After a life filled with personal tragedy and devotion to political and social activism, Fles committed suicide in May 1940, only a few weeks after the German occupation of the Netherlands.

His father, Jacob Levie Fles, worked as a diamond cutter, and his mother, Saartje van Blijdestein, ran a hosiery shop, placing young Louis squarely in the newly expanding merchant class.

[2] As a successful business owner himself, Swaab took the young Louis into his company shortly after the boy had completed primary school.

[2] Upon hearing of George's arrest, Louis travelled to Moscow, but was unable to find his son before his visa expired.

[2] Around this same time news arrived from the United States that daughter Rosine had died shortly after giving birth.

Even so, it was a shock to many of his family members when, on 25 May 1940, Levie Jacob "Louis" Fles committed suicide by means of pills acquired from a pharmacist in Keppel.

[2] Fles' earliest published pamphlets, Is in de moderne boekhouding plaats voor het copieboek?

As early as 1917, De Groene Amsterdammer printed his criticism of the way Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) allowed churches to influence the Dutch educational system.

He then went on to propose alternative activities families might engage in, such as visiting a museum or other educational pursuits[2] and admonished his reader, "durf vrij te denken", "Dare to think freely.

Fles' radio speech Los van de kerk (Free from the Church) was banned altogether, and many other broadcasts were censored for their subversive content, although they later found an audience in print form.

[2][3] In 1933 Fles challenged the secretary of the Radio Broadcasting Control Commission regarding the lack of support VRO received from the government.

He pointed out that the 1930 census had shown that the number of "unchurched" citizens had risen sharply, and, since this was VRO's intended audience, it should receive commensurate support.

[10] When the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin were declared off limits to Jews and other groups that the Nazi government deemed undesirable, Fles was among a group of Dutch businessmen and politicians who organized De Olympiade Onder Dictatuur ("The Olympiad Under Dictatorship") both to showcase the artists of the Netherlands and to protest the policies of the Third Reich.

[3] The committee made it clear that their exhibition was as much about protesting the Nazis' manipulation of the arts and sciences for political purposes as it was about showcasing Dutch excellence.

[9] In 1996, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the D.O.O.D., the Amsterdam Municipal Archives allowed a number of the works from the original exhibition to be displayed at the Sports Museum in Berlin, Germany.