Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story is a 55 minute film that presents one woman’s extraordinary courage, tested in the crucible of Nazi-occupied Paris. With an American mother and Indian father, Noor Inayat Khan was an extremely unusual British agent, and her life spent growing up in a Sufi center of learning in Paris seemed an unlikely preparation for the dangerous work to come. Yet it was in this place of universal peace and contemplation that her remarkable courage was forged.
In early 1943, Khan was recruited as a covert operative into Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive (SOE). Churchill’s orders were to “set Europe ablaze”. After the collapse and arrest of her entire network, Khan became the only surviving radio operator linking the British to the French Resistance in Paris, coordinating the airdrop of weapons, explosives, and agents, and supporting the rescue of downed Allied fliers.
Betrayed by a French collaborator after four months, Khan resisted brutal interrogation by the Gestapo, escaping twice – only to be recaptured and sent to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany.
Narrated by Academy Award winning actress Helen Mirren, Enemy of the Reich was directed by three-time Emmy Award winner Robert H. Gardner and features a team of international scholars.
Curriculum:
The film connects to the following Standards of Learning for Social Studies classrooms:
- The contributions of women to the war effort.
- The contributions of minorities to the war effort.
- The role of media and communications in the war effort.
- Nazi occupation in Europe and its connection to the Holocaust.
Click the links below to download the study guides, glossaries and lesson plans written by nationally recognized educators Susan Douglass and Joan Brodsky Schur.
This exciting film should add a new dimension to your students understanding of World War II. We encourage you to sign up today.
If you have any questions, contact Nadia Malik at events@upf.tv.
Sincerely,
Unity Productions Foundation
