During the winter 1944-1945, conditions in the German-occupied Netherlands deteriorated rapidly, particularly in the heart of the most densely populated western provinces. Seeking to punish the Dutch for their reluctance to participate in the war effort, the Nazis imposed a blockade that cut off food and fuel supplies from agricultural areas to these urban areas. This measure would cost the lives of approximately 20,000 people.
During this famine, resistance fighters Tony van Renterghem, chief of staff of the internal armed forces in Amsterdam-South, and German-Jewish filmmaker Fritz Kahlenberg, a refugee in Amsterdam since 1933, joined forces. Together, they got in touch with 14 photographers active in the capital – among them, contributors who would become renowned authors: Cas Oorthuys, Emmy Andriesse, Charles Breijer, Kryn Taconis, and Ad Windig.
Their objective? To document the deplorable living conditions imposed by the Nazis and to succeed in convincing the Allies and the Dutch government in exile, thanks to images clandestinely sent to London, to send food to the Netherlands. A heroic project that unfolded during the last months of the occupation, since in November 1944, the German administration had banned photography in public places.
“It was Renterghem and Kahlenberg who passed on the various instructions to the participants, from their headquarters, located at Michelangelostraat 36 in Amsterdam South, from where they supervised the various operations related to the resistance. “The volunteers didn’t know each other and didn’t communicate with each other for security reasons,” says Claartje van Dijk, curator at Foam.
The importance of documenting resistance
“While the images produced did not directly contribute to the war effort, they stand out today as a valuable testament to the courageous missions of this group of authors and their role in documenting the occupation. The photographers captured the activities of the resistance, the underground press, the forgery of identity cards, the famine in Amsterdam, and even people searching for fuel and food. They depict a painful story,” the curator continues.
A story that nevertheless needed to be documented. In the photographs, the occupation, the degrading living conditions, the misery, and the hunger remain, like so many traces of a story that people tried to erase. Initially recognized by more neutral names—the Netherlands Archive or the Central Imagery Archive—the group was finally named The Underground Camera after the liberation. A title that evokes both the notions of secrecy and the danger of such an operation. “The fact that they had to hide to take the photographs they did is often obvious,” says Claartje van Dijk.
Shot from safe places – a window, a wall – or through the hole in a bag, the scenes of life appear even more raw, the hip-height shot offering an immersive perception of the ordinary under occupation. “This very direct documentary style became important for a whole generation of post-war photographers ,” adds the curator. A risky mission that thus, despite itself, trained the authors of the following decades.
A unique account of a shocking historical period, “The Underground Camera” is part of a theme dear to Foam: the camera seen as a weapon. Moving away from war reports at the heart of the action and the fighting, it focuses here on highlighting the relevance of documenting a resistance organized in the shadows, a resistance that evolves alongside the conflicts. A large-scale project led by several experts : “It is the result of a collaboration with the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, whose publication of the same name was released in March 2025. I designed the exhibition with Hripsimé Visser, former curator of photography at the Stedelijk Museum, and with the help of designer Jeroen de Vries ,” concludes Claartje van Dijk.
The exhibition “The Underground Camera” is on display at the Foam Museum from May 2 to September 1 , 2025.
