us on the journey.
or simply Join for Free to show the world that this story matters.
Join here: https://www.patreon.com/15051770/join
For Those Who Want to Go Further
If you feel called to support this film on a deeper level as a full investor, I would love to speak with you directly.
📩 Message me anytime at susan_goforth (at) pendragonpictures.com
The Question Hannie Leaves Us With
When evil rose, she rose higher.
When fear spread, she moved forward.
When silence could save her, she chose truth.
The only question left is:
What will we do with her example?
HELP BRING THE RED HEAD to LIFE
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